Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LInC)

The LInC program was offered to third year medical students from 2014 to 2018. Plans are underway to incorporate some elements of the LInC curriculum into block clerkship. The information below about the LInC program is historical.

The Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LInC) supports students in the achievement of the same objectives as the block clerkship program. The LInC curriculum content, preceptors, exams and other assessments match the block clerkship, however, the implementation model differs.

In the LInC, students meet the core clinical competencies of year 3 across multiple disciplines simultaneously. Students work longitudinally with a small number of preceptors in each discipline who serve as mentors and provide oversight to their experience. Over the year, students follow a patient panel of 50-75 patients from across all the clerkship rotations, with an emphasis on conditions that involve significant contact with the health care system.

Patients on the panel represent various developmental milestones in a person’s life and reflect diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, ability and other attributes. LInC students have 1.5 days per week of flexible, self-directed clinical time where they are able to participate in various activities, including the clinical care of their panel of patients, preparation for LInC School, and career exploration. One half-day per week is devoted to “LInC School” which covers various core content areas including topics currently taught during centralized teaching in the block clerkship rotations.

For a more detailed description of the LInC, see the MD Program Academic Calendar.

Read about Amanda Formosa's experience with the LInC program. See New Approach Brings Medical Students Closer to Patients