[Innovative facultative seminar concepts regarding clinical teaching and preparing practice-oriented phases, such as medical clerkships and the final clinical internship from a surgical perspective].

Background: Practice-oriented phases, such as the mandatory clinical traineeships and the final clinical internship, are of great importance in the teaching curriculum and skilful learning of medical students.

Aim: With respect to the practical phases, such as clinical clerkship and medical internship, the concept of two innovative courses to prepare and evaluate these crucial training sections is presented including initial experiences from teaching practice.

Method: A narrative review is given.

Results: A common aim of facultatively initiated lectures is a better qualification of medical students to fulfil the requirements of clerkship and the last practical year of the study of human medicine to facilitate taking first steps towards professional work as a clinical physician, in particular, the self-confidence of the medical students is to be substantially increased. The experiences obtained during clerkship and the last practical year influence interest, motivation and final choice for a certain medical speciality. In that respect, this period is of great importance for the whole professional career. The content of the preparation courses for the first medical clerkships and the final clinical internship provide a valuable contribution to prepare for challenging clinical work as a physician with sole responsibility. In particular, they aim to introduce students to the concept of a multiprofessional and extensive patient care. Taking into account the different practical experiences obtained in previous study sections, students are taught according to the overall aim to achieve an interdisciplinary competence in clinical care.

Conclusion: The improvement of teaching and optimized preparation for practical phases in medical studies promotes a more successful learning process during the clerkship and last practical year.