A multifaceted early clinical experience course in internal medicine fosters motivation and professional growth from the perspective of first-year medical students.

Background Early clinical experience within a vertically integrated curriculum might contribute to the development of the desired competencies from the onset of studying medicine. However, most qualitative studies focused on the effects of early clinical experience on students were performed within a primary care setting in the second and third year of studies. Our aim was to explore, from the perspective of first-year medical students, the effects of an early clinical experience course in internal medicine within a tertiary hospital setting on their professional and personal development.Methods We used an inductive approach to conduct a conventional content analysis of 27 reflective writing reports written by first-year medical students after having completed a 60-hour early clinical experience course in the inpatient setting of a university hospital, comprising 48 h in the healthcare setting (primarily internal medicine and its subspecialties) and 12 h in team-building social events. Writing reports aimed to make students openly reflect on their course experience, elaborating on any aspect of perceived relevance.Results All 27 students invited to participate wrote a reflective report. We identified three themes with their respective categories of codes: (1) Professional growth, including formation of professional identity, dealing with emotions and experience with death; (2) Reinforcing motivation for further studies and work as a physician, including integration into medical studies, shaping a supporting environment and course as a highlight of the studies; and (3) Immersion into the medical field based on real-world exposure, including benefitting from early patient contact and exploration of the field of internal medicine. Throughout the reflective reports, role modelling appeared repeatedly as a driving element for the observed effects.Conclusions Our findings suggest that, from the perspective of first-year medical students, participation in an early clinical experience course in internal medicine within a tertiary hospital setting positively influences their initiation into professional growth, motivation for further studies and work as physician, and immersion in the medical profession. Further studies are needed to better understand the underlying success factors of such courses.Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-025-07792-6.