TITLE:
Site Visits in Family Medicine: Stakeholders Perspectives on How Site Visits Can Be Improved to Maximize Preceptor Support and the Quality of Medical Student and Resident Supervision
AUTHORS:
Colla J. MacDonald, Edward Seale, Douglas Archibald, Madeleine Montpetit, David Tobin, Michael Hirsh, Martha McKeen
KEYWORDS:
Site Visits; Family Medicine; Preceptor; Resident; Medical Student; Rural Community Site; Urban Community Site; Quality Standard
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.4 No.6A,
June
14,
2013
ABSTRACT: In 2012, the Department of Family Medicine
at the University of Ottawa conducted a study to identify stakeholder’s
perspectives of site visits and how they can be improved to support preceptors
and provide the best learning experience for medical students and residents.
Two data sources were utilized to address the research questions: interviews
with stakeholders (both focus group and individual interviews) and online
surveys with preceptors. The findings assert that establishing a process for
site visits to maximize preceptor support and the quality of medical student
and resident supervision is a complex process. Perceptions of quality site
visits for all stakeholders were strongly linked to: 1) having clear expectations; 2)
making site visits a priority and supplying the necessary support and
resources; 3) supporting preceptors
to be better teachers; 4) the quality and timeliness of preceptor
feedback from residents and medical students; 5) involving the medical student and resident in the
site visit process; and 6) an integration and collaboration among
curriculum, faculty development and evaluation resources. As researchers
continue to build site visit recipes based on theory and reflection of
practical experiences, the resulting insights will enable all stakeholders in
family medicine programs to make more informed decisions to positively impact
the quality of the site visit experience, support preceptors in being better
teachers and improve the quality of the supervision of residents and medical
students. This study takes one step toward building a broad base of theoretical
knowledge informed by practical experiences on site visits.