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INFORMATION FOR

Visiting Student Scholarship to Enhance Access to Health Care Careers

NOTE: We will begin accepting applications as soon as VSLO reopens and will provide a more detailed timeline of the application and award process.

The Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine is excited to announce a scholarship for eligible students to spend four weeks in a sub-internship or elective. Our department has five residency training programs (General Surgery; Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery; Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery; and Integrated Vascular Surgery). Interested students will need to specify in their letter of interest and on the online application in which discipline they hope to complete their elective.

This program immerses the participating student in Yale’s department of surgery. The recipient will enroll in a four-week sub-internship between July-October. Students will be expected to function at the level of an advanced medical student. They will be expected to actively prepare for and participate in morning rounds, attend all available operations, and attend all divisional and departmental conferences during this time. We will also be working on a basic residency application preparatory curriculum to be facilitated by our lab/professional development residents.

Program Benefits

  • Scholarship will include up to $2000 for reimbursement of travel and housing (at the completion of the clerkship)
  • Each student will be provided a resident and faculty member that will serve as a mentor and advisor
  • Each student will have the opportunity to meet with the respective Surgery Program Director
  • Students will have the opportunity to speak with current surgery residents for advice on succeeding during their clerkship

The visiting student electives available for this program are listed on the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) website. Information about scholarship eligibility is available on the Visiting Student Scholarship Program website.

Application Process

There are three steps to apply for the scholarship:

  1. Review eligibility to confirm you are eligible and then submit Yale’s Visiting Student Scholarship Program Application.
  2. In the Yale’s Visiting Student Scholarship Program Application please upload the following documents:
    • Updated CV (includes USMLE Step 1 and/or 2 completion and score (when applicable)
    • Medical school transcript (unofficial is acceptable)
    • Updated headshot picture
    • 500-word statement explaining your interest in our program
    • Letter of support from a faculty member or a clerkship director
  3. Submit your VSLO application once instructed to do so.

Timeline

• Feb. 2nd – Mar. 15th: Applications accepted
• Mar. 16th – Mar. 29th: Recipient selection
• Apr. 1st – Apr. 3rd: Offer letters sent to awardees

Applications will be reviewed by a committee using holistic criteria. For further assistance concerning requirements for this scholarship, contact chaunell.feliciano@yale.edu.

Find out more

Visiting Clerkship Committee

  • Paris Butler, MD, MPH, FACS

    Director; Plastic Surgery Faculty Lead

    Associate Professor of Surgery ( Plastic), Vice Chair of Education and Inclusive Excellence

    Dr. Paris D. Butler is an Associate Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is also the inaugural Yale Department of Surgery Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).  After completing his undergraduate education as a student athlete (basketball) at Roanoke College, he attended medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency at the University of Virginia and subsequently completed his plastic surgery training at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). He is board certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).  Dr. Butler has clinical interests in breast reconstruction, breast reductions, breast lifts, post bariatric body contouring, scar/wound management, breast implant removal, and aesthetic surgery (abdominoplasty, breast augmentation, liposuction, etc.).  During his general surgery training, he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University where he studied keloid biology. Additionally, he obtained a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from Univ. of California-Berkeley in health policy and management with special certificate in minority health. Dr. Butler is nationally recognized for his dedication to reducing healthcare disparities along ethnic lines – something he has approached with research, policy, and teaching in mind. Prior to being recruited to Yale, Dr. Butler served for 6 years on the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.  In addition to his clinical appointment,  he also served as the Associate Designated Institutional Official (DIO) of Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) Affairs in UPenn’s Graduate Medical Education office. He has received numerous teaching awards in addition to recognition for his work with mentoring residents, medical, undergraduate, and high school students aspiring to enter the field. Dr. Butler has authored over 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals and the lay press. He serves on the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Committee on Healthcare Disparities, Society of Black Academic Surgeons’ (SBAS) Membership, Financial, and Health Equity Committees, the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Governance Committee, the Association of Academic Surgeons’ (AAS) Diversity Committee, the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons’ (ACAPS) DEI Committee, and is Chair of the American Society of Plastic Surgery’s (ASPS) Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
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  • Anne Mongiu, MD, PhD, FACS, FASCRS

