Comparing ambulatory preceptors’ and students’ perceptions of educational planning

To compare ambulatory preceptors’ and students’ perceptions of the use of educational planning (setting goals, assessing needs, formulating objectives, choosing methods, and providing feedback and evaluation) in the office setting, we mailed a survey, which was returned by 127 longitudinal ambulatory preceptors and 168 first-year and second-year medical students. Faculty perceptions did not match student perceptions of what occurred in the longitudinal preceptor program teaching sessions in educational planning areas. Students perceived these activities were occurring with much less frequency than faculty perceived. Medical education needs to move beyond the usual faculty development workshop paradigm to a more comprehensive educational development model that includes training both faculty and students in core educational skills. This will enable the ambulatory setting to reach its full educational potential in training future physicians.