Preceptor Development Program (PDP)
Strategies for a Busy Practice: Seeking Patient Acceptance of the Learner
These steps can help assure a positive reaction and prevent potential
problems with your patients.
- Informing patients before hand:
- Hang a notice in the waiting room indicating that your practice is
a teaching site. Some schools or programs provide a certificate or
plaque that indicates your participation. Download
Sample Teaching Notice
- Post a notice in the exam room or vital signs area that a learner
is working with the doctor today and patients should notify staff if
they have any questions.
- Local awareness:
- Submit an article about the learner to the local newspaper. This is
useful for patients and can be fun for the learner.
- Asking permission for participation:
- The nurse or staff should check with patients to make sure they are
willing to be seen by a learner. It is crucial to instruct them on how
to ask. Some have been known to ask, “You don’t want to see a
student, do you?” With a proper introduction, most patients are
happy to be seen by a learner.
- One preceptor introduces the topic by asking the patient, “How
would you like to be a teacher today?” TIP: If possible, avoid
asking patients for permission to be seen by learners in front of the
learners: this is awkward for students and patients alike.
- Prudent Patient Selection:
- Review the schedule with the learner at the start of the day.
Indicate which patients would be particularly good for the learner to
see and which would prefer not to be seen by learners. Tip: Telling
the learner during the initial orientation that some patients prefer
not to be seen, should help the learner not take this personally.
- Let the student talk to the patient “who talks forever.” Both
actually like this.
- Identify patients with interesting physical findings and let the
patient know how useful this is for learners to see or hear. Some
patients will point out such a finding with future learners and
begin to instruct them on how to examine it.
- Thank patients for their involvement in teaching the learner.
What can you share? Go to Talk Back with Dr. PDP