Participate in Elections
Medical Student Council Positions
The Medical Student Counsel has four officer level positions, which are the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Communications Officer. Other members of the MSC elected by their classmates with equal representation from each incoming class.
The President is responsible for all activities of the Medical Student Council. The President sets the agenda for and runs MSC meetings open to all students. This person also sets the agenda for and runs each monthly leadership meeting, including with the Dean of the Medical School, the Dean of Student Affairs, and with both the Deans of Student Affairs and Education. The President serves as a member of the Curriculum Committee. The President works with his or her fellow officers to plan the Second Look Weekend and Orientation, in conjunction with the Office of Admissions and Office of Student Affairs, respectively. The President serves as a liaison to faculty and administration with any questions, concerns, or suggestions and is a student representative at alumni events, such as reunions. The President also coordinates the MSC Perspectives on Medicine lecture series and introduces the speakers. This person’s attendance is mandatory at various administrative and academic events throughout the year.
The Vice President works with his or her fellow officers to help coordinate all activities of the Medical Student Council. The Vice President has the primary responsibilities of maintaining and updating the MSC student website and overseeing elections. If the President is unable to attend a meeting or function for any reason, the Vice President will take his or her place. The Vice President has oversight of the social committee, which coordinates school-wide activities with the ultimate goal of promoting a collegial atmosphere among the medical school community. The Vice President is a liaison to faculty and administration with any questions, concerns, or suggestions and is a student representative at alumni events, such as reunions. This person’s attendance is mandatory at various administrative and academic events throughout the year.
The Treasurer works with his or her fellow officers to help coordinate all activities of the Medical Student Council. The Treasurer manages the Medical Student Council budget, solicits and accepts student organization funding requests, and makes prompt reimbursements. At general meetings of the Medical Student Council, the treasurer oversees voting on funding requests. The Treasurer is a liaison to faculty and administration with any questions, concerns, or suggestions and is a student representative at alumni events, such as reunions. This person’s attendance is mandatory at various administrative and academic events throughout the year.
The Communications Officer works with his or her fellow officers to help coordinate all activities of the Medical Student Council. The Communications Officer has the primary responsibilities of maintaining and updating the MSC student website and managing the msc e-mail account. This person works with the administration to disseminate information to the student body as appropriate. The Communication Officer moderates the ysm-students listserv. They sit on the committee on the Committee to Review Research on Student Subjects and moderate the distribution of research surveys to the student
Class Representative Positions
The class representatives include positions such as co-presidents, medical student council class representatives, educational policy representative, and many more. All positions are per class unless otherwise noted.
Class Presidents (2 Co-Presidents)
Class presidents are responsible for all administrative duties of the class. The presidents attend all MSC meetings, monthly leadership meetings with the Dean of the Medical School, and monthly meetings with both the Deans of Student Affairs and Education. They serve as liaisons to faculty and administration with any questions, concerns, or suggestions from their classmates. Class presidents are the class representatives for alumni events, such as reunions, and attendance is mandatory at various administrative and academic events throughout the year. This role also involves coordination of social activities of the class and medical school at large, including major events (formal dances, Harvard-Yale tailgate) and smaller activities (picnics, nights on the town), with the ultimate goal of promoting a collegial atmosphere among the medical school community. The two class presidents must run together.
Medical Student Council Representatives (2 representatives)
Representatives to the Medical Student Council are involved intimately with all of the tasks and activities of the MSC either in a supportive or a supervisory role, and serve as a direct link between the student body and the Medical Student Council. Monthly involvement includes preparing for MSC meetings and taking minutes, but representatives also help to plan, coordinate, and execute Second Look Weekend and Orientation.
Committee on the Well Being of Students (CWBS) (2 representatives)
The Committee on the Well Being of Students consists of faculty, staff, and students who report to the Medical School Council regarding the state of the student body and work to enhance the quality of life at Yale Medical School. Activities include Financial Workshops, a Marigold’s Student Advisory Sub-Committee (MSAC), a 2nd / 4th Year Mentorship Program, meetings with the Security Committee (including representatives from the New Haven Police and Yale University Police), collaboration with other health professional programs at Yale, and outreach to students at neighboring medical schools in the Northeast region. CWBS also collects information on such topics as financial aid, issues of minorities and women in medicine, the greater spirit of the school and student reactions to curriculum changes, etc.
Social Committee (1 representative; 4 first-year representatives)
The Social Committee will receive funding from the Office of Student Affairs and the MSC to plan school-wide social events. Events may include but are not limited to “Club Med” parties in Marigolds, a gathering at a bar (“Pub Med”), Switch-Weekend parties, bowling nights, etc. Events should occur at least twice a month and can happen on any day of the week. This is a great opportunity to foster school-wide community building.
Educational Policy Committee (EPC) (1 representative)
The EPC advises the Dean of Education on policy issues of school-wide importance, including matters related to admissions, graduation requirements, progress of students, joint-degree programs, student research and thesis, and multicultural affairs. The deliberations and recommendations of the EPC are guided by the school’s Educational Mission and School-Wide Objectives as well as the principles embodied in the Yale System of Education. For example, the EPC might examine and advise the Dean of Education about the impact of curriculum proposals and other medical school issues that:
- Affect, modify, or change school policy regarding education.
