• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2018

A traditional clerkship consists of a series of short rotations in specialty disciplines and is usually based in tertiary, urban teaching hospitals. Shortened inpatient stays and the shift toward ambulatory management have had a negative impact on student learning. There have been growing concerns that the traditional specialty-based clerkship in fragmented and highly specialized clinical environments may not be the optimal choice for basic clinical education. As a result, a new model of clinical clerkship called longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) has emerged. There is increased interest in LICs due to the growing evidence of positive outcomes for students, patients, and supervising clinicians. Emphasizing continuity as one of the main organizing principles of an LIC, this article reviews the introduction of LICs into medical education, the key concepts and educational theories which underpin LICs, and the typology of LICs. The author also offers some personal suggestions for contemplation before clerkship programs in Korea adopt LICs.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2018

In recent years, Korean medical schools have shown a growing interest in the longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) as a means of improving clinical education. Some overseas medical schools have tried the LIC since the 1970s. In the 1990s, several universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia introduced LICs. A variety of studies have confirmed positive results of the LIC. Traditional block-rotation is a discipline-based, inpatient-centered practice. Instead, under the LIC system, a medical student responsible for a panel of longitudinal patients observes developments of their diseases, serving several departments simultaneously. Overseas medical schools have different LIC models depending on their affiliate hospitals' sizes and characteristics. The purpose of this study is to introduce LIC practices in Harvard Medical School and University of California San Francisco, which could be applied by Korean medical schools. This paper also aims to find out the strategies that have been able to help the two US medical schools implement the LIC successfully.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2018

The longitudinal integrated clerkship is an innovative approach in medical education that emphasizes continuity as a key principle to provide student-centered experiences and learning. Seoul National University College of Medicine decided to adapt longitudinal integrated clerkships to the new curriculum beginning in 2018, and therefore conducted pilot studies in 2016 and 2017. This study aimed to analyze the program evaluation results of the two pilot programs and discuss issues related to the successful implementation of longitudinal integrated clerkships in Korea. We conducted a focus group interview with nine students who participated in the 2016 pilot program and 13 students who participated in the 2017 pilot program. We also conducted a focus group interview with 11 faculty members who either participated in the pilot program or will participate in the main program. From the 2016 experience, we found that it is not appropriate to assign each patient to a single student and let the students contact their patients personally for feasibility and safety reasons. In the 2017 pilot program, we assigned each patient to a group of students, which made it more feasible for the students to follow-up with their patients. The students were satisfied with their new experience of longitudinal patient follow-up and regular meetings in the pilot program. Faculty emphasized the importance of establishing the course objectives and holding an orientation for the students and the faculty. Further study is planned to evaluate the early outcomes of the main longitudinal integrated clerkship.