[Non-clinical community clerkships]

We developed an innovative one-week community clerkship for all fifth-year medical students at Utrecht UMC. Students follow this clerkship in a variety of community care and welfare organizations (eg social community teams or organizations that support psychiatric patients or migrants). Learning goals: students get acquainted with organizations and professionals within the social domain, students experience the social context of healthcare, and they reflect on the meaning of these experiences for their work as a physician. The reflection papers show that students gain insight in social determinants of health. Learning about clients in their everyday live is appreciated by students, as well as getting insight in the social domain. However students find it difficult to relate these experiences with the medical context. Participating social organizations value the clerkship because they feel the need to train future doctors in the social domain.