- Fundamentally change or potentially disrupt the current curriculum’s structure, schedule, content or allocation of time.
- Potentially impact, challenge, or change the school’s fundamental principles and core values as embodied in the Yale System of Education, the School-Wide Educational Objectives, or the Educational Mission Statement.
Curriculum Committee (CC) (1 representative)
The CC provides careful and thorough oversight of the curriculum review process. The CC considers recommendations for the curriculum change made by its review committees as well as suggestions from students, faculty, and Departments. The CC might also form ad hoc working groups to study and promote integration within related areas of learning and across various disciplines and time periods in the curriculum. The CC improves the curriculum by considering new ideas, developing specific proposals and implementing changes that promote:
- Integration and coordination across and throughout the curriculum.
- A curriculum designed to achieve the school-wide educational objectives.
- Improvement in the quality of education based on new teaching approaches and modern methods of pedagogy.
- Adherence to existing and new accreditation standards.
Curriculum Review Committees (2 representatives for each)
(Integrated Course Review Committee, Clerkships Review Committee, Electives Review Committee)
The Curriculum Review Committees work collaboratively with Department-based integrated course (formerly course and module), clerkship and elective directors to review and improve individual courses, modules, clerkships and electives. This includes gathering information, reviewing and analyzing data, and making recommendations that promote:
- Integrated course, clerkship and elective content based on specific learning objectives.
- Congruence of integrated course, clerkship and elective objectives with overall school-wide objectives.
- Use of the most effective teaching methods to achieve the learning objectives.
- Effective use of formative, summative and self-assessment methods.
- Use of student evaluations and performance outcome data to improve the curriculum.
- Use of reliable outcome measures to evaluate student achievement of the learning objectives.
The Review Committees, through their Chairs, will report on their activities to the CC on a regular basis. Recommendations of the Curriculum Review Committees for changes in the content or teaching methodology within a course, module, clerkship, or elective based on these reviews can be directly implemented by the integrated course, clerkship, or elective director. However, changes that have broader impact across the curriculum must be brought to the CC for consideration and implementation.
Human Investigation Committee (HIC) (4 representatives from 1st year and 2 from 4th year and up)
There are four biomedical institutional review boards at Yale University (HIC I-IV) and each one meets once per month. HIC III meets at 3PM on the third Wednesday of each month while the others meet at 5PM on their respective Wednesday (e.g. HIC I at 5PM on first Wednesday). Students sit on one of the four committees. The HIC reviews all human subject research conducted at the Medical School (and some affiliates) and the School of Epidemiology and Public Health for its ethical soundness and regulatory compliance. Membership requires attendance at 75% of meetings, review of research protocols with emphasis on human subject protections issues, and assisting investigators in preparing research protocols for submission to the HIC.
Please note that this is a pre-clinical (18 month) commitment for 1st years.
Graduate Professional Student Senate (GPSS) (1 representative)
GPSS is a university-wide student body, which addresses social, economic, and political issues on the Yale campus. It is made up of representatives from each of the graduate and professional schools. Duties of a Senator include attendance at all Senate meetings, timely reporting of Senate activities and events to one’s constituency, and active participation on at least one Senate Committee. The purpose of the GPSS system is to build community between Yale’s graduate programs.
Alumni Liaison (1 representative)
The alumni liaison will be responsible for promoting alumni relationships with students and the medical school as a whole. He or she will attend semi-annual alumni meetings and propose ways to strengthen ties to the alumni community.
Library Committee (1 representative from 1st year)
The library committee discusses student and faculty needs at the Harvey Cushing / John Hay Whitney Medical Library. This person will be the student representative to the librarians regarding issues such as facilities improvements and general library operation.
Harkness Dorm Liaison (1 representative from 1st year)
This person will be responsible for communications between dorm residents and the building manager. The representative will meet with students from other degree programs to ensure a warm and friendly environment persists. Many fun social events, such as a Super Bowl party, road races and BBQs are organized with the help of this liaison.
Traffic Safety Committee (1 representative from 1st year)
The Traffic Safety Committee, a subcommittee of the University Safety Committee, seeks a Medical Student to serve at least a one year term beginning in September. The committee will have 4-6 meetings a year for about 1 hour each. There will also be an opportunity to work on special projects as they arise.
Global Health Advocates (2 representatives)
The purpose of the Global Health Advocates is to help integrate student and faculty input into guiding the administration of global health opportunities for medical students at YSM, including global health electives, the Certificate in Global Medicine, clinical rotations abroad, research and service scholarships, and on-campus seminars. Global Health Advocates can voice concerns and requests on behalf of their classmates to the OIMSE during scheduled meetings or as needed, and can also inform their classmates about global health at YSM on behalf of the OIMSE, or initiate their own global health events overseen by the OIMSE. Two Global Health Advocates will be elected for the first, second, third and fourth+ year class each. The Global Health Advocates will also be invited to assist running global health events and attending special events such as dinner and social activities with visiting foreign medical students and faculty. The Global Health Advocates will correspond as needed with the full staff of the OIMSE, and on a more direct basis with the Student Coordinator for Global Health that is selected each year by the OIMSE. This role is best for individuals with a lot of initiative and flexibility.
AAMC Student Representative (2 representatives from 1st year)
The Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) is the student branch of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). These individuals will represent Yale at national OSR meetings.