A new model of teaching in the clinical years of medical training is being adopted at several medical schools with good results. Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC) allow med students to follow clinical cases from beginning to end as opposed to the traditional method in which students rotate through specialties for short periods of time. With the LIC, students learn more about the doctor-patient relationship and the healing process.

Only 15 schools in the US and elsewhere have adopted this new method but more schools are considering doing so. A study of the LIC demonstrated that students trained in the new method performed on par with those in traditional clerkships but were better prepared for handling patient care and were happier with their medical education.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting