Precepting Medical Students in the Office

Book excerpt: "Medical knowledge and training have evolved dramatically over the centuries, but the tradition of dedicated physicians sharing their knowledge, skills, experience, and wisdom with the next generation of young medical students is still vital. Much of today's medical training is of a technical nature, but in reality physicians are as much artists as technicians, and the art of medicine is a skill that cannot be learned in a classroom. As Hippocrates put it a long time ago, the doctor who despises the knowledge acquired by the ancients is foolish." --from the Foreword, by Stuart P. Embury, M.D. As medical education curricula continue to evolve, many medical schools are implementing programs that allow students to spend a portion of their time observing primary care physicians in their offices. Currently, more than 20,000 physicians are precepting medical students in this way, and the number will grow as more and more educational programs attempt to move medical student experiences into the community. In Precepting Medical Students in the Office, Paul M. Paulman, M.D., Jeffrey L. Susman, M.D., and Cheryl A. Abboud, M.P.A., bring together experts in the field of family medicine to provide a how-to guide to educating medical students in the patient-care setting. The contributors cover subjects that range from defining the scope of preceptorship to managing the costs, working with medical schools and local hospitals, integrating the student into the practice, providing feedback, problem learners, and teaching styles. Section topics: Introduction to Community-Based Precepting - Characteristics and Needs of Learners - Clinical Teaching - Organization of the Preceptorship Curriculum - Relationships to Medical Schools and Other Agencies - Legal and Ethical Aspects of Precepting - Faculty Benefits and Resources