ABSTRACT
The first two years of medical school are spent basically in the classroom in an academic study of the principles of medicine. Delineations are made of the structures of anatomy and organ systems. The facts of basic medical data are learned in great detail. Then comes a shock. The last two years of medical school, often called a clerkship or clerking, initiate a whole new type of learning experience. This way of learning and practicing medicine will continue on through the years of residency and specialization. It will be the basic method of on-going constant learning during the whole of the physician’s life and practice.
