Preceptor Development Program (PDP)
Strategies for a Busy Practice: Scheduling for the Learner
Many preceptors are concerned about their patients’ response to
the student. Most patients enjoy and benefit from the presence of
learners, especially the increased “face time” with a provider.
Research (Vinson, Paden, & Devera-Sales, 1996, see Resources
and Links) has shown that the presence of a learner in a practice
increases the workload by about 45 minutes per day.
How could you deal with this increased workload?
- Block out a few appointment spots on their schedule
(intermittently during the day or the last two) when working with a
learner. This time can be used to teach or to catch up.
- On days I’m going to be absent, I try to schedule our students
to our outside facilities (Dialysis Center, etc.) Preceptor,
Cherokee Indian Hospital, Cherokee, NC
- Include more slots for work-in acute problem visits when working
with a learner. These are often more interesting and appropriate for
the learner and can often be handled faster than a complex follow-up
visit or full history and physical.
- Schedule the learner to spend a half-day from time to time with a
practice partner or another practitioner in the community. This can
give you a break and some time to catch up. In some offices,
practitioners share a learner equally, although one person still
needs to be identified as the primary preceptor for purposes of
continuity and evaluation.
- Schedule a half-day for the learner to work with a nurse, lab
technician, dietitian, and/or front office staff. Learners often
report that this exposure enhances their appreciation for the other
staff’s roles, which is likely to serve the learners well as
practitioners.
- Plan other activities for the learner. Some learners already have community projects or tasks that they are
required to do. Even if these are not required, they can be valuable
experiences for the learner. Examples include a home visit, time
with community agencies, attending a hospital staff meeting, writing
a health article for the local newspaper, or speaking to a community
group on a health topic.
- Learner projects can contribute to the work of the office. They could make follow up phone calls to patients they have
seen, do a literature search, conduct a quality assurance chart
audit, assess community health concerns, or develop patient
education materials for preceptors’ use. The trick is to make sure
that learner activities both help you do high-priority work and are
of interest to the learner. One practice keeps a list of “Top 10”
priority projects from which learners may choose. For each project,
key steps of the project are outlined and key contact people are
identified (Doyle, Burkhardt, Copenhaver, Thach, & Sotak, 1998,
see Resources & Links).
What strategies do you have? Go to Talk Back with Dr. PDP