Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship Dalhousie (LICD)

Clerkship in rural communities

The Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship Dalhousie (LICD) is a model for third year clerkship in which the core clerkship discipline units are integrated into a year-long program based on patient-centered care and continuity of learning, learning environment, supervision and assessment, and patient experiences.

This model increases the capacity for clerkships to include environments that might otherwise be excluded by the traditional discipline – centered, term-based clerkships. Presently the LICD is located in the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, the Miramichi Regional Hospital, the Moncton Hospital, and the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville.

Advantages of an LIC program

Data shows that students in LIC-type programs perform just as well or better academically than traditional clerkship-based colleagues. The Dalhousie LIC model is:

• Objective-based (meets all the same objectives of the traditional clerkship model)
• Focused on ensuring the continuity of the educational experience
• Student/patient-centered learning
• An integration of curriculum and learning experiences
• Community-based student engagement
• Designed to encourage student to become self-directed learners

How does the LICD work?

The LICD is a 48-week clinical teaching model in which a third-yeard medical student participates in a continuously-supervised, patient-centred, community-based, general medical practice engaging with multiple medical disciplines in the care of patients, during which all Dalhousie clerkship objectives are met.

Each student is assigned to a clinical practice under the supervision of one or two physicians who act as their primary preceptor(s) within the community. Although assigned to broad-based clinical practice, students will work with preceptors from multiple disciplines and other healthcare providers in the community during their placement.

Students develop a patient panel, which consists of a group of patients who are followed in detail throughout the course of their health care experience. The list is adjusted over the year to ensure clinical variety and complexity to address clerkship objectives and student educational needs.

* Last reviewed November 2021