How to be an efficient and effective preceptor.

Students slow me down” and “Students take too much time” are common complaints of precepting physicians, and yet some physicians have endless energy for teaching and are able to maintain their clinical productivity. What do these doctors do differently? We held five professional seminars in 2007 and 2008 to talk with experienced physicians from health education programs across the United States about their precepting experiences. We collected and analyzed the suggestions that emerged in search of common themes. Doing so made it clear that physicians should focus on six areas to be efficient and effective preceptors: