Surgical skills acquisition: performance of students trained in a rural longitudinal integrated clerkship and those from a traditional block clerkship on a standardized examination using simulated patients.

Objectives: Rural longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) programs for third-year medical students provide strong educational curricula and can nurture interest in rural surgical practice. Students learn technical skills in an apprenticeship model. Variability in instruction and patient experiences across sites, coupled with a lack of simulation facilities, raise some concerns about technical skill development.