Questions to ask a preceptor before you commit

Before you ask anything: know your own requirements

Your program decides what counts. Get these from your clinical coordinator or handbook first:

• The total clinical hours for this course, and whether any must be in a particular setting or patient population.
• Your required start and end dates.
• Which preceptor credentials your program accepts for this course.
• The forms your school needs the preceptor and site to complete, and by when.
• Whether your school needs an agreement with the site before you start.

With those in hand, you can check fit instead of guessing.

Schedule and hours

• Which days and hours could I be with you each week?
• At that pace, could I complete my required hours between my start and end dates?
• Are there weeks you’ll be away (holidays, conferences, leave) that we should plan around?
• If you’re out sick or the clinic closes, is there another clinician I could work with, or do those hours pause?
• Will all my time with you count as the kind of clinical time my program requires? (Your program defines this; ask your coordinator if you’re unsure.)

Patients and specialty fit

• What does a typical day look like, and which patients will I see most?
• Does your patient population match what my course requires, such as particular ages or conditions?
• Will I see new patients as well as follow-ups?
• Is the practice primary care, specialty, inpatient or telehealth, and roughly how is the time split?

Teaching style and expectations

• Have you precepted before? What did students do well, and what did they find hard?
• How independent will I be at the start, and how will that change over the rotation?
• How do you like to give feedback: during the day, at the end of the day, or weekly?
• Who completes my evaluations, and have you used my program’s evaluation forms before?
• Is there anything you’d like me to prepare before day one?

Paperwork

• Are you willing to complete my program’s preceptor forms (for example an agreement, your CV or résumé, and licence details) and sign my hour logs?
• Does your site already have an agreement with my school? If not, who at the site handles that?
• Does anyone else at the site need to approve a student, such as a practice manager, HR or a legal team?
• In your experience, how long does the site’s side of the paperwork usually take?

The site’s own onboarding

The clinical site may have requirements on top of your school’s. Ask:

• What does the site need from me before I start? For example, immunisation records, a background check, a drug screen or specific training.
• Will I have my own login for the health record, or work under yours?
• Where do I park, what should I wear, and who do I ask for on the first day?

Red flags worth taking seriously

• Vague or shifting answers about how many hours you can get.
• Reluctance to complete your program’s forms or sign your hour logs.
• A patient population that doesn’t match what your course requires.
• Pressure to start before your school has approved the preceptor and site.
• Any suggestion that you log hours you didn’t actually work.

You can usually work through the first four with your clinical coordinator. The last one you can’t: decline.

A checklist before you say yes

• My program’s hour, date and credential requirements are confirmed.
• The weekly schedule gets me to my required hours in time.
• The patient population fits my course.
• The preceptor will complete my program’s forms and sign my hour logs.
• The site agreement exists or is in progress.
• I know the site’s onboarding requirements.
• Feedback and evaluation expectations are clear.