I was a resident in internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital from 1995-1999, following graduation from the University of Maryland Medical School. I planned on staying for three years, but I'm still here. Life happens…in a good way.
I spent an additional year as chief resident, then the program director asked if I wanted to take a full-time position as a clinical educator. My wife, whom I had met at Yale, is from the area, so I accepted the job and things just worked out perfectly. Over time, I got more involved in residency training and eventually became one of three associate program directors.
Today half of my time is devoted to teaching and administrative duties. My responsibilities include the annual recruitment of residents to the internal medicine and primary care programs. Most recently, we reviewed 2,600 applications for 35 slots and spent 11 days interviewing about 350 students. We look to attract physician-scientists who ultimately will become science researchers, but we want a mix of people who are doing basic sciences as well as more clinical, education-based programs.
Once we complete that process, I act as an adviser for a third of the residents. I get to know each of them, make sure they're meeting goals and advise them on jobs and fellowships. The other big part of my role is making sure the educational and clinical training are meeting the needs of residents, patients and the accreditation bodies. I really enjoy constantly trying to come up with new ways to do those things more effectively.
When I'm attending, I stress that all our teaching interactions should be in the presence of our patients. We emphasize the joy of what it means to be a physician and about the time spent at the bedside learning from patients
