V.A. Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (VALUE LIC)

VALUE: Veterans Affairs Longitudinal Undergraduate medical Education (VALUE) clerkship is a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship that offers 10-12 3rd-year medical students the opportunity to work with and follow patients over an extended period of time; developing an appreciation for continuity of care while completing the majority of their core clinical competencies over multiple disciplines.

The student's complete multiple clerkships simultaneously including Internal Medicine, General Surgery, surgical subspecialties, Neurology, Psychiatry, Radiology, and Primary Care.

In addition, there is a VALUE special elective with 3 themes: Quality improvement, Evidence-based Medicine and Interprofessional Education.

During Value elective students are provided the unique opportunity to work on a team quality improvement and safety project, making a tangible difference with the potential to earn a certification.

An Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) curriculum is provided for VALUE students during the clerkship. The goal is for students to develop a firm understanding of evidence-based medicine principles and possess the tools, knowledge, and curiosity to further develop and refine their skills through their training with the aim of becoming self-directed critical thinkers and evidence-based physicians.

Lastly, interprofessional education knowledge and skills are taught through simulation, case presentations during interprofessional conferences, and attending interprofessional conferences lectures.
 

Location

• Minneapolis VA Medical Center, 1 Veterans Dr, Minneapolis, MN 55417 

Important Dates

Information Session:

• Virtual: Tuesday, October 12, 2021 @ 12:15pm

Applications Due: 

• Sunday, November 28, 2021 @ 11:59pm

Interviews: 

• November 29 - December 10, 2021
• January 3 - January 14, 2022

Notification of acceptance: 

• Wednesday, January 6, 2022 @ 2 pm

Clerkship: June 27, 2022 - April 30, 2023

• 40-week clerkship
• Includes 2 weeks off during winter break plus 10 personal "vacation" days

Previous Student Remarks

• “I believe that one of the most meaningful lessons I have learned thus far in the VALUE clerkship is what a gift it is to be trusted with so much patient information—in terms of their health, obviously, but also their life experiences." - VALUE Student
• “We had an excellent professional and personal relationship as a group, and this is an advantage that I did not consider going into the year but has been a huge contributor to my positive experience." - VALUE Student
• “The longitudinal relationship with preceptors facilitated my learning because I was able to gain their trust and was thus allowed to function with a high degree of autonomy Being in the same hospital for 10 months opened the door for several interprofessional experiences” - VALUE Student

Educational Themes

Offer extended relationships with patients and preceptors while completing the required clerkships.

Program Objectives

1. VALUE students will develop and apply skills to deliver patient-centered, interprofessional (IP) clinical care.
2. VALUE students will become competent in the principles and practice of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QI/PS).
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence and design and present a scholarly presentation. 

Unique Project

• Quality Improvement and Safety with the potential to earn a QI and Patient Safety and Leadership certificate, inter-professional education, and Evidence-Based Medicine. 

Clerkships Completed

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Radiology
• Primary Care Selective
• 2 Credits in a specialty of your choice (Anesthesiology, Med or Surgery subspeciality) 

Prerequisite 

• Sit for USMLE Step 1 exam
• Complete Family Medicine clerkship (4 credits) during S1 or S2 (prior to starting VALUE in July)

Credits Completed

• 38 Credits completed

Contact

Nacide Ercan-Fang, MD
Co-Director
nacide.ercan-fang@va.gov

Erin Wetherbee, MD
Co-Director
erin.wetherbee@va.gov

Katie Krasaway
VALUE Coordinator
katekras@umn.edu

More Information

• Read a Medical Bulletin story about the clerkship
• The significance of longitudinal clerkships in Medical School