'It's a gamble': A phenomenological exploration of medical students' learning experiences as newcomers to clinical communities of practice.

Background: Medical students become members of the clinical team through participation in their activities, as described by Lave and Wenger's situated learning theory. While there is research into how medical students cognitively engage in clinical learning, there is limited work on clinical experiences using a social theoretical lens such as situated learning theory.

Method: This study explored third year medical students' lived experience as newcomers to clinical teams using a qualitative phenomenological approach.