ten tips for effective preceptorship (based on materials presented in fam med 1998; 30(5):326-7.)

Ten Tips for Effective Preceptorship

(based on materials presented in Fam Med 1998; 30(5):326-7.)


1. Be a Role Model and Mentor

Role Model: “those to whom we aspire, or admire, those we emulate or follow.”

• Common attributes for positive role models include acknowledgment that they are a role model and acceptance that “you don’t know it all”.


2. Teach Learning

• Little of the factual knowledge we convey to our pupils is actually retained.

• Thus, if we can convey enthusiasm for the process of learning—the thought, research, and investigation—then we have met an important educational objective.


3. Care for Patients /Clients

• If we expect our learners to demonstrate empathy, we must first demonstrate it.


4. Avoid Salesmanship Preceptors are often placed in the roles of instructor and prospective employer.

• By demonstrating how we practice we reveal that our specialty has a legitimate place within the context of health care delivery.


5. Take a Team Approach Teaching a student can seem like more of a burden than a joy.

• A learner can be incorporated into one’s everyday routine. By taking a team approach, an instructor makes a conscious decision to share responsibilities with the student.


6. Listen to the Student How often do we get personal information and educational background information on our students? The typical answer is “not often enough.”

• To write the best educational prescription of goals and objectives for our students, the instructor must obtain both subjective and objective data from the pupil.


7. Provide Constructive Feedback

• There is a natural tendency for each of us to see our glass as half empty rather than half full.

• By providing constructive feedback to our learners, our criticisms and praise will be more easily assimilated.


8. Challenge the Learner

• We sometimes forget that our students are among the best students in our country.

• Thus, we need to challenge the learner by inviting participation in our everyday diagnostic, therapeutic and clinical dilemmas.


9. Make Time—Don’t Be Too Busy Many of us are always in a rush.

• A good teacher will find the time to meet the needs of his or her students. In doing so, the teacher acknowledges the importance of learning and validates students’ interests and needs.


10. Challenge Yourself

• Each student represents a unique and interesting challenge; no two learners are alike.

ten tips for effective preceptorship (based on materials presented in fam med 1998; 30(5):326-7.)

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