Benefits of Precepting
- Giving back to the medical profession by training future medical providers.
- Fulfilling your love of teaching by training others in medicine.
- Increasing the awareness of the PA profession in the region.
- Working with students who will be future job candidates.
- Precepting counts for CME Category 2 hours of physicians.
- PA preceptors may be awarded an unlimited number of AAPA Category 1 CME credits for precepting per calendar year, at a rate of 2 AAPA Category 1 CME credits per student, per 40 hour week.
Roles of a Preceptor
- Actively and effectively teach students practical skills and clinical application.
- Be a role model for the next generation of medical providers.
- Have a working knowledge of the assigned student objectives for the specific discipline.
- Supervise the daily schedule to ensure the student has sufficient patient contact and promote patient and student safety.
- Engage in direct instruction and observation of the student while providing frequent and timely feedback to the student and program.
What is Precepting?
Second year PA students are placed with physicians and / or physician assistants who are known as preceptors. Students function very similar to third and fourth year medical students. The goal is for the PA student to obtain hands-on experience in different clinical settings and disciplines.
About the Profession
What are Physician Assistants?
- Medical providers who are nationally certified and state-licensed to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician.
- Trained in the medical model and educated similarly to physicians, they share similar diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning.
- Contribute to the physician / PA team and ensure the highest quality standards of patient care.
- Are not independent clinicians, but have the ability for autonomous decision making and patient management.
- Can deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse urban and rural populations.
- Can practice in any discipline of medicine and can change disciplines without additional formal training.
What are the functions of a Physician Assistant?
- Prescribe medication
- Elicit medical histories
- Perform physical exams
- Order and interpret labs and diagnostic tests
- Manage acute illness and chronic diseases
- Make rounds in the hospital
- Write patient orders
- Make referrals
- Perform specific procedures
- Assist in surgery
- Perform patient education
What are some procedures Physician Assistants can perform?
- Arterial Puncture
- Suturing
- Skin Biopsy
- Lumbar Puncture
- Incision and Drainage
- Casting
- Joint Injections
- Central Line Placement
- Chest Tube Insertion
- Thoracentesis
What can a Physician Assistant student do?
In conjunction with the preceptor, students should be able to:
- Conduct a thorough history and physical
- Develop a solid differential
- Order appropriate labs and diagnostic tests
- Interpret labs and diagnostic tests
- Formulate a diagnosis
- Develop a management plan
- Round on hospital patients
- Participate with call
- Perform clinical procedures
Where do Physician Assistants work?
- Medical offices
- Surgical centers
- Nursing homes / Hospice
- Armed forces
- Hospitals
- Community health centers
- International medicine
Becoming a Preceptor
For more information about Physician Assistants or becoming a preceptor, please contact us at PAProgram@UAMS.edu or 501-686-7211.