Frequently Asked Questions — COM Preceptors

A preceptor acts as a supervisor and teacher to third- and/or fourth-year medical students within a clinical setting. Through a one-on-one relationship, the student gains skills and knowledge from their preceptor’s expertise and modeling.

A key aspect of being a preceptor is giving the student feedback on their performance. This includes both verbal and written feedback in the form of an evaluation at the end of the rotation.

A clinical rotation is usually 2-4 weeks in duration. Most preceptors take one student per rotation block, but it is completely up to you (and/or your site’s administrators) how many rotations and students you accept on an annual basis.

Yes. Per DMU-COM’s accrediting body, preceptors hosting students in a patient care setting must:

• Have successfully completed post-graduate training (i.e., residency, fellowship).
• Have held board certification with the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association at some time during their career or be currently board eligible with the ABMS or AOA in the specialty being taught.¹
• Hold a current medical license within the state(s) they practice.² License(s) must be free of disqualifying disciplinary action. Examples of disqualifying disciplinary action include, but are not limited to: sexual misconduct, conviction of a felony, recent or repeated abuse of controlled substances or other drugs and/or alcohol.
• Be practicing nearly full-time, providing a minimum of 36 hours of student engagement per week.

1. This excludes international preceptors, preceptors hosting research rotations within a non-patient care setting and a few others. Physicians in a patient care setting who have never been board certified or are not board eligible with the ABMS or AOA may be permitted to serve as preceptors for non-core/elective rotations. These individuals must complete DMU’s Health Care Educator Interest form, submit a current copy of their CV for review and are subject to approval by the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs.
2. This does not apply to international preceptors or preceptors hosting students at federally-operated facilities such as hospitals or clinics located on a military base.

• Prior to the start of the rotation, familiarize yourself with the rotation-specific teaching objectives (if applicable) as well as the evaluation you’ll be required to complete at the end of the rotation.
• Provide a brief orientation to your practice at the beginning of the rotation.
• Establish what the students will be doing during their time spent with you. For instance, communicate your expectations for the level of autonomy and responsibility the student will have, define whether they’ll be expected to present patients to you or round on patients in the hospital prior to your own rounds, etc.
• Assess the student’s skill level and experience. Work with the student to become competent in the key basic areas of patient care.
• Throughout the rotation, provide consistent feedback regarding their strengths, but particularly, areas requiring improvement and growth.
• Identify and engage in “teachable moments” throughout the rotation and work with the student to help them meet course requirements.
• Encourage the student to read, review and research topics relevant to the rotation as well as required learning objectives.
• Complete a student evaluation at the end of the rotation. Discuss your ratings with the student, then submit the evaluation to the student’s DMU Clerkship Coordinator.

• You can earn CME credits. See our Preceptor CME page for details.
• You will have an opportunity to share your clinical knowledge, experience and style of patient and colleague interaction with tomorrow’s physicians.
• Professional stimulation. You will undoubtedly expand your knowledge and skills as you teach someone else. Additionally, you will find that students are often good teachers themselves, as they share didactic knowledge they’ve learned during their pre-clinical years.
• Future physician recruitment opportunities for you and your site.
• If you are an MD or DO, you may be eligible to apply for an official Affiliate Faculty appointment. Additionally, limited access to DMU Library resources may be awarded to Affiliate Faculty members upon request.³
• Access to the STFM Teaching Physician Toolkit, a free resource provided to DMU-COM preceptors. The toolkit addresses all sorts of teaching, learning and assessment questions that may arise during daily interactions with learners. The online materials range from short instructional videos to educational theory-based guide sheets, checklists, assessment tools and modules. Topics include orienting learners, selecting teaching content, residents as teachers, precepting principles, teaching strategies, EHR and health informatics, assessment approaches, feedback delivery methods, learners in difficulty, post-rotation tips and more!
• A 10% tuition discount towards enrollment in DMU’s Master of Health Care Administration and Master of Public Health programs is available for preceptors who host three or more students for a cumulative 12 weeks or more per academic year.
• A 20% discount on apparel and gift items purchased at the DMU Campus Store.⁴

3. This applies to Affiliate Faculty members who precept students at least 16 weeks annually.
4. In-person purchases only. Excludes sale items.

Please complete our online Health Care Educator interest form. Once completed, your application will be routed to our Affiliations Coordinator, who will perform a primary-source verification of your state license and board certification status.

If approved, you will be entered into our database and a member of our Clinical Affairs team will contact you regarding availability and, if needed, begin the process of securing an affiliation agreement with your site.

If you have additional questions regarding this process, you may email us at ClinicalAffairsDO@dmu.edu.

No. You (and/or your site) will always be given the opportunity to accept or decline a request to serve as a preceptor for a specific rotation or timeframe. In addition, you always have the option to modify the availability you originally indicated.

We ask that you notify our team of any changes as soon as they arise so other arrangements can be made for our students.

If you are a physician who has regularly hosted COM students for clinical rotations or if you have made other contributions to the university (delivered guest lectures, mentored students, participated in SIM or SPAL activities, etc.), then you may apply for an official affiliate faculty rank.

Note: A copy of your CV is required with your application to qualify for consideration.

• Your application and CV will be received by our Affiliations Coordinator, who will perform a primary-source verification of your state license and board certification status and compile your application packet.
• Your application packet will be reviewed by the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs. If approved, you will be awarded an official rank based on criteria such as your professional experience and whether you hold faculty titles at other institutions. Affiliate faculty ranks include:
  • Affiliate Instructor
  • Affiliate Assistant Professor
  • Affiliate Associate Professor
  • Affiliate Professor
• You will receive a certificate and letter signed by the COM Dean stating your official rank. These will both be mailed to the address indicated on your application.
• Affiliate faculty appointments are valid for three years.

• We ask that you remain an active clinical preceptor by continuing to provide availability for a minimum of 12 rotation weeks per year.
• Once every three years, you will receive an email from our team requesting an updated copy of your CV.
• If we do not receive an updated CV, your appointment may lapse and you will need to reapply.

Please see COM Clinical Affiliate Faculty Appointment Requirements for details. If you feel you’ve met criteria and are interested in applying for a rank promotion, contact our Sites and Affiliations team at COMAffiliations@dmu.edu to get started.

Please review the complete COM Clinical Affiliate Faculty Appointment Requirements policy or contact our Sites and Affiliations team at COMAffiliations@dmu.edu.