[Non-clinical community clerkships]

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Social Medicine

Background:

• Medical education traditionally focuses on clinical settings.
• There is a growing recognition of the impact of social determinants on health outcomes.
• Integrating social context into medical training is crucial for holistic patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel one-week community clerkship for fifth-year medical students.
• To assess students' understanding of social determinants of health and the social context of healthcare.
• To explore the perceived value of the clerkship for both students and participating community organizations.

Main Methods:

• A one-week community clerkship was implemented for all fifth-year medical students at Utrecht University Medical Center.
• Students engaged with diverse community care and welfare organizations.
• Reflection papers were used to evaluate learning outcomes and student experiences.

Main Results:

• Students gained significant insight into social determinants of health and the social domain.
• The experience of learning about clients in their daily lives was highly appreciated.
• Students reported challenges in integrating these social experiences with the medical context.
• Participating organizations recognized the value of training future physicians in the social domain.

Conclusions:

• The community clerkship effectively enhances medical students' understanding of social determinants of health.
• Further development is needed to bridge the gap between social context learning and clinical medical practice.
• The clerkship fosters valuable interprofessional connections and highlights the need for social domain training in medicine.