Theses and Dissertations Collection

Clinical training is essential in medical student education and preparation for residency and clinical practice. Changes in the medical education landscape have led to curricular changes in medical schools, including the introduction of clinical experiences in the first year rather than the third year. These clinical immersion experiences typically occur in community settings to offer students more diverse learning experiences. In these settings, community-based practicing physicians (e.g., community preceptors) are recruited to teach medical students. However, whether community preceptors are prepared for their teaching responsibilities is unknown and the best practice for faculty development of community preceptors remains undefined. Moreover, little is known about how community preceptors perceive their teaching role and develop their professional identity as medical educators.

For the purpose of this research, a community preceptor is a practicing physician (i.e., MD or DO) who teaches medical students in a community-based clinical setting and has an affiliate clinical faculty appointment or volunteers at the medical school. The following dissertation includes three separate studies and associated manuscripts and has a three-fold aim: (1) to explore the current status of faculty development for community preceptors, (2) to understand how community preceptors perceive their medical educator’s role as it relates to their professional identity as practicing physicians through an exploration of motivators and barriers to teaching, and (3) to explore community preceptors' sense of self-identity in becoming a preceptor/medical educator.