Abstract
Objective: Our objective is to gain a better understanding of the barriers and incentives that motivate pediatric providers in the state of Utah to precept PA students.
Background and Rationale: Pediatrics is one of the most difficult specialties to find preceptors. With increased stresses from more programs needing placements and economic pressures for providers to increase productivity, understanding motivations is essential.
Design and Methods: We surveyed 54 pediatric providers in the state of Utah. We asked about barriers and common incentives. We also asked them to identify how precepting affects productivity, patient satisfaction, patient safety and workload. They ranked a list of 12 incentives on how those incentives might encourage them to precept and eleven factors that might be negatively affected by precepting.
Results: Providers ranked having more time per patient without a decrease in compensation as the most valued incentive.
Conclusions and/or Lessons Learned: The results indicate that working with employers to help preceptors have a manageable amount of time while precepting might be the most effective way to increase the number of providers willing to precept PA students.
References
- Kayingo G, Gordes KL, Fleming S, Cawley JF. Thinking Outside the Box: Advancing Clinical Education in an Era of Preceptor Shortage. J Physician Assist Educ. 2023 Jun 1;34(2):135-141. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000500. Epub 2023 Apr 27. PMID: 37126204.
- Evans TC, Wick KH, Andrilla CHA, Skaggs SA, Burgin T. A Method to Study the Effect of a Physician Assistant Student on Preceptor Productivity. J Physician Assist Educ. 2018 Dec;29(4):205-210. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000220. PMID: 30358652.
- Hudak NM, Enking PJ, Gorney C, Gonzalez-Colaso R. Tales from the trenches: physician assistants’ perspectives about precepting students. J Physician Assist Educ. 2014;25(1):12-9. doi: 10.1097/01367895-201425010-00002. PMID: 24765805.
- Theobald M, Everard KM, Morley CP. Changes in the Shortage and Quality of Family Medicine Clinical Training Sites. PRiMER. 2022 Mar 18;6:7. doi: 10.22454/PRiMER.2022.960678. PMID: 35481231; PMCID: PMC9037247.
- Levy BT, Gjerde CL, Albrecht LA. The effects of precepting on and the support desired by community-based preceptors in Iowa. Acad Med. 1997 May;72(5):382-4. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199705000-00018. PMID: 9159585.
Return to Table of Contents: 2024 Core Educator Education Scholarship Retreat
Factors Affecting Precepting in the Pediatric Setting by Melanie Murphy, MBA, PA-C, Jennifer Coombs, PhD, PA-C & Shahpar Najmabadi