For over 40 years, Yale Department of Internal Medicine’s Affiliated Hospitals program has provided robust educational opportunities for community hospitals in Southern Connecticut.
The partnership between the Department of Internal Medicine across the internal medicine residency training programs of seven hospitals, Bridgeport, Greenwich, Norwalk, Waterbury, St. Mary's, Danbury, and Griffin, began in the 1970s. “The affiliation served two purposes. It was a way of highlighting the talents of the clinical and research faculty here at Yale while simultaneously improving the quality of the medical education at these sites, which were, at that time, relatively small programs with a few faculty members,” explained Silvio Inzucchi, MD, professor of medicine (endocrinology) and director of the Affiliated Hospitals program. Lawrence & Memorial Hospital also participates in the program as an eight affiliate but does not have a residency program.
The consortium thrives on three components: on-site lectures at the affiliates (noon conferences, ward teaching rounds, and grand rounds), elective rotations for the affiliated residents at Yale New Haven Hospital, and faculty interactions at regular dinner meetings, an annual retreat, and faculty development sessions.
Seema D’Souza, MD, is the program director for the residency programs at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn. Her predecessor, Vincent DeLuca Jr., MD, founded the residency program in 1972 and aligned it with Yale’s Department of Internal Medicine through the Affiliated Hospitals Program upon its inception, based on an earlier collaboration amongst gastroenterologists at both institutions.
Griffin’s residency program has 45 residents across three programs. Second- and third-year residents spend four two-week rotations at Yale New Haven Hospital learning about the subspecialty of their choice.
“We are a small community hospital. For example, we have one gastroenterology group with three physicians, one hematology/oncology group, and one rheumatologist for the whole hospital. The ability to have such a didactic experience where I can get a myeloma expert talking about a case to the residents takes the whole discussion to another level. The Yale attendings are very generous, good teachers,” explained D'Souza.
In addition to the learning opportunities, D'Sousa cites relationship building as another program perk. Lydia Aoun-Barakat, MD, was a resident at Griffin Hospital, matched at Yale School of Medicine for an infectious diseases fellowship, and now is faculty at the university.
"Griffin Hospital holds a special place in my heart and in my professional development. I gained the foundation of medicine in my training there which allowed me to become the physician that I aspired to be. The program is located in the warm community of Naugatuck Valley, in a beautiful hospital setting that is run by outstanding leadership, specialists, and teachers," said Aoun-Barakat.
Program Coordinator Courtney Annunziata manages the program administration. She coordinates the department faculty's requests for lectures and their locations and the affiliated hospitals' needs for specific content and combines them into an evolving master schedule of more than 700 engagements annually. She also organizes the hosting of 100+ residents from the affiliated hospitals for elective subspecialty rotations at Yale New Haven Hospital and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven.
In addition to the advertised benefits of the program, faculty can also build relationships among all the participating educators across these programs through periodic meetings and retreats. The program’s overarching goal is to improve the quality of medical education throughout Connecticut, and through its 40+ years in existence, Yale’s unique Affiliated Hospitals program has earned that achievement.
“We are not aware of any institution across the country offering a program similar to ours,” said Annunziata. Inzucchi added, “The Affiliated Hospitals program continues to thrive, allowing the affiliated programs to attract better residents and providing our faculty additional venues for teaching and collaborations.”
For Griffin Hospital and D’Souza, being able to offer niche electives is a crucial element of the partnership. “We don't have interventional pulmonology, epilepsy, or neurology at our hospital. This affiliation has worked very well for 50 years now. There are an unbelievable number of opportunities to gain by taking your electives at Yale. It's been a win-win.”
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.