STFM Offers Training and Educational Resources for Preceptors

Traci Nolte

doi:10.1370/afm.206

The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM), a leader in family medicine education, offers educational resources for volunteer preceptors who teach medical students and residents. Highlighted below are the tools to help community preceptors be better teachers.

PRECEPTOR EDUCATION PROJECT CURRICULAR MATERIALS

The STFM Preceptor Education Project (PEP2) is a faculty development workshop curriculum for family physician preceptors who teach clinical medical students. PEP2 educational materials prepare family physicians to teach medical students effectively and efficiently in community settings. The primary audience for PEP includes potential, relatively inexperienced, and experienced family physician preceptors.

Now in their second edition, the PEP2 curriculum materials, packaged as both a participant workbook and facilitator’s guide, are divided into core modules, plus introduction and summary modules. Module topics include organization and planning strategies, direct observation skills, teaching and feedback skills, evaluation strategies, approaches to dealing with problems that might be encountered with a student, assessing the learner, and teaching and learning collaboratively. Videotape vignettes, overhead transparency masters, and a preceptor action card are also included among the PEP2 materials.

The Teaching Physician

STFM offers The Teaching Physician as a valuable educational tool for volunteer preceptors. The Teaching Physician is an electronic newsletter designed to provide teaching tips to community preceptors. The newsletter is sent quarterly (July, October, January, and April) to subscribing departments and residency programs as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file that can be forwarded by departments or residency programs (either electronically or in print) to their community preceptors.

STFM recognizes the importance of providing training for family medicine’s cadre of volunteer faculty. The Teaching Physician, a quick and easy-to-digest e-mail newsletter, compiles relevant training material for preceptors. Published by STFM and edited by leaders in predoctoral education, each issue of The Teaching Physician features:

Reprints from the best of the “For the Office-based Teacher of Family Medicine” column from Family Medicine
Two examples of Patient-Oriented Evidence That Matters (POEMs) geared for the teaching family physician
Technology news tailored specifically to preceptors
Teaching Points—A 2-minute mini-lecture on a family medicine subject, complete with assessment questions and the answers, that can be easily adapted into a preceptor’s teaching repertoire
A clinical guideline that applies to the teaching physician

Institutional subscriptions to this e-mail newsletter are available for only $190 annually. If you are a preceptor and are interested in receiving this newsletter, contact the department or residency where you are a preceptor and ask them to add you to their mailing list or to contact STFM about an institutional subscription. If your department or residency is not a current subscriber or chooses not to subscribe, we do offer community preceptors a special discounted subscription rate of $25.

To download a sample issue and a subscription form, visit http://www.stfm.org/teachingphysician/index.htm. For more information, contact Aleta Hayes, STFM subscriptions coordinator, ahayes{at}stfm.org, 800-274-2237, ext 5416.

FAMILY MEDICINE’S “FOR THE OFFICE-BASED TEACHER OF FAMILY MEDICINE” COLUMN

Family Medicine, the official journal of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, has a regular column, “For the Office-based Teacher of Family Medicine.” Published 10 times a year, this column provides peer-reviewed articles that give office-based teachers usable knowledge about issues of concern to family physician preceptors, presented in a readable, enjoyable format.

PRECEPTOR BASIC BOOK LIST

STFM members have developed a list of publications, included within the STFM Bookstore, that are considered valuable to preceptors. The list is not intended to be all-inclusive; it is offered as a starting point for preceptors who are looking for educational resources. The list can be accessed at http://www.stfm.org/bookstore/basic.html#precep.

STFM CONFERENCES

STFM sponsors 4 educational conferences a year, each of which offers sessions of interest to community preceptors. Two conferences—the Predoctoral Education Conference and the Annual Spring Conference—provide specific tracks, as well as discounted registration fees for preceptors. Go to http://www.stfm.org/calendar/st_cal2.html for information and dates of STFM conferences.

STFM MEMBERSHIP—COMMUNITY PRECEPTOR CATEGORY

STFM offers a membership category specifically for community preceptors at a reduced fee. This membership category is available to any part-time family medicine teacher or community preceptor who devotes no more than 10 hours per week or 3 months per year to a family medicine program. This category also applies to physicians in private practice. For more information about joining STFM, visit http://www.stfm.org/NewMember/Start.cfm or contact Mary Ruhl at 800-274-2237, extension 5404, or e-mail mruhl{at}stfm.org

For more information about any of these teaching tools, contact Stacy Brungardt, CAE, STFM deputy executive director, at 800-274-2237, extension 5406, or e-mail sbrungardt{at}stfm.org.