LIC - Research
The LIC model was significantly influenced by the Cambridge Integrated Clerkship (CIC) working group at Harvard Medical School. There, the LIC model was implemented and studied in a university hospital as a pilot project. After a working group from Witten/Herdecke University had the opportunity to study the CIC model extensively on site, we are now developing our own LIC at Witten/Herdecke University, which specifically addresses the conditions in Germany and integrates the unique characteristics of UW/H, such as the focus on student participation and co-care, as well as its health-oriented approach. Since October 2024, the LIC UW/H has been implemented as a pilot project at Witten/Herdecke University. The first cohort successfully completed the program in April 2025—and the second cohort has already begun.
A study on the “educational outcomes” of the Harvard Medical School-Cambridge Integrated Clerkship demonstrated that, compared to their peers, participating students performed equally well or better on clinical exams, perceived their clinical rotations as demanding but meaningful, and developed a lasting patient-centered attitude (Hirsh et al., 2012). Furthermore, as another study showed, LIC students were perceived by their patients as providing important support during a critical phase of their lives (Chang et al., 2021).
The research focus of the “LIC UW/H” working group examines the following aspects:
- How can a LIC be implemented in Germany? What specific characteristics of medical school and the healthcare system must be taken into account?
- How can students contribute to healthcare? What roles can they take on?
- How can creative agency and transformative learning be promoted?
- How does the UWH LIC affect student learning?
- How does it affect health care?
Our research builds on the findings regarding the UW/H training sites for medical students in their clinical rotation year, which were established in 2007 by the Integrated Companion Program in Anthroposophic Medicine (IBAM) as the first such training sites in Germany. Here, clinical rotation students care for patients as independently as possible, under medical supervision and with the support of case-based instruction. For the students, this means taking on responsibility early on—an experience often likened to a leap into the deep end—but one that, thanks to the safe setting and accompanying support, enables them to learn to swim. Accompanying research revealed that it is not only the students who appreciate the concept: patients perceive the students as providing important support in critical situations. The students are seen as open and committed; the medical history and physical examination are perceived as more detailed and comprehensive; and communication is experienced as equal and understandable. All of this leads patients to feel that they are being supported with empathy and empowered in their approach to managing their illness.
Co-Creating Change with Students - Relationship-oriented Education
Based on the experiences of the UW/H training unit, a new research idea emerged: Can a medical degree program be designed in such a way that students make a valuable contribution to healthcare? This was discussed in 2020 at our international conference, “Learning By Contributing – Envisioning a New Role for Students in Healthcare,” which was funded by the DFG. Two years later, the symposium “Co-Creating Health with Students” took place at Harvard Medical School. In April 2024, a week-long event titled “Co-Creating Change with Students—Relationship-Oriented Education” was held to coincide with a visit by the Cambridge Integrated Clerkship Team from Harvard Medical School.