Session Design Submission Review

Yes

• Clerkship Directors
• Graduate Surgical Education

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LIC) create an experience where medical students participate in the comprehensive care of patients over time. LIC students simultaneously rotate through all core clerkships throughout the academic year. While the LIC structure shows promise for students pursuing a career in primary care, little is known about the impact of the LIC on surgical education or career determination. Prior studies suggest that the surgical LICs increase medical students’ interest in a surgical career and specifically participating in a rural track LIC can influence surgeons’ decision to pursue a career in surgery. One of the LIC benefits may stem from the strength of student-faculty relationships formed overtime; however, the literature lacks substantive research investigating best ways to support LIC learners specifically in surgical clerkships. Furthermore, there is little known on the influence the LIC plays on the decision to pursue a career in surgery. Our objective is to describe the LIC model as it pertains to surgical education, understand the strengths and limitations of the LIC model within surgery, and to investigate key stakeholders’ perspectives (i.e., surgical educators, clerkship directors, and surgeons) of the LIC’s impact on career decision, residency preparedness, professional identity formation, and mentorship.

This panel is designed to apply to a broad audience of surgical educators. Regardless of an individual’s experience with the LIC model, understanding the curriculum is broadly relevant and valuable, particularly if adopting the model, considering a prospective resident or faculty candidate from an LIC program, or appraising the literature. In this discussion, we will first examine the LIC curriculum model as it applies to surgical clerkships. This will include introducing the longitudinal surgical learning environment and understanding how various academic programs implement the LIC curriculum in surgery. Next, we will evaluate the strengths and limitations of the LIC to surgical learning as it applies to clinical experience, relationship formation, and team immersion. Lastly, we will highlight the perspectives and experiences of surgical educators and LIC graduates from the lens of surgical trainees and faculty.

In this 60-minute panel, the moderators (Kshama Jaiswal, Garbrielle Moore) will start by introducing the topic and panelists. Each panelist will then present for 10-minutes, concluding with a 15-minute Q&A session led by discussants.

Introduce the LIC curriculum model as it applies to surgical training.

Discuss the strengths and limitations of surgical clerkship integration in the LIC model.

Illustrate the LIC’s impact on surgical career choice, residency preparation, professional identity formation, and mentorship.