What is a preceptorship?
It's a short-term relationship between a student as the novice and an experienced clinician as the preceptor who provides individual attention to the student’s learning needs and feedback regarding performance.
Curriculum
At the University of Florida College of Medicine, we have a core curriculum which includes three short-term preceptorships.
- First year medical students have their first clinical experience during the month of December in their first term, which lasts two weeks.
- Their second experience is at the end of their first year, typically in June, for a week.
- The third preceptorship, which is also for a week, occurs in November of their second year.
“Introduction to Clinical Practice,” an innovative course added to the curriculum in 1992, was spawned from comments of many students who desired earlier clinical exposure to balance and enhance the basic science curriculum. The course has been successful in exposing students to strong physician role models demonstrating the relevance of basic science to the clinical practice of medicine, and providing a glimpse of the contemporary practice of medicine in a community setting.
Help Students Succeed
Physicians for preceptorships
The college recruits 175 physician preceptors to work with students in the community and their hometowns.
