Patient centered medicine is a paradigm of health care that seeks to treat the whole person, rather than only the illness. The physician must understand the patient as a whole by considering the patient's individual needs, social structure, socioeconomic status, and educational background. Medical education includes ways to train students in this type of care through direct experience with attending physicians and patients during their clinical clerkships. The college of medicine in this study provides students with the usual types of inpatient and ambulatory clinical experiences during their third year. Most students complete their required outpatient pediatrics rotation in a large, on-campus clinic while supervised by numerous physicians. However, other students will spend the four weeks off-campus at an Area Health Education Center (AHEC), typically with one physician. This qualitative study examines the latter clinical educational environment. Specifically, it looks at how those students come to understand patient centered medicine through their interactions with the patients and their attending physicians. Using one-on-one interviews, this study illustrates a group of medical students' perspectives on their educational experience and their interactions with patients and their faculty preceptors. This study suggests that the participants considered the AHEC rotation to be a beneficial element of their medical education. The clerkship gave them a hands-on approach to patient centered medicine. The students acknowledged the significance of building rapport, trust, and relationships with patients. They recognized the importance of showing empathy, compassion, and respect. The students in this study also acknowledged the significance of sharing control, knowing what the patient wants, finding the hidden meaning behind the office visit, tailoring consultations, and creating individualized treatment plans. The medical students in this study experienced life much like a physician would on their day to day experiences in a private outpatient clinical setting. These findings suggest the importance of such AHEC experiences in academic medical training. This research may potentially assist professionals in academic medicine as they develop curriculum to address the needs of patients in providing better health care. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]