The purpose of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale is to prepare future physician leaders who will improve health and healthcare. Through course work, mentored clinical and community research, exposure to senior level leaders, and patient care, Scholars develop the experience and skills to lead positive change at the local and national level.

Scholars participate in educational, research, and patient care activities. Some Scholars may also participate in advocacy activities to address the major deficiencies in access to quality healthcare.

Educational Activities
Clinical epidemiology has served as the basic science framework for the Program’s educational activities. In concert with the National Program Office’s increased emphasis on leadership development and community-based health research, educational activities have been expanded to include seminars in leadership and organizational behavior, a series of classes on community health assessment, program planning, community-based research, and principles of health policy and management. These educational activities are integrated through applied clinical research, engagement in Seminars in Health Policy and Delivery, and community health research projects.

Scholars spend approximately 130 hours in the classroom during the first summer, 85 hours in the fall, and 40 hours in the spring. The classroom hours decrease as research activity increases. In addition to the above core curriculum, Scholars are exposed to successful physician leaders and other health leaders through faculty lunches, Journal Club sessions, and Seminars in Health Policy and Delivery.

Research Activities
The two main priority areas for research are strategies for effective and equitable patient-centered healthcare, and community health. Scholars are expected to develop and plan at least one major individual research project that will give them an opportunity to gain investigative experience and contribute to clinical scholarship. In addition to their individual project(s), Scholars are also expected to engage in community-based research in collaboration with community healthcare organizations and, ideally, community members themselves. These community-directed research efforts will enable Scholars to understand the challenges and opportunities of working within the parameters of community-based organizations and collaboratively developing avenues to make a positive contribution to the health of the New Haven community.

Initially, Scholars conduct research under the close supervision of faculty preceptors, and develop increased independence as the project proceeds in the second year of the Program. By undertaking their own substantive projects, Scholars learn to develop important research questions, frame hypotheses, collect and analyze data, interpret evidence, and communicate results through oral presentations and written papers. Assistance in the identification, development, and completion of research projects involves close faculty mentoring and support. This Yale approach has fostered high productivity; over the past decade, Scholars have averaged three peer-reviewed publications derived from work undertaken during their time in the Program.

Patient Care Activities
Scholars spend twenty percent of the fellowship effort maintaining clinical and teaching skills. Direct patient care experience is available electively at Yale-New Haven Hospital, the West Haven VA Medical Center, and affiliated clinics, hospitals and community-based health centers.

The resources available to the Program include the academic and clinical facilities of Yale University School of Medicine and its School of Public Health, the affiliated West Haven VA Medical Center, and other hospitals, clinics, and health programs in the New Haven region, as well as the Program's newly established Office of Community Health Partnerships.

Scholars may also use the non-medical resources of Yale University, including the Law School, the School of Organization and Management, the Institution of Social and Policy Studies, and the Computer Center. Although some of the faculty available through these resources have major roles in the Program, the main contributions are made by the Program faculty members and several research associates for whom the Program is a primary professional activity.

The fellowship is a two-year program that begins in July and concludes in June. There are opportunities available to some Scholars for a third year.

Upon successful completion of the Program, Scholars are awarded a Master of Health Sciences Research (MHS) from the Yale University School of Medicine.

Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM, Director
Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, Co-Director
Georgina Lucas, MSW, Deputy Director and Director of Community Research Initiatives
Cary Gross, MD, Associate Director
Marjorie Rosenthal, MD, MPH, Assistant Director
Marcella Nunez Smith, MD, MHS, Assistant Director