Reliable Preceptor Source

[RollinDownDixie]

Has anyone found any sort of RELIABLE source to find willing preceptors? Maybe a resource from AAPA or something? I am searching specifically for slots in the Houston Texas area (EM and Surgery rotations) and can't seem to find anything. Am I just relegated to calling individual facilities? 

 

[gbrothers98]

You are not supposed to solicit preceptors and sites for clinical rotations.

That is the program and sponsoring institution’s responsibility.

If your program is requiring students to obtain clinical rotations, they are violating ARC-PA standards. 

If you are doing this on your own, you are likely wasting precious time and energy that your tuition dollars are being spent for.

George

[MT2PA]

21 hours ago, gbrothers98 said:

You are not supposed to solicit preceptors and sites for clinical rotations.

That is the program and sponsoring institution’s responsibility.

If your program is requiring students to obtain clinical rotations, they are violating ARC-PA standards. 

If you are doing this on your own, you are likely wasting precious time and energy that your tuition dollars are being spent for.

George

Sometimes if you want to do a rotation in a specific location (i.e "back home") you do have to find your own.  Schools may provide sites but if you want a specific location or specialty, you're on your own - and I can't imagine that violates any standards.  

OP - because the onus is on the school to provide sites (although I have heard of newer programs passing the burden on to students) there is no 'source' for this.  You either use contacts you have or you cold call.  Keep in mind any place you want to go that already has PA programs nearby might already be stretched thin with preceptors.  If they are committed to taking from local PA/MD/NP programs they may not have the ability or willingness to take on more.  

[gbrothers98]

QUOTE: Sometimes if you want to do a rotation in a specific location (i.e "back home") you do have to find your own.  Schools may provide sites but if you want a specific location or specialty, you're on your own - and I can't imagine that violates any standards.  

From ARC-PA standards:

A1.11 The sponsoring institution must support the program in securing clinical sites and preceptors in sufficient numbers for program-required clinical practice experiences.

A3.03 Students must not be required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors. The program must coordinate clinical sites and preceptors for program required rotations. ANNOTATION: Coordinating clinical practice experiences involves identifying, contacting and evaluating sites and preceptors for suitability as a required or elective rotation experience. Students may make suggestions to principal faculty for sites and preceptors but are not required to do so. Student suggested sites and preceptors are to be reviewed, evaluated and approved for educational suitability by the program.

From anecdotal experience, when a student is cold calling sites 'back home' for a rotation, this is interpreted by ARC-PA as requiring the students to solicit sites. It also creates quite a bit of work for the program in establishing one time sites and does not take in consideration local, regional and state conflicts such as other students of various medical professions, liability insurance and workman's compensation insurance. From a student's perspective, arranging one's own rotations appears to be a matter of a preceptor agreeing. In reality, it is much more complicated. A tremendous amount of time and stress can go into 'suggesting' potential sites, precious commodities for PA students during the didactic year. 'Suggesting' and arranging sites during the clinical year is too late, sites don't work that way, they plan anywhere from 6-12 months ahead. The enforcement of the standards and the review of compliance by both application and site visit leads many programs to take the placement of clinical sites out of the student's hands completely in order to meet the expectations of the standards. Last, traveling and relocating to far flung sites is expensive and time consuming, another financial layer to a costly endeavor as is.

Final thought, it is your time and money to expend as you wish, wisely or not.

George

[MT2PA]

^^ Programs know this - that's why often they limit the number of 'self-ID' sites you can do during your clinical year (for example my program limits it to 2 and only for rotations where the school has fewer sites available such as peds and women's health, not for in patient, emed, surgery, etc).  They also have a process in place to address the timing - the deadline to suggest a site is during didactic year so that all the proper paperwork and vetting can be completed.  Faculty isn't going to bend over backwards working last minute and they shouldn't have to when they have perfectly good sites already set up.

If a program does it right, it can lead to new, regular sites - that's how my program views it.  

But yes, as a student, I wouldn't bother.  I'm already paying a ridiculous amount of tuition - I shouldn't have to do the leg work and don't want to pay for travel or temporary lodging.  But I have plenty of classmates who considered it worth it to make connections and network in an area they wanted to practice in the future.