uq medicine 1 2016 preceptor... · dedicated to act as a preceptor to a year 1 student and...

UQ MEDICINEYear 1 Elective Preceptor Guide

www.medicine.uq.edu.aumedicine.uq.edu.au

United in our quest to make a global difference in health outcomes.

Our vision is to be the best Faculty of Medicine in Australia and among the best in the world.

As the custodians of more than 4,000 future medical, biomedical and public health practitioners and researchers, the Faculty of Medicine is driven, dedicated, and duty-bound to ensure our next generation of doctors, scientists, and health professionals is equipped with the tools to achieve their vision.

Australia’s Largest Medical

Program

Over 2500 Academic Staff

Over 700 RHD Students

We are physically co-located with Brisbane’s major hospitals as well as at UQ’s St Lucia campus. High-resolution technology connects us with health services throughout Queensland. This positioning places our students at the forefront of clinical teaching and practice and ensure that teaching and research in medicine, biomedical sciences and public health are informed by clinical need.

Cutting-edge facilities such as the $25 million Herston Imaging Research Facility and our laboratories in the Translational Research Institute sharpen our understanding of cancer, autoimmunity, mental disorders, infectious diseases and neurological disease. We aim to:

• train our medical and public health practitioners of the future• nurture our future medical, biomedical and public health researchers by

fostering research that is as inspirational and innovative as it is outcome-driven• tackle complex medical problems that represent global challenges to human

health• build strong links with local clinical partners and global leaders in medical

science• invest in cutting-edge facilities to improve health education, stimulate future

generations of health professionals and support researchers in their quest for better health outcomes

• translate our knowledge and innovation into new and improved treatments and cures to improve health and wellbeing everywhere

About our Faculty



WelcomeWelcome to the experience of being a preceptor to our Year 1 in the MD Program, at The University of Queensland. We are grateful you are able to provide guidance and mentoring to the next generation of Medical Graduates. The year 1 observership allows

the students a unique opportunity to experience clinical or research practice with senior colleagues in an area of medicine in which they have found a

particular interest. It is anticipated that this elective will be primarily observational and experiential.

This observership is occurring at the end of the first year of the program. This is a compulsory activity for all students undertaking the MD program at The University of Queensland. Students enrolled in the UQ-Ochsner program are required by the Australian Medical Council to undertake 8 weeks observership while the remainder of the students undertake 4 weeks.

The MD curriculum has been designed with an emphasis on case-based learning and group work. Years 1 and 2 (Phase 1) of the program provide students with a strong foundation

of biomedical and pathology knowledge in clinical context, clinical skills and research training. The curriculum in year 1

focusses on biomedical sciences, clinical science, population health, ethics and professional practice. Students learn clinical

examination and communication skills in small groups via peer examination. Students will also have attended workshops where they

demonstrate competency in procedural skills.

Upon completion of the elective, we request that you provide feedback for the student in a formative manner by completion of the “Preceptor Evaluation Form” . We would also appreciate you taking the time during the observership to give verbal feedback to the student in relation to their participation in the clinical environment. This assessment is designed to assess the student’s behaviour in a clinical setting, their level of knowledge appropriate for a year 1 student, their attitude when attending clinics and ward rounds, the level of interest that the student displayed and how they interacted with patients, colleagues and health care team members. The other feature to this year’s observership which is different to previous years is that students are graded on a pass/fail, so we ask that you consider this as they go through this process with you. Students are expected to attend Monday to Friday with full time hours where possible, and demonstrate appropriate knowledge and skill levels.

Again, I would take this opportunity to extend our appreciation for the time that you have dedicated to act as a preceptor to a year 1 student and acknowledge that this adds to your daily schedule but would hope that this will be both personally and professionally rewarding for you as much as it is for the student.

Dr James Fraser MBBS MSpMed MHEd Cert EM (ACEM)Academic Lead Assessment and Evaluation MD/MBBS ProgramFaculty of MedicineThe University of Queensland


PRECEPTOR GUIDE TO THE YEAR 1 ELECTIVE (Observership)

The Year 1 Elective (Observership) is an elective attachment with medical and/or scientific practitioners. Preceptors may be clinicians, scientists, or allied health professionals who agree to act as a preceptor for a medical student for the students’ elective period. Students may also elect to undertake a Research based elective instead of a clinical placement.

Students are required to successfully complete a requisite number of weeks of approved elective placement(s) at the end of their first year of study and it is a requirement to do this before being permitted to advance to their 2nd year of the program. Domestic and International students must complete a minimum of 4 weeks (20 days) to meet this milestone, whereas Ochsner students must complete a total of 8 weeks (40 days). This is a requirement to meet Australian Medical Council accreditation purposes.

