Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship UW/H

Learning Through Active Participation and Collaboration

Can medical students be more than just observers? Can they help shape the healthcare system—making it more humane, patient-centered, and effective? Can they take on responsibility, experience a sense of self-efficacy, reflect, be creative—and in the process, learn to find their own balance between commitment and self-care?

With the UW/H Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship, we’re searching for answers.

The LIC UW/H is the first Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship in Germany—a pilot project for the first clinical year (5th–6th semesters) at Witten/Herdecke University. Here, students are not merely learners but “co-creators of change”: They take on responsibility, contribute new perspectives, and actively shape their own education. The project is jointly supported by the Anthroposophic Medicine Program (IBAM) and the student initiative “LIC UW/H – Rethinking the Clinic.” It is carried out in cooperation with the team from Harvard Medical School (Prof. David Hirsh, Prof. Liz Gaufberg).

LIC students accompany “their” patients over several months—both as outpatients and inpatients. They learn not only to look beyond medical facts but also to understand the person behind the diagnosis. This fosters a holistic understanding of health, illness, and healing—and helps restore a sense of humanity to the practice of medicine.

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What is a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship?

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships offer an alternative to the traditional clinical rotation in medical school. The Consortium of Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (CLIC) defines them as a form of clinical medical education:

  1. Medical students participate in the comprehensive care of patients over an extended period of time.
  2. They maintain ongoing relationships with the patients’ attending physicians.
  3. They acquire the majority of the core clinical competencies for the academic year simultaneously across multiple disciplines.

Source: clicmeded.com

means that the training takes place continuously at a single location—such as a hospital and surrounding medical practices—over an extended period of time—at least six months. This differs significantly from the usual short block internships or clinical rotations, which typically last only two to four weeks.

refers to the fact that students do not study the respective subjects one after another and in isolation from one another, but rather simultaneously, guided by the questions and topics that arise from clinical practice. This enables an integrated and sustainable learning experience, as students do not study a subject for just a few weeks and are able to connect the material they learn to real patients. 

refers to the clinical training phase of medical school.

What makes the LIC unique?

Learning in a Context of True Continuity

The LIC is based on the principle of continuity—and thus creates a unique learning environment:

  1. Continuity of care: Long-term relationships with patients and supervising physicians
  2. Continuity of learning: Guidance from dedicated faculty members
  3. Continuity of environment: Working in the same practices and clinics over several months (Hirsh et al. 2007)

This stability not only enables deeper insights into patient care but also supports the continuous development of one’s professional identity. Students gradually grow into the role of a physician—and increasingly understand the purpose of their learning. Motivation arises not primarily from exams, but from the experience of being effective and taking on responsibility.