Preceptors are integral to the clinical education and training of medical students. They provide the experiential portion of the curriculum by supervising student physicians as they acquire clinical medical knowledge by helping to care for real patients—in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
We rely heavily on practicing providers to assist and supervise students in the development of the skills and judgment necessary to become a competent clinician and appreciate your interest in becoming a preceptor for PCOM medical students.
BECOME A PRECEPTOR
Only licensed DO or MD physicians are qualified to serve as “preceptors-of-record” for PCOM medical students. In addition, physician preceptors are expected to be board certified in their specialty. On occasion, physicians who are “board eligible” or “board qualified” may also be acceptable as preceptors. Physicians in residency or fellowship training programs may teach PCOM medical students; however, residents or fellows may not serve as preceptors-of-record for PCOM medical students—only attending physicians may be the formal preceptor.
In addition, although highly-qualified health professionals from whom PCOM medical students can learn a great deal, the following health professionals are not permitted to serve as the formal preceptor-of-record for any PCOM osteopathic medical student, regardless of their professional licensure or certifications:
Dentists, including Oral/Maxillofacial Surgeons (DDS or DMD)
Optometrists (OD)
Physician Assistants or Nurse Practitioners (PA-C or NP)
Chiropractors (DC)
Clinical Psychologists (PhD, EdD, PsyD, or LCSW)
Audiologists (AuD)
Podiatrists or Podiatric Physicians (DPM)
Physical Therapists
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)
Occupational Therapists
Nurse Midwife
The above professionals may supervise part of the student physician’s training and can contribute to the student physician’s inter-professional education (IPE).
Preceptors are responsible for completing a clinical evaluation form on each student. These clinical evaluation forms document each student’s clinical performance during the rotation and are a key element in the assessment of each student’s clinical competency of the learning objectives for the clerkship rotation.
Preceptors should discuss the student’s performance with them at the halfway point (and again at the end) of the clerkship. This will allow the student the opportunity to review any perceived weaknesses he/she might have, as well as show the student whether they are meeting their preceptor’s expectations for them in the clerkship. This midpoint evaluation will permit corrective action of perceived deficiencies prior to the final evaluation.
To apply to become a preceptor in the DO program at PCOM, submit an email or letter of interest, along with a current c.v., to:
Michael A. Becker, DO, MS, FACOFP
Assistant Dean of Clerkship Education
Email: michaelbe@pcom.edu
In your email or letter, please indicate the number of students you are interested in teaching and approximately which months you can have students rotate with you. You may also complete our online application form:
BECOME A PRECEPTOR
You may view additional information about precepting by downloading the 2018-2019 Preceptor Manual [PDF].
