This is mainly BS. My med school had us going in to meet and examine patients after the first six weeks and that was in 1982. Besides that the VAST majority of my classmates already had clinical experience with patients in one form or another, I was an ER orderly, we had many nurses and EMT’s etc. It was almost a requirement to get INTO med school because of all the applicants.
Good point. Most of the med students I’ve known also had hospital experience.