Can shorter Longitudinal Integrated Celerkships achieve the same educational outcomes?

Problem

Conventional longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) are located primarily in the US and Australia and are typically one year in duration and cater for very small numbers of students.We were interested to find out if shorter LICs located in the UK could deliver similar educational outcomes as those documented for conventional LICs

Approach

Mixed methodology. Quantitative analysis of applied knowledge tests, clinical skills assessment scores and clinical logs together with qualitative (thematic) analysis of student interviews and focus groups over 3 years.

Findings

Shorter LICs are capable of delivering the some similar educational outcomes as conventional LICs. However, the 'transformative' effect claimed from some LICs was not observed.

Consequences

It is possible to adapt LICs to the UK healthcare context although considerable modifications are needed. In addition, it is possible to deliver LICs to a large number of students but again modifications are necessary. Once implemented these adapted LICs are capable of delivering many of the educational outcomes claimed by conventional LICs. The question therefore arises; What are the educational interventions that can make shorter LICs as efficient as longer ones?I hope to encourage some discussion around this at the oral presentation.