KEY INITIATIVES

Preceptor Expansion Initiative

STFM's Preceptor Expansion Initiative set out to decrease the percentage of primary care clerkship directors who report difficulty finding clinical preceptor sites and increase the percentage of students completing clerkships at high-functioning sites. Find a compilation of resources and more stemming from the initiative.

ABFM Precepting PI Toolkit Onboarding of Students for Clinical Rotations

STFM started the Preceptor Expansion Initiative and compiled the following resources and opportunities to:

Decrease the percentage of primary care clerkship directors who report difficulty finding clinical preceptor sites
Increase the percentage of students completing clerkships at high-functioning sites

Over the past several years, the Preceptor Expansion Initiative has celebrated many successes, including a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) change to student documentation requirements, an American Board of Family Medicine Precepting Performance Improvement Program, resources for standardized onboarding of students and preceptors, a multi-year pilot project during a pandemic, sharing of strategies on tax incentives for preceptors, and outreach to physicians through presentations and publications.

This initiative stemmed from Family Medicine for America’s Health’s Workforce Education and Development Core Team’s task to identify, develop, and disseminate resources for community preceptors. The work was funded by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation, and the Physician Assistant Education Association.

There are three parts to the resources and programs resulting from the Preceptor Expansion Initiative:

Preceptor Recognition Resources
Clerkship Onboarding Resources
Preceptor Onboarding Resources

Results of the Preceptor Expansion Initiative

Preceptor Recognition Resources

These programs recognize and reward your community preceptors:

Clerkship Onboarding Resources

These resources prepare students for rotations and streamline and standardize the student onboarding process.

Preceptor Onboarding Resources

Reduce administrative burden for preceptors by standardizing the onboarding process with these resources.

Initiative Publications

Initiative Presentations

Initiative Publications

A Bonus, Not a Burden: How Medical Students Can Add Value to Your Practice. FPM. September/October 2021.
Medical student precepting is crucial for a robust primary-care workforce. Modern Healthcare. June 2021.
STFM Releases New Medical School Resources. Annals of Family Medicine. July/August 2019.
DOs take part in family medicine pilot program to improve clinical training. The DO. April 19, 2019.
NC AHEC Selected for National Pilot Project to Address Training Needs of Medical Students. North Carolina AHEC. April 2019.
Two Ohio Medical Schools Selected for National Pilot Project to Address Training Needs of Medical Students. Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. April 2019.
Preliminary Results of the ABFM/STFM Precepting Performance Improvement Pilot. Annals of Family Medicine. March/April 2019.
Preceptor Expansion Initiative Takes Multi-Tactic Approach to Addressing Shortage of Clinical Training Sites. Family Medicine. February 2019.
Apply Now for STFM Pilots Aimed at Improved Training. AAFP News Now. January 23, 2019
CMS E/M Service Documentation Provided by Students. KU School of Medicine. January 2019.
Building Better Clinical Training Experiences: A Learning Collaborative. Annals of Family Medicine. January 2019.
Preceptor Expansion Initiative Action Plan: Update from STFM. Family Medicine for America’s Health. October 2018
American Board of Family Medicine Foundation Approves Grant for Preceptor Expansion Initiative. STFM Messenger. July 10, 2018.
Initiative Creates Efficiencies and Incentives for Preceptors. AAFP Chapters. Summer 2018
STFM and ABFM Pilot Precepting Performance Improvement Program. Annals of Family Medicine. May/June 2018.
CMS Clarifies Rule, Again Requires Preceptors to Redo Student Work. PAEA. May 9, 2018.
New Opportunity to Receive American Board of Family Medicine Performance Improvement Credit for Teaching. UNC Healthcare. May 3, 2018.
Policy Change from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Provides an Opportunity to Improve Medical Student Education and Recruit Community Preceptors. Academic Medicine. April 10, 2018.
Preceptor Expansion Action Plan – Description and Progress Update. Family Medicine. April 2018.
Updated E/M Documentation Rules Good for Preceptors. AAFP News Now. February 16, 2018.
Medicare eases burden for E/M documentation involving medical students. A blog from FPM Journal. February 9, 2018.
New CMS guidelines eliminate requirement to re-document student notes. Becker’s Hospital Review. February 7, 2018.
Revised CMS Rule Should Ease Preceptors’ Administrative Burden, Help with Recruitment. PAEA. February 7, 2018.
Committee Tackles Community Preceptor Shortage. Ann Fam Med. September/October 2017 vol. 15no. 5 484-486
Committee Tackles Shortage of Community Preceptors. STFM Messenger. June 14, 2017.
STFM Responds to Community Preceptor Shortage. Ann Fam Med. November/December 2016 vol. 14 no. 6 583-585.
Stakeholder Meeting Addresses Shortage of Clinical Training Sites. PAEA. March 1, 2017.
Summit Will Address the Shortage of High-Quality Family Medicine Community Preceptors. Ann Fam Med. May/June 2016vol. 14 no. 3 282-283.
STFM to Address the Shortage of High-Quality Community Preceptors. STFM Messenger. May 13, 2016.

