The Rural Physician as Preceptor: How rural physicians can supervise residents in a rural practice

Rural family practice offers a wealth of potential clinical teaching material for family practice residents. In order to exploit this potential, the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia has developed a community-based program in which second-year residents in family practice spend the year in rural communities under the supervision of a family physician preceptor. This paper describes some of the problems and satisfactions facing the rural physician who is interested in becoming a preceptor and offers practical guidelines on how a resident can be incorporated into the practice.