The orientation: 90 minutes before your first student

What the ninety minutes covers

The modules follow a rotation in order. First the log: which system the school uses, what a student records about each patient, the rule that entries go in within 48 hours of the visit, and where you sign off. Then the two evaluation forms, midpoint and final, shown as the real forms with the fields you will fill. Then the first morning, the weekly progression, the two methods, and your coordinator.

Nothing in it is philosophy. Every module ends with something to do: a sentence to say, a field to fill, a question to ask. Stop after any module and come back; the video returns you to the same point. Most preceptors get through it across two or three evenings in the week before a student starts.

• The log system, the 48-hour rule, your sign-off.
• The midpoint and final forms, field by field.
• The day-one huddle, then shadow, see, present.
• The one-minute preceptor and SNAPPS, with scripts.
• What to do when hours run short.
• When to call your coordinator.

The first morning, and the progression after it

The day-one huddle is fifteen minutes before the first patient. You cover four things: how you want to be interrupted, where the student sits and stands in a room, what they may do without asking, and what time you break. Then you say the week's goal out loud. Students arrive braced for a test and are relieved to get logistics instead.

After that the rotation moves in three stages. For the first days the student shadows and writes questions down instead of asking mid-visit. Then they take the history and one focused exam first, and you come in after. By the second half they run the room, present, and you confirm. The orientation shows when to move on, which is usually earlier than a cautious preceptor thinks.

Two teaching methods you can use the next day

The first is the one-minute preceptor, for the doorway conversation. Ask the student to commit to a diagnosis before you discuss anything. Ask what in the history or exam took them there. Give one rule they can carry to the next patient. Name the specific thing they did well. Correct one thing, not five. It fits between two rooms.

The second is SNAPPS, for the student who talks for four minutes and lands nowhere. They summarise briefly, narrow to two or three possibilities, compare those out loud, then ask you about the part that confuses them. You settle the plan together, and they pick one question to read on that evening. The orientation runs both methods on the same case.

Forms, hours running short, and what this is not

Two modules deal with writing. On the evaluation forms, a comment that helps starts with a behaviour and a case, not an adjective: what the student did, in which visit, and what you want next time. Three weak comments get rewritten on screen. On hours, you hold logged hours against weeks elapsed at week four, and choose among three fixes.

One thing to be plain about: this is not accredited continuing education. No CE certificate is issued, no contact hours are awarded, and nothing in it counts toward a state renewal or a certification cycle. Precepting hours themselves may count with your certifying body, which is a separate matter with its own paperwork. The orientation exists to make your first rotation easier.

In order

• 01

  Clearance first

  The orientation opens once your documents are checked, before you accept a card.

• 02

  Watch in pieces

  Ninety minutes across as many sittings as you want, on your own hours.

• 03

  Answer the short checks

  A few questions per module, so the log and forms are familiar later.

• 04

  Take a student

  Your coordinator confirms it is done before a first day is set.

• 05

  Rewatch as needed

  The modules stay open for as long as you precept.

Questions