Initiative Presentations

Precepting: How You Can Help Your State's Medical Students. AAFP Chapter Meetings. 2021-2022.
Tax Incentives for Precepting. Do They Work, and Are They Making A Difference? STFM Webinar. July 2021.
New Ideas for Tackling the Preceptor Shortage in Your State. AAFP Chapter Leadership Forum. May 2021.
Building Better Clinical Training Experiences: A Learning Collaborative. 2020 GFA Professional Development Conference. July 23, 2020.
Welcome & Update on STFM Preceptor Expansion Initiative. University of Kentucky Annual Voluntary Faculty Conference. March 7, 2020.
Building Better Clinical Training Experiences: A Learning Collaborative. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2020.
Moving From Pilot to Performance- Lessons Learned From Four Sites’ Development of the ABFM/STFM Preceptor Improvement Program. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2020.
Ease the Load of Precepting: Efficiently Integrating Students Into Clinical Rotations. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. January 31, 2020.
Recruiting and Retaining Preceptors: How to Put the Resources From the Preceptor Expansion Initiative to Use Now. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. January 31, 2020.
Implementation of CMS Guidelines on Student Documentation. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. January 31, 2020.
Win–Win: Improving Community Preceptor Clinical Teaching While Earning MOC Credit. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. January 31, 2020.
Community-Based Faculty: New Approaches to Valuing a Critical Resource. Learn Serve Lead: AAMC Annual Meeting. November 9, 2019
Easing the Load of Precepting. Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Fall Education Forum. October 10, 2019
Preceptor Development. Missouri Healthcare Workforce Coalition. October 4, 2019.
Preceptor Expansion Initiative: Recruiting and Retaining High Quality Training Sites for Medical Students. HRSA Stakeholder's Meeting. August 9, 2019
ABFM Preceptor Performance Improvement Program Pilot—Lessons Learned From Four UGME Institutions. STFM Annual Spring Conference. April 29, 2019.
The Impact of 2018 CMS Guidelines on Medical Student Documentation. STFM Annual Spring Conference. April 29, 2019.
Update on the Faculty Competencies Project. STFM Annual Spring Conference. April 28, 2019.
Medical Student Charting Restrictions Lifted—What Next? STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 2, 2019
To Write or Not to Write? How Involved Should Medical Students Be in Clinical Documentation? STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 2, 2019
EPIC Endeavors: Incorporating Use of the EHR in the Third-Year Clerkship. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 2, 2019
Easing the Load of Precepting: Efficiently Integrating Students into Ambulatory Training Sites. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 2, 2019
Promoting Effective Feedback by Clerkship Preceptors Through an ABFM/STFM Pilot Precepting Performance Improvement Activity. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
Addressing the Challenges of Preceptor Development and Recruitment. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
Rollout of the ABFM Performance Improvement Precepting Program. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
Help Preceptors Earn ABFM Performance Improvement Credit With TeachingPhysician.org. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
A Preceptor Teaching Improvement Course: A Maintenance of Certification Pilot. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
Standardized Student Assessment as Part of a Pilot ABFM Performance Improvement Project. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
The Impact of 2018 CMS Guidelines on Medical Student Documentation. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 1, 2019
A Multiorganizational Plan to Address the Shortage of High Quality Community Preceptors. 2018 NAO Biennial Conference, July 9, 2018
Helping to Make Students Important Members of the Team. HRSA Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages Webinar. June 6, 2018.
CMS Change in the Use of Medical Student Documentation. AAMC Webinar. June 6, 2018
Addressing the Preceptor Crisis: Implementation of the Preceptor Expansion Action Plan and How You Can Help. STFM Annual Spring Conference. May 7, 2018
An Update for Residency Programs from the American Board of Family Medicine. AAFP PDW/RPS. March 25, 2018.
ABFM Performance Improvement Precepting Program: A Pilot. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 3, 2018
Multiorganizational Plan to Address the Shortage of High Quality Community Preceptors. STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. February 2, 2018
Six Tactics to Solve the Crisis of Community Preceptor Retention & Recruitment. AAMC Annual Meeting: Learn, Serve, Lead. November 6, 2017
HRSA Stakeholders’ Meeting. February 22, 2017

