Competency framework for interprofessional preceptorship

Clinical learning in health professions education relies heavily on skilled, well-prepared preceptors. In Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS), where interprofessional education (IPE) is embedded in service delivery, preceptors play a critical role in facilitating collaborative learning among students from diverse professional backgrounds. In Brazil, most interprofessional preceptorship occurs in primary care with undergraduates and multiprofessional health residents enrolled in postgraduate residency training programs across 14 programs and 10 professional fields. The Programa de Educação pelo Trabalho para Saúde (PET-Saúde program) has become a significant driver of progress in interprofessional education at the national level. This study aimed to develop and validate a competency framework tailored specifically to interprofessional preceptorship in service-based learning environments. Using a qualitative competency-based design, the study followed four phases: a scoping review, semi-structured interviews, competency construction, and expert validation via the Delphi method. The resulting framework consists of 10 interdependent competencies: three transversal (Commitment to Interprofessionality, User-Centered IPE, and Interprofessional Communication) and seven specific (Pedagogical Mediation through Problematization, Interprofessional Conflict Management, Fostering a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment, Understanding of Professional Roles, Designing Interprofessional Learning Through Service, Assessment of IPE, and Leveraging Digital and Communication Technologies for Learning). Each competency is accompanied by a conceptual description and observable professional actions. This framework is innovative in its integration of pedagogical and contextual elements specific to SUS. It serves as a practical tool for faculty development, interprofessional curriculum design, and health policy planning. By reinforcing the pedagogical role of preceptors, the framework supports the development of collaborative competencies in future health professionals.