Clinical Clerkship Contents in the Medical Field: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Abstract

[Purpose] The clinical clerkship is a recommended model of clinical practice training; however, there is little indication as to what and how to practice within each field’s clinical clerkship. This study investigated the content and methods of clinical clerkships as reported in previous studies. [Subjects and Methods] A qualitative systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, searching for previous studies that reported the methods and content of clinical clerkships. The chosen search terms were “clinical clerkship” and “students”. To help interpret and characterize the content of the clinical clerkship outlined in each study, we integrated similar data about the description using a content analysis. [Results] In total, 538 studies were identified and 8 studies were analyzed. Almost all studies included content regarding “students’ participation in clinical practice”. [Conclusion] This study showed that “students’ participation in clinical practice” is a key aspect of clinical clerkships.