Becoming a Preceptor

You are eligible to serve as a preceptor if you are:

• An NCCPA-certified physician assistant (PA), board-certified medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathy (DO), a nurse practitioner (NP) or a certified nurse midwife (CNM).
• Licensed and in good standing with your state licensing board.
• Have practiced for at least a year in your current discipline.
• Are willing to assist students in meeting their learning objectives for the rotation.

All second year PA students are required to complete clinical rotations in: primary care, pediatrics, inpatient medicine, emergency medicine, surgery and women’s health, where the focus is on gynecology/prenatal health. All rotations with the exception of women’s health are 6 weeks; women’s health is 3 weeks. In addition, students will have the opportunity to select one 6-week “selective” that can be completed in any discipline. All experiences should provide hands-on patient care for a minimum of 35 hours a week. Participation in call, weekend rotations and other activities, such as visits to long-term care facilities or nursing homes with preceptors, is encouraged.

Second year students should be able to perform comprehensive and focused histories, and physical examinations. While their clinical reasoning skills will strengthen over time, they should be able to develop a list of differential diagnoses, and determine the next steps in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions. They should have basic skills in patient education and counseling related to common medical problems, and will have had practice with medical procedures such as phlebotomy, splinting and wound care. Experience and ability of each student may vary, as they come from diverse backgrounds.

Each rotation the student is required to complete will have learning objectives that will guide the experience. These will be provided to both the preceptor and the student in advance of the rotation. On the first day of the rotation, preceptors should meet with the student to discuss mutual expectations, and should have a mid-rotation meeting to assess progress. Daily, informal honest feedback is important to help a student refine their skills and grow into successful health professionals. A final evaluation completed by the preceptor will assess the student’s knowledge, assessment and clinical reasoning skills, and professionalism. Program clinical staff are available at any time throughout the rotation to provide support as needed.

Effective preceptors create an atmosphere that allows the student appropriate learning opportunities. It is typical on the first day or two to allow the student to become oriented to the practice and observe the preceptor. Then after a preceptor observes the student performing history and physical examinations, and feels comfortable with their skills, they should be able to progress to doing these without direct observation. The student then can present the patient to the preceptor, discuss possible next steps and complete the patient visit with the preceptor confirming the student’s findings. Periodic direct observation throughout the rotation is recommended.
Students also need to practice clinical procedures as opportunities arise. This includes phlebotomy, starting IVs, wound care, splinting and pap smears, which are taught in the first year and need to be reinforced throughout the clinical year. Students in a surgical setting need to be involved in the pre- and postoperative management of patients, and as appropriate, should assist in surgery.

Students are allowed to spend time with other qualified practitioners within the practice. All preceptors must be identified to the program and complete a preceptor profile. It is typical for some practices to identify a primary preceptor who will be responsible for coordinating the student’s experience. The student can then spend time with several practitioners in the group over the course of the rotation. All practitioners who supervise the student should provide feedback to the final student evaluation.

Both the student and Elon University are insured in the event of a malpractice claim. A $1 million/$3 million malpractice binder covers students. For additional information please contact Stephanie Henderson, Director of Clinical Education, at (336) 278-6841 or shenderson13@elon.edu.

Our students are trained and aware of HIPAA and OSHA regulations and have been trained in post-exposure incident management. In addition, we require that students be fully immunized before the start of clinical rotations and we perform annual tuberculosis screening.

Preceptors often find that having a student in the practice is a rewarding experience for both staff and patients. It provides preceptors the opportunity to help shape the next generation of health providers, to give back to and promote the medical profession, and feel personally gratified. The Elon University Physician Assistant Program recognizes the integral and important role of preceptors in educating our PA students, and will recognize this contribution in a variety of ways including certificates for Category II CME credit and free registration for Category I CME events held annually by the program. Additional means of recognizing preceptors are being pursued. At any time, we welcome your input in making this a valuable experience for preceptors.

Stephanie Henderson serves as the Director of Clinical Education. She can be reached at (336) 278-6841 or shenderson13@elon.edu.