Preceptor Guide

General Tips for Working with Interns

• Support students with appropriate, frequent feedback in a timely fashion.
• Use specifics with respect to praise for changes that need to occur.
• Allow students to be creative while still meeting expectations and performing professionally.
• Challenge students to perform by giving them increasing responsibility.
• Remember students are preparing for entry level.

What do preceptors Teach?
Students learn competency skills from their preceptor.  Competency is the ability to carry out a specific task within parameters of control.  Summarize your own image of what your professional role is and what it should be.  Practice those tasks that provide that image.  The need-to-know tasks take priority and MUST be taught to students.  The nice to know which can also contribute important skills can be taught later if time is available.

Teaching Hints

• Provide a clear orientation.
• Establish ground rules.
• Define expectations.
• Be purposeful and focused.
• Explain how the norm for work occurs.
• Explain what is expected from them as student interns.
• Solicit information from students:
• List and explain previous experience
• Explain your expectations and goals
• Acknowledge the role or importance of your tasks

Application of the teaching model
Demonstration:  Let students observe, then walk them through the steps and show them shortcuts.  Explain the rationale for the various steps and the assumptions behind the shortcuts.
Rehearsal:  Help students role-play your job.  The only way to know if a student has achieved a skill is to observe the student directly so you can evaluate performance.
Feedback and correction:  Feedback to students about their skills communicates your empathy and approval or disapproval.  Be specific.  It is important that students feel comfortable about having made their mistakes.
Independent practice:  This is the time to let go.  Students should ask you questions as needed.  You can place a time deadline for specific tasks and shorten the deadline as student’s progress.  You may want to take the sink or swim approach for some of the smaller tasks and have students report back.
Review:  Ask students to demonstrate their assigned task.  Mention strengths and areas of improvement.  Have a student rehearse again if needed.
Motivate:  Tell student how their good work makes a difference.  Suggest that students relate it to something they feel is important.
Evaluation:  Successful supervision includes strong emphasis on evaluation.  Evaluation is an important part of learning and should be viewed in a positive light.  Evaluation tells students what they do correctly and helps them to modify performance when needed.

Evaluation should occur in two ways:  during student’s rotation and final evaluation.  Evaluation should be an ongoing process.  It is part of the learning process and can help build the student’s confidence.  Second, evaluation at the end of an activity is also important.  It tells students how to strengthen or modify their skills in the future.

Preceptor Self Evaluation:
Ask yourself at the end of a rotation what was the hardest part to teach?  Ask students which was the most difficult.

Handling Difficult Situations with Students

• Inadequate knowledge prior to the rotation
• Skill deficiencies (e.g. Inability to translate theories learned in class to the treatment of patients.)
• Personality difficulties
• Situation difficulties (e.g. a student may have a problem with a particular situation such as a low income person)

Suggestions for dealing with student problems

• Frequent, ongoing evaluation should be conducted so that students know exactly what skills, knowledge, or application processes need improvement.
• Problems should be identified and dealt with as early as possible.
• When discussing problems with students, you need to specify the issues of concern.

While it may be uncomfortable to confront a student with a problem, it is less painful and more productive to do it in the beginning.  Bad habits are easily reinforced through repetition – so it is important to correct them as early as possible.

If you have a difficult student, talk to the student about feelings that make them
apprehensive or hesitant. (e.g. visiting clients in the home)  If it is a knowledge deficiency, suggest extra readings outside the rotation.

Students need to know the consequences of their actions or deficiencies.  This could be with respect to student’s progress in the program.  This is the responsibility of the internship faculty.  Please contact program faculty immediately if you have identified a problem.

Suggest that rotations may be adapted as long as they still provide the necessary competencies.

Be aware that significant problems should be discussed with the program faculty. It is the internship faculty’s responsibility to direct and resolve major student problems.  Early and ongoing discussion with the faculty can often resolve problems that might otherwise become too complex to correct.

For questions, please contact:  Ann Rucinski, MA, RD (302) 831-2079 | E-mail:  Rucinski@udel.edu