    General Surgery Faculty Lead

    Assistant Professor of Surgery (Colon and Rectal); Co-Chair, Lower GI Tumor Board; Co-Director of the CRC Program, Surgery

    Dr. Anne Mongiu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, whose clinical interests span the breadth of benign and malignant colon, rectal, pelvic and anal surgery. She completed her medical and doctoral degrees at Northwestern University, where her research was focused upon understanding mechanisms of cell motility. She completed her residency in General Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and then pursued a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Louisville, where she focused on minimally invasive (robotic) techniques for treating IBD, diverticular disease, and colorectal cancer.
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  • Yan Lee, MD

    ENT Surgery Faculty Lead

    Associate Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology)

    Dr. Yan Ho Lee is a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. Dr. Lee completed an otolaryngology residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she also completed a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship. She is double board-certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. She is involved with teaching residents and medical students. She has a strong interest in both aesthetic and reconstructive surgeries including cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty, facial rejuvenation, eyelid surgery, repair of traumatic defects of the face and scalp, removal of skin cancers and MOHS reconstruction, treatment for facial nerve paralysis, and nonsurgical treatment of wrinkles and aging face and neck. Her research interests include investigating biomarkers that correspond to the aging process, studying the effect of various cartilaginous autografts in functional and cosmetic rhinoplasty, and optimizing facial fracture management.
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  • Cassius Iyad Ochoa Chaar, MD, MPH, MS, RPVI

    Vascular Surgery Faculty Lead

    Associate Professor of Surgery (Vascular)

    Cassius Iyad Ochoa Chaar, MD, MPH, MS, is an associate professor of surgery in the division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. He is seeing patients at the Yale Physicians Building. He is a board-certified in general surgery and vascular surgery, and is a registered vascular specialist in the interpretation of vascular laboratory studies. Dr. Chaar’s clinical interests include peripheral artery disease (PAD) focusing on patients with critical limb ischemia and limb salvage, varicose veins, aortic and visceral aneurysms, carotid disease, deep vein thrombosis, and dialysis vascular access. He completed his graduate and medical degrees at American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He spent his general surgery residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and subsequently finished a fellowship in vascular and endovascular surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. As a recent graduate from the Yale School of Public Health (MPH 2023), Dr. Chaar has established extensive collaborations to study clinical genetics of vascular disease, explore applications of artificial intelligence to improve vascular care, and assess new technologies that enhance vascular surgery treatments. He mentors and trains MD/PhD students interested in surgical outcomes research, genetic research, and quality improvement related to surgical therapies.
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  • Madonna Lee, MD, FACS

    Cardiothoracic Faculty Lead

    Assistant Professor of Surgery (Cardiac); Associate Program Director - Integrated (I-6) Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency, Surgery

    Dr. Lee is an Assistant Professor at Yale University as a pediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgeon. She finished congenital cardiac surgery fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She attended Michigan State University for medical school, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson New Brunswick for general surgery residency, and The Ohio State University for adult cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. She also spent her year of research during residency working at the University of Pennsylvania Cardiovascular Lab performing large animal studies. Her other academic interests include teaching/mentorship, quality improvement and surgical outcomes. She is excited to be a pediatric cardiac surgeon at the Yale Children’s Hospital - Pediatric Heart Center.
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  • Elise Presser, MD

    Surgery Resident

    Hospital Resident

    Elise grew up in Columbia, MO before moving to the East coast to attend Vassar College where she majored in biochemistry and political science. She then attended The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where she received an MSc in Control of Infectious Disease. She did her master’a theses in Zambia. She then worked at The Brookings Institution doing research on health policy. She attended medical school at Brown University where she also received a ScM in Population Health. For her master’s thesis she worked with Syrian refugees living in Jordan.
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