Program Director's Notes - Everyday Healing (A Thanksgiving Message)
Hi everyone,
Last evening, after meeting with a wonderful PGY2, I crossed the street to see two of my clinic patients who are spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. I have no official role in their care, but I’ve been their doctor for years and thought a visit could cheer them up.
When I work holiday shifts, I ask patients to promise that next year they’ll celebrate at home. For some, that hope is unrealistic, but whoever decreed that realism is required for hope? I just want to alleviate the suffering that comes with holidays spent in the hospital, and smiles may be the most effective treatments we can offer.
I’m grateful to those of you spending Thanksgiving caring for patients. You are doing essential work, and we recognize your sacrifice. Thank you for bringing healing and comfort to your patients, today and every day. It is a privilege to be your program director, and I am grateful for everything you do.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. This morning, Heide, Gabrielle, and I are driving to Philadelphia where Isabella and my future son-in-law, Ben, are cooking up a storm. Program Director’s Notes will return to its usual Sunday spot on December 7th.
Take care, everyone,
Mark
P.S. See the fall issue of The Beeson Beat (attached)
P.P.S. A plate of holiday gratitude:
New opportunities, the deep connections with longtime friends and colleagues, and the love from my family
Laura Morrison (Palliative Care)
Thankful for the lifelong friends in the three short years I’ve been here!!!
Amelia Khoo (PGY3)
Every single day I reflect on how fortunate and grateful I am to have matched here for residency, where leadership, co-residents and even my neighbors share my values. I’m treated like a human adult instead of a problem. Because of that, I’m able to be a better mom, wife and doctor, and it is the very best thing. Thank you for building this kind of culture. Even anesthesia interns feel it. :)
Tierra Jolly (Anesthesiology, PGY1)
I am grateful for my family & friends and for the sun that keeps shining in good days and even in many long dark days in the world.
Lydia Aoun-Barakat (Infectious Diseases)
For modern medicine and research that gives us more options to offer our patients. It’s incredible how far we’ve come!
Simon Correa Gaviria (Alumnus)
Just a few off the top of my head!! Warm doggie snuggles on a cold night; hot chai on an early morning; long distance friends who make an effort to keep in touch; a mother who I will always turn to for advice no matter how old I am
Shivani Dayal (PGY1)
As someone who is planning on retiring before Thanksgiving 2026, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for all that the Yale IM residency has done for me these past 32 years. I have learned so much from the brilliant and talented trainees that have crossed my path and from the tremendous faculty, not just about medicine, but about the importance of relationships and life, in general. I’m grateful to the softball teams that have allowed me to play alongside them and hopefully will allow an “emeritus” to continue pitching. I’m grateful for Rosemarie, Cyrus, and Mark who have invited me to participate in the residents’ lives. Thanks, Yale!
Dan Federman (Chief of Medicine, VA-Connecticut)
A few things I am grateful for: Stable and high-quality housing and food, chillier weather, many caring people around me at work and at home
William Lee (PGY1)
I’m thankful to be entrusted with a great deal of responsibility for my patients. It’s an incredible thing to wake up every day and have the opportunity to take care of people in need. I’m also thankful for my attendings, because without their patience and thoughtfulness my growth as a doctor would be impossible. I’m thankful for my coresidents. I can’t imagine a more brilliant, more sincere, more fun group of people to share this training experience with. Finally, I’m thankful for my family - my heart swells every night when I return home from work.
Ben Keepers (PGY2)
I’m grateful to be part of a caring and supportive community that I can confide in and lean on in times of hardship and stress. I’m grateful for an amazing partner, loving friends, and an extremely understanding family who stands behind me in all my goals and aspirations and is gracious when I let emotions get the best of me or when I need a listening ear. I’m grateful to be a physician and to have moments of vulnerability and companionship with patients who appreciate my efforts at doing what is best for them. I have the best support system and I wouldn’t be who I am without them!
Maitri Patel (PGY2)
I’m grateful for the people who ground me and for every person and experience that has shaped me along the way. I’m also thankful for the sense of steadiness and peace in my life, and I’m holding hope for a more peaceful world for everyone.
Arya Aminorroaya (PGY1)
I am thankful for my co-resident friends who are always willing to listen, offer advice, and go on an adventure together, my friends from “the before” who demonstrate that friendship can really withstand the test of time, and above all, my fiancé, who holds our world on his shoulders with limitless love and care. I’m grateful for the mentors who listened to my fellowship fears, and to those who went above and beyond to help me succeed. I am thankful for the hospital sushi, walks at East Rock Park w/ Elena’s in hand, and the treadmill that has kept me sane.
Natali Kolba (PGY3)
I’m grateful for my amazing co-interns/residents who make the toughest days feel lighter, for our patients who give us the privilege of caring for them, and for my partner and the life we’re building together.
Nurefsan Sariipek (PGY1)
This Thanksgiving I am grateful for the new family I found in New Haven with co-residents who have made this life transition a ton of fun. I feel like I’ve known many of my co-interns for years because of how great our friendships are after just a few months. I am also grateful for my family, who have given me the opportunity to work for anything I desired. Finally, I am grateful for Caroline, whose love for me is endless and whose willingness to move up to New Haven was selfless.
