Brief report: Utilizing an audiotape for outpatient preceptor faculty development

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Ambulatory Care
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Faculty development for ambulatory preceptors presents challenges due to time constraints and geographical dispersion.
• Effective strategies are needed to support busy, remote preceptors in medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of an audiotape-based faculty development intervention for ambulatory preceptors.
• To determine if an audiotape can positively influence preceptor teaching behaviors regarding student independence.

Main Methods:

• A short audiotape focusing on student independence strategies was distributed to ambulatory medicine preceptors.
• Student evaluations before and after the audiotape intervention were analyzed to assess changes in preceptor behavior.

Main Results:

• Student evaluations indicating a lack of independence decreased from 21% to 14% post-intervention (P=.03).
• For preceptors not initially promoting independence, the rate of reported lack of independence dropped from 72% to 42% (P<.001).
• No negative behavioral changes were observed in preceptors already fostering student independence.

Conclusions:

• A brief audiotape serves as an acceptable and novel faculty development method for ambulatory preceptors.
• This audiotape intervention shows potential to positively influence and improve preceptor teaching practices.
• The study highlights the efficacy of accessible, on-demand educational tools for enhancing clinical teaching.