Law and Policy

Ellen Clayton, MD, JD	Area Leader
	ellen.clayton@vanderbilt.edu (615) 322-1186

Joshua Perry, JD, MTS	Area Leader
	joshua.e.perry@vanderbilt.edu (615) 322-8716

Description of Area

The practice of medicine is shaped in almost every aspect by the law and the political process. No matter what their focus, be it research or health care delivery, leaders in health care now and in the future need to have some understanding of the law as well as the ability to work with lawyers.

The purpose of this program is to introduce students to tools that will help them explore legal issues and to provide them with an overview of the many ways in which law affects medicine. These include licensure, medical malpractice, informed consent, research ethics, public health law, and funding of health care. Students will have the opportunity to work on legal issues in a real-world setting.

Nature of Student Responsibilities

During the second semester of VMS I, students will continue an introduction to the elements mentioned above, with a core course on law. Early in the second semester, the student will select a mentor and decide on a project to be completed during the summer internship. The remainder of the semester will be spent arranging and preparing for the internship under the guidance of the mentor and the Area Director.

The summer internship of eight weeks will be spent as an experience of law-in-action in areas ranging from political issues to working with an attorney who addresses issues in health care. In all cases, the student will be expected to contribute substantively to the work in that setting.

During the fall semester of VMS II, all students pursuing this focus area will participate in a series of peer seminars to describe, discuss, and evaluate in a scholarly manner their summer projects, the substantive legal issues encountered, and the impact of the experience on his or her understanding of the legal process and health care practice and policy.