Longitudinal integrated clerkships in the community.

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LICs) are beginning to replace traditional short undergraduate rotations in general practice. LIC's differ from traditional rotations in that they are longer, they involve sustained relationships between students, patients and health professionals; and they integrate various strands of medical education. From early development in the US and Australia, LICs are now a fast-growing phenomenon across the world. We present three papers that seek to explain what LICs are, the evidence for their effectiveness and the practicalities of establishing or delivering a longitudinal integrated clerkship.