History of Building Better Clinical Training Experiences: A Learning Collaborative

From 2019–2020, STFM in collaboration with family medicine departments and other departments and professions conducted a pilot project designed to increase the pool of community-based preceptors and the quality of training at ambulatory sites. This project was funded by the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation.

Preceptor Expansion Oversight Committee

Oversight Committee Chair

Annie Rutter, MD, MS, Assistant Professor and Director of Medical Student Education, Albany Medical College

Committee Members

James Ballard, EdD, MS, Executive Director, Indiana AHEC Network, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
Adrian Billings, MD, PhD, Preceptor, Chief Medical Officer, Presidio County Health Services, Chief of Staff, Big Bend Regional Medical Center
Shobhi Chheda, MD, MPH, President Elect, Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM), Associate Dean for Medical Education, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Dave Keahey, MSPH, PA-C, Chief Policy and Research Officer, Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)
Joyce Knestrick, PhD, C-FNP, President, American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
Mark Loafman, MD, MPH, Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Diane Padden, PhD, CRNP, Vice President of Professional Practice and Partnerships, American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
Michael Powe, Vice President, Reimbursement & Professional Advocacy, American Academy of PAs (AAPA)
Scott Shipman, MD, MPH, Directory of Primary Care Affairs and Workforce Analysis, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
Beat Steiner, MD, MPH, Assistant Dean of Clinical Education, University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Vince WinklerPrins, MD, Assistant Vice President for Student Health, Georgetown University, Division of Student Affairs
Hope Wittenberg, MA, Director, Government Relations, Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM)
Olivia Ziegler, PA, Chief Assessment Officer, Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)

Project Director

Mary Theobald, Chief of Strategy and Innovation, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine

Project Managers

Melissa Abuel, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM)
Emily Walters, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM)
Emily Yunker, MPA, PMP, Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)

Preceptor Expansion Initiative Tactic Teams

11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway

Leawood, KS 66211

(800) 274-7928

stfmoffice@stfm.org

Membership

Community

About

Advocacy

Governance

Key Initiatives

Journals

Other Publications

CAFM Educational Research Alliance (CERA)

Research Resources

Annual Spring Conference

Conference on Medical Student Education

Conference on Practice & Quality Improvement

General Information

Certificate Programs

Webinars

Online Courses

Fellowships

Other Faculty Training

STFM Curriculum

More Curriculum Resources

Resources Fundamental to Family Medicine Education

Topic-Specific Aggregated Resources

Preceptor Recruitment and Retention Resources

Resources For

Awards

Scholarships

STFM Project Fund

Preceptor Expansion Initiative

Background Documents

Results of the Preceptor Expansion Initiative

Initiative Publications

Initiative Presentations

History of Building Better Clinical Training Experiences: A Learning Collaborative

Preceptor Expansion Oversight Committee

Oversight Committee Chair

Committee Members

Project Director

Project Managers

Contact Us

Events

Deadlines

Useful Links

AI Chatbot Tips

Tips for Using STFM's AI Assistant

1. Avoid Ambiguous Language

Example:

2. Use Specific Terms

Example:

3. Don't Assume the AI Knows Everything

Example:

4. Reset if You Change Topics

5. Provide Enough Context

Example:

6. Ask One Question at a Time

Example:

Examples of Good vs. Bad Prompts

Bad Prompt

Good Prompt

Double Check Important Information

Technical Limitations

STFM AI Assistant