Kellen Round (PGY1)
I am stepping down from my position as fellowship Program Director in Endocrinology, which I’ve held for the past 20 years. I am thankful for the clinical skills, commitment and hard work of our endocrine fellows over these two decades, keeping our consult service humming along. I’m also thankful for our endocrine faculty, who’ve provided supervision and mentorship, and for Tracy Crosby, Program Coordinator, who’s made it all possible.
Silvio Inzucchi (Endocrinology)
I’m thankful for being healthy, having a great job, friends, family, and amazing colleagues.
Baha Simsek (PGY3)
I’m grateful for my family away from home. For the first time since I came to the US 10 years ago, I feel like I have found my home. Melissa, Lea, Renee, Tareq, and Ibrahim – my gratitude and love for you can’t be expressed in words. -Marah. I’m grateful for our fellows and attendings who express their vulnerability to us. There is nothing more encouraging than realizing that the person you look up to faces their own challenges too. If they can be the incredible and caring doctors that they are while facing this inner turmoil, so can we. I’m grateful for our patients, who are often acutely aware that we are trainees, but still give us grace and allow us to stumble now and then. To the patient who cheered for me when I got her IV in, the patient who reassured me when I failed a central line attempt, and the patient who pretended he couldn’t feel my A-stick – thank you for your kindness during some of the hardest times of your life.
Marah Maayah (PGY2)
I am grateful for the enormous contributions that our residents make to the MD curriculum. Despite all their other responsibilities, residents always make time to give pointers on history and exam skills, review notes and presentations, share clinical pearls, and provide transformative feedback. The students are so lucky to study medicine with the best residents!
Jeremy Moeller (Neurology; Associate Dean for Curriculum, Medical Education)
I am grateful for the bond I’ve formed with co-interns and senior residents on the wards -- nothing like good laughs to get you through a tough day!
Catherine Trad (PGY1)
I am thankful to have such a kind, silly, and smart group of co-interns that have made the transition to residency much less scary. I am also incredibly thankful to live closer to family this year and be able to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my 1-month old niece!
Natalie Kingston (PGY1)
This year, my heart feels especially full. I’m profoundly thankful for my amazing husband and my family, who have lifted me up every step of the way as I started residency. I feel incredibly lucky to have my husband by my side every day and to share this journey as co-residents in the same program. I’m also incredibly grateful for Yale, which has become my new home and for the wonderful friends I have made here. I’m grateful for the opportunity to train here and for the sense of belonging I have found in this community.
Asal Mojarrad Sani (PGY1)
I am grateful for the opportunity to train at one of the best institutions in the nation alongside my loving wife, whose steady smile uplifts me no matter how busy the day has been. I am grateful for the support from our faculty and the camaraderie among the trainees. I am grateful to my peer IM residents and the program leadership for making our program feel like a family, and to Yale for giving us the feeling of being part of the greater “Yale family.” Last but certainly not least, I am grateful to my patients, who place their trust in me, teach me something new every day, and continually remind me of the privilege it is to be in this profession.
Ashkan Abdollahi (PGY1)
This year, I am grateful for many things I used to take for granted. For health and a functional body (mine and my loved ones’). For our program and all the little big things it offers (lunch every day, education, coverage for us to take the ITE, a space to express ourselves). For my co-residents and friends, whom I couldn’t do this without. For the privilege of accompanying patients and their families in their most vulnerable moments.
Renée Maria Saliby (PGY2)
I wanted to share gratitude for getting to work alongside the residency leadership team, for getting to be collaborate with our residents who are involved in committee work, and for getting to teach our residents during didactics. Special shout out to the chiefs who are working so hard every day!!
Matt Grant (Infectious Diseases, APD)
I am grateful that I have been lucky enough to be a part of a profession that lets me wake up with a feeling of purpose every day. I am grateful for the trust put in me by patients. I’m grateful for the people in my life that inspire me and make it such a fun journey, including my coresidents and mentors. Most of all I am grateful for my wonderful fiancé and family, who are the light of my life!
Niroop Rajashekar (PGY1)
To my interns, thank you for making Yale IM our home away from home. In a few short months, we have shared patients on services, walked home together after a very long long call, regaled each other with crazy tales from the VA (long live pizzagate), lost at weekly trivia (we won once), hosted a million social events including Friendsgiving (!!), and we continue to amaze each other with our skills and interests (little did I know everyone is a chef, Nayiri takes board games *very* seriously, and Yesh really wants to beat Nayiri at board games). To my seniors, thank you for your patience and grace in training your (now not so) newly minted interns. Special shoutout to Jem for teaching me how to actually be an intern, to Johnny for being my procedural Jedi, and to Sidnei for being an upstanding role model. Lastly, to Dr. Siegel and the APDs, thank you for making this program as special, educational, and kind as it is. None of this gratitude would be possible without Dr. Siegel caring for each and every resident and Dr. McNamara bringing her joy and lots of sweet treats to morning conference at VA clinic. Happy Thanksgiving to the Yale IM family!
Tiffany Vaughan (PGY1)
Happy Thanksgiving from our PGY1s!
You wrote so well; perhaps this is the meaning of Thanksgiving.