Preceptor Introduction/Narrative

 

Thank you for your willingness to be a preceptor for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Program for Dietetic Interns (PDI). During our program interns learn the skills necessary to become entry-level dietitians with a concentration in community and public health nutrition. The Program Overview in the Affiliate Manual further describes the program.

Preceptor Roles and Responsibilities

The supervised practice experience gives students the skills they need to be entry-level practitioners. The preceptor’s role is critical in preparing students to function effectively as dietitians and instilling the value of life-long learning. As a preceptor your role includes:

  • Primary orienteer
  • Staff role model
  • Educator
  • Resource
  • Consultant

Responsibilities of the preceptor include:

  • Displaying excellence in the staff role by demonstrating clinical proficiency
  • Providing and directing learning experiences
  • Creating and maintaining learning atmosphere
  • Demonstrating knowledge of objectives and materials
  • Demonstrating knowledge of policies, procedures, rules, and regulations
  • Assisting the student in setting long and short term goals
  • Planning assignments based on the learning needs of the student
  • Communicating learning plans, evaluations, and concerns
  • Facilitating the student’s socialization and culturalization into the work environment

Benefits of Precepting

In these times of staffing shortages, fiscal constraints, and the nearly constant need to "do more with less," you are probably asking yourself "how will being a preceptor to a dietetic intern benefit me and/or my facility?” Interns typically 'give back' to their preceptors and supervised practice facilities by:

  1. Developing and conducting in-services education programs or quality improvement activities which you may be having difficulty completing during your usual schedule
  2. Developing and conducting education programs for patients, clients, other professionals and the community
  3. Students can assist with journal clubs to help update staff on the latest information in dietetic practice.
  4. Students can help give better supervision of employees. They can act as an extension of the dietitian rather than as someone else to supervise.
  5. Researching and presenting information on the latest care principles, medications, and/or studies
  6. Students increase your learning since they bring new knowledge and perspectives to your institution.
  7. Students can help define what you do. Their questions and your explanations often result in clearer ways of doing things and break the routine of day-to-day practice. They challenge the preceptor!
  8. Developing patient, client, and/or employee educational materials
  9. Gathering, analyzing, and reporting performance improvement data
  10. Developing and hosting National Nutrition Month 'health fairs' and other activities to promote nutrition, food safety, and wellness
  11. Completing a wide array of creative projects, audits, data gathering activities
  12. Providing staff relief in both clinical and management areas
  13. Students can help employee morale. Staff members who play a role in teaching students will feel more important and valued.
  14. Perhaps the most valued reward a preceptor receives is the satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment that come with positively influencing an intern's transformation into a capable entry-level dietitian. Think about how great it will be when an intern you helped prepare calls you to share good news - "I'm a Registered Dietitian!"

Information and Requirements

  • Supervised practice experiences are planned in advance according to a rotation schedule. They typically begin in mid-August with community rotations and end in mid-May with clinical experiences - see the PDI calendar.
  • The program has developed criteria for selecting and evaluating preceptors and sites that help ensure a quality experience for the intern and for the preceptor and site.
  • Prospective preceptors are invited to contact the PDI program director for more information on becoming a preceptor.
  • Prospective sites are required to complete an affiliate request form. The purpose is to provide facility information, type(s) of rotations that could be accomplished, number of interns that can be managed and best dates for rotations.
  • The Department requires that the program have a signed Memorandum of Understanding with each supervised practice site before interns are allowed to work at that facility.
  • Policies and Procedures for the PDI are located in the Policies and Procedures Section of the Intern Manual.
  • The Preceptor Evaluation of the PDI assists the program in making changes and improvements to the program.

Training

Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunities for preceptors may be located at http://www.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web/files/PreceptorDocumentCPE.pdf. Also located within this document is information on how preceptors can earn 8-Hour CPEUs for free by accessing the online Dietetics Preceptor Training Program available on the Commission on Dietetic Registration website. The program has seven modules, is self-paced, and is good for eight prior-approved CPEUs. The preceptor is allowed to stop and return after completing each module. Just click on the following link: http://cdrnet.org/news/online-dietetics-preceptor-training-course-free-of-charge

Evaluating My Intern

Preceptors help student interns develop the expected entry-level competencies by guiding their supervised practice and by providing constructive feedback regularly. The program has developed rubrics to use in assessing student learning, evaluation forms to use in documenting and assessing supervised practice competencies and rotation evaluation of the intern forms. Information explaining the evaluation process is located in the Evaluation section of the Affiliate Manual.

The following evaluation forms are located in the Evaluation Section of the Intern Manual.

Rotation evaluation forms of the intern are located in the Evaluation Section of the Affiliate Manual.

Required competencies and learning activities for the interns may be found in the Competencies Section of the Intern Manual.

Interns are expected to complete regular self-assessments that are nearly identical to those that preceptors complete. Interns share their self-assessments with preceptors when they meet. The focus of intern-preceptor meetings can then be on areas where the intern and preceptor differ in their assessment of the intern's level of competence. Another focus of the regularly planned intern-preceptor meetings is planning of supervised practice experiences so that the intern is able to continue to grow in both knowledge and skill.