Clinical Preceptor Home Page

Thank you for serving as a Preceptor for the Primary Care Clerkship!

This page contains information on the clerkship curriculum, suggestions on teaching strategies, and educational resources.

The Department of Family Medicine has purchased a subscription to TeachingPhysician.Org, a comprehensive web site developed by the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine. This site offers a variety of valuable information including preparing for a student, setting expectations, giving feedback and much more. This resource is available to our preceptors at no cost, complements of DFM. Please visit: http://www.teachingphysician.org/ and contact: Christie.Legler@fammed.wisc.edu for access.

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For resident teachers please refer to the Residents As Teachers document.

Introduction to the Primary Care Clerkship

The Primary Care Clerkship (PCC) is a required course for all third-year medical students. The 8-week clerkship takes place at regional sites throughout the state. The educational goals for the clerkship center on understanding primary care physicians’ work and role within our health care system. The curriculum focuses on common symptomatic conditions, chronic diseases, and systems of care and learning.

Students are assigned to work 3-4 half-days a week with a family physician and 3-4 half-days a week with either an internist or general pediatrician. The Preceptor Role is the key and unique aspect of the clerkship. Students also meet together weekly with a faculty leader to explore problem based learning cases and enhance their doctor/patient communication skills.

Since 2009, M3 students on the Primary Care Clerkship (PCC) have been required to complete a community project during their 8-week rotation. Beginning in the 2011-12 academic year, the PCC is partnering with the statewide AHEC system to enhance the community project component of the clerkship.

The AHEC representatives will help facilitate connections between students and community partners for such projects as:
• Health Careers mentoring
• General health curricula in schools or community settings
• Enhancing care at free clinics/community health centers
• Community health initiatives

Each student is required to:
• Choose a project by the end of the second week;
• Actively participate in chosen community project (minimum 24 hours);
• At the end of the rotation, present a description of the community, the project, background and project impact on the community, with focus on interest in working with underserved communities. This can be done singly or as a group.

The Community Projects is graded as pass/fail.

The focus of the Doctor/Patient Communication sessions continues to emphasize Motivational Interviewing (MI), particularly as applied to working with patients with chronic health problems and behavioral change. The students are required to use the book Motivational Interviewing in Health Care. This is an excellent and very readable introduction to the lifelong challenge of MI. Unfortunately we do not have funds to provide copies for all of our preceptors at this time, but it is around $20 if you would like to purchase a copy.

PCC community preceptors are encouraged to maintain an up to date UWSMPH Volunteer Faculty Appointment. To learn more about how to receive the appointment or check to see if your appointment is up-to-date, contact: omse.coordinator@fammed.wisc.edu

Again, thank you for your contribution to teaching UWSMPH medical students.

Preceptor Observation and Feedback Requirement

Students are required to track and document that they have been observed and received feedback by a preceptor on 11 skills:

1. Observed History: Acute concern
2. Observed History: Chronic problem
3. Observed Physical: Abdomen
4. Observed Physical: Cardiovascular
5. Observed: Interpretation of EKG
6. Observed Physical: HEENT
7. Observed Physical: MSK
8. Observed Physical: GU
9. Observed Physical: Neuro
10. Observed Physical: Psych
11. Communicate plan of care with patient

As a preceptor you do not need to observe an entire history or physical on each skill - just enough that you can provide the student with useful feedback. Your student will ask that you sign their Tracking Clinical Experiences log. In addition, your student will be required to track completion of each observation on the online, UWSMPH tracking system.