The Yale School of Medicine has nine competencies that frame our goals for the knowledge, skills, and attributes that we aim for YSM students to attain prior to graduation. The associated educational program objectives (EPOs) describe the skills and behaviors that are required to achieve each competency.

1. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Students apply scientific knowledge and use clinical skills to promote health and prevent disease in individuals and communities.
   • HP 1.1 Apply principles of epidemiology and social-behavioral sciences to health promotion and disease prevention for patients and communities.
   • HP 1.2 Provide health care services to patients, families, and communities aimed at preventing health problems or maintaining health, including screening, counseling, immunizations, and chemoprophylaxis.
2. Mechanisms and Treatment of Disease Students acquire knowledge at the molecular, cellular, organ-system, psychosocial, and whole-body levels and integrate this knowledge with clinical science and skills to diagnose and treat disease.
   • MTD 2.1 Apply established and emerging bio-physical, clinical, epidemiologic, and psychosocial scientific principles to the provision of health care for patients, including identification of disease, diagnosis, disease frequency, risk factors, prognosis, and treatment strategies.
3. Clinical Reasoning Students apply established and emerging principles of clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making and clinical problem-solving based on a thorough understanding of the patient’s history, physical exam, and diagnostic studies.
   • CR 3.1 Apply established and emerging principles of clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making and clinical problem-solving, based on patient information and preferences and up-to-date scientific evidence while minimizing the impact of cognitive errors. Recognize that uncertainty is part of clinical health care and respond by utilizing appropriate resources.
4. Patient Care Students achieve competency in the care of patients at a level required to excel in residency.
   • PC 4.1 Gather and interpret essential and accurate information about patients and their conditions through history-taking, physical examination, and paraclinical data (lab studies, imaging, and other tests).
   • PC 4.2 Communicate patient information in an organized and concise manner in both oral and written forms.
   • PC 4.3 Develop and carry out patient management plans in an organized and prioritized manner to promote patient care that is safe, effective, and efficient. Follow up on patient progress.
   • PC 4.4 Coordinate care with physicians, other health professionals, and health agencies to support the health maintenance and treatment of disease in patients. Make timely, appropriate, and informative referrals or handoffs, ensuring continuity of care through transitions between providers or settings.
   • PC 4.5 Perform all medical, diagnostic, and surgical procedures considered essential to enter residency in the area of chosen practice.
5. Professional Identity Formation Students conduct themselves in accordance with professional standards in interactions with patients, families, peers, and colleagues. They learn to prioritize patients’ needs and interests, avoid conflicts of interest, keep current with evolving science and practice standards, defer to ethical principles in difficult decision-making, and engage in self-awareness and self-care.
   • PR 5.1 Engages in practices that benefit mental and physical wellness. Cultivates self-awareness to guide appropriate self-care. Recognizes stressful situations and explores coping mechanisms best suited for them. Aware of range of support services and reaches out for help when needed. Recognizes distress in others and offers assistance.
   • PR 5.2 Maintain commitment to lifelong learning. Identify and perform learning activities that address strengths, deficiencies, and limits in knowledge and expertise. Set learning and improvement goals and incorporate feedback into daily practice.
   • PR 5.3 Work effectively as an accountable team member to enhance team functioning, the learning environment and/or the health care setting. Contribute to a culture of psychological safety rooted in mutual respect and trust.
   • PR 5.4 Demonstrate responsiveness, integrity, and respect to patients, society, and the profession. Manage conflict between personal and professional responsibilities. Practice flexibility and maturity in adjusting to change with the capacity to alter one’s behavior.
   • PR 5.5 Demonstrate a commitment to ethical principles pertaining to provision or withholding of care, confidentiality, informed consent, and business practices, including committing to uphold relevant laws, policies, and regulations which promote patient privacy and autonomy.
6. Communication Students communicate effectively, respectfully, and compassionately in all of their professional interactions.
   • CM 6.1 Communicate effectively using patient-centered techniques, with patients, families, and the public, as appropriate, across a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion in serious conversations, including those about death, end of life, adverse events, bad news, disclosure of errors, and other sensitive topics.
   • CM 6.2 Counsel and educate patients and their families to empower them to participate in their care and enable shared decision making.
   • CM 6.3 Communicate effectively and respectfully with peers, staff, interprofessional colleagues, and faculty in classroom, clinical, and administrative domains.
7. Responsibility to Society Students recognize barriers to achieving health equity and envision ways to reduce barriers with a commitment to improving the quality of care and health of all people.
   • RS 7.1 Identify the social and structural determinants of health that impact patients and communities and utilize these in improving care, including assessment of the impact of psychosocial, structural, or cultural influences on health, disease, care-seeking, care adherence, and barriers to and attitudes toward care.
   • RS 7.2 Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to diverse patient populations, including but not limited to gender, age, culture, race, religion, disabilities, and sexual orientation and leverage their role and the roles of other health professionals to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of the patients and populations served.
   • RS 7.3 Appreciate the factors that contribute to patient safety and the methods used to approach quality improvement. Participate in identifying system errors and implementing potential solutions. Advocate for quality and equity in patient care and optimal patient care systems.
   • RS 7.4 Incorporate considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis in patient and/or population-based care.
8. Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge Students appreciate that unexplained clinical observations can inspire research that advances the practice of medicine. They perform mentored scholarly research culminating in a formal thesis. This project promotes critical thinking, understanding of the scientific method, and contributes to new medical knowledge and practices.
   • CDK 8.1 Critically evaluate and use literature, databases and primary sources to develop a strong scientific premise for a research question. Apply the scientific method to ensure robust, reproducible and unbiased study design.
   • CDK 8.2 Rigorously analyze and interpret data using appropriate scientific and statistical methods. Convey research findings in a clear and organized manner and disseminate to communities of interest.
   • CDK 8.3 Apply principles of responsible conduct of research to preserve the integrity of the research process and to protect the privacy and rights of research subjects.
9. Physician as Scientist Students apply existing and evolving scientific literature to inform their care of patients and promote the health of individuals and populations.
   • PS 9.1 Acquire, appraise, assimilate, and apply evidence from scientific studies related to patients’ health problems. Demonstrate an investigatory and analytic approach to clinical situations. Evaluate the credibility and usability of the spectrum of medical information resources.