Determination of aims for an undergraduate general practitioner apprenticeship

This study was undertaken to clarify the goals of the clinical general practitioner attachment scheme at the University of Queensland. Emphasis was placed on comparing the aims of the academics, the general practitioner preceptors and the students. Prior to the 2-week attachments students selected a different set of goals from those selected by academics and preceptors as most important. However, after the apprenticeship the students changed the goals in the direction of the preceptors'. Students' rating of the perceived level of achievement of the goals showed that the degree of correspondence between goals set by University teachers, preceptors and students was a good predictor of a successful learning experience. This study further suggests that teaching of Community Practice should not rest solely on apprenticeship schemes since preceptors' aims will largely determine the material learnt in the placement to the exclusion of more innovative academic goals.