It is expected that all students participate in full-time hours (negotiated with their preceptor/s and under direct supervision). Meeting the minimum required number of weeks cannot be obtained by working longer hours per day, more days, and/or weekends. That is attendance must be for the full number of days irrespective of the hours of attendance. That is students must attend Monday – Friday.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE YEAR 1 ELECTIVE (Observership)

The aim of the Year 1 elective is for students to gain a wider perspective on medicine, such as:• develop a knowledge of health systems• develop an understanding of the professional roles of a range of health care

professionals• develop an understanding of health care team dynamics, team management, and

patient roles• gain an insight into ‘the life of a doctor’• experience the practice of medicine in other environments• experience clinical and non-clinical research• develop appropriate communication skills with patients and colleagues

TIMETABLEIn most circumstances, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the preceptors and make the necessary arrangements for the placement. After discussions, the student should submit their placement details and written confirmation to the UQ Medicine through the online Student Elective System. The required time that students must complete in order to meet the requirements of the course are as follows:

• Domestic and International Students – 4 weeks or 20 days• Ochsner Cohort of students – 8 weeks or 40 days

The Year 1 observership period is from Monday, 14 November 2016 to early February 2017. Students are able to break this down and split their placement where the Domestic and International Students can split it to 2 placements of 2 weeks and Ochsner cohort students may also split their placements but there is a minimum requirement of 2-weeks duration to comply with the Australian Medical Council’s requirement of 8 weeks in total. The Ochsner program is a partnership between the University of Queensland and Ochsner Health System in the United States, so they have very specific requirements in order to satisfy both institutions.

Research-based electives can be undertaken at any time prior to the commencement of classes in 2017. Eligible students undertaking this option are required to complete a minimum of 80 hours under direct supervision of their preceptor in the case of Domestic and International Students. Ochsner students may complete a maximum of 4 weeksin a research placement and then the remaining 4 weeks must be in a clinical setting. If you wish for a student to remain involved in the research project that is perfectly appropriate, however, in terms of receiving credit toward the completion of the year 1 observership and to comply with the Australian Medical Council guidelines for the Ochsner cohort the students can only be credited for 4 weeks of research placement towards the course.

Researchers should be aware that any time that students spend in the “Summer Research Program” must be above and beyond their year 1 observership. Any time spent during the Summer Research Program cannot be credited toward their year 1 observership. We would ask that if you are participating in this program that you let the Electives Office know so that we can ensure all students meet the minimum requirements for their observership.


THE ROLE OF THE PRECEPTORThe role of the preceptor is multi-faceted. Primarily, the preceptor will act as facilitator and teacher. The preceptor will introduce the student to staff attached to the practice and to any procedures and timetables involved. Preceptors will provide some tuition in clinical and/or scientific skills and will help the student identify problems for self-directed learning.

The preceptor will also act as a mentor. The student will learn attitudes and professionalism from observing the doctor and discussing future potential clinical and personal issues.

Given these students will have only completed 1 year of their medical studies it should be observed that their knowledge and skills will be limited. As with any profession there will be varying degrees of knowledge and ability at this stage in their studies. With this in mind, we have attempted to present guidelines for the placements as open as possible.

As part of the students’ involvement in your workplace/clinic or ward we would ask that they are exposed to diverse and challenging opportunities that are appropriate for a student completing their first year of medical studies.


GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PRECEPTORS

All preceptors will have been requested to complete an SPA (Student Placement Agreement) in order to ensure that you are officially accepting a student from the MD program at The University of Queensland and that this then ensures that all students are covered under the UQ insurance, holding the following cover - $20 million in Public LiabilityInsurance and $10 million dollars in Professional Indemnity Insurance. This means there are no extra costs to you as the preceptor for undertaking this role and supporting our students and program. This document also covers the majority of legal questions and situations that you may be unsure of such as confidentiality, intellectual property and outlines the requirements of all involved parties – your practice, the university and the student.

In order to ensure that the student is adhering to expectations we would request that at the beginning of the placement an orientation is carried out with the student which incorporates such things as your practice requirements, values, what it is you expect from the student, and perhaps set some goals for the student during this placement andthat during the observership you provide feedback as to the progress of the student.

Some practices may be eligible for PIP (Placement Incentive Payments) for hosting a student. If you do meet the guidelines for this please contact us to facilitate the completion of these forms.

If preceptors have an existing relationship of any nature with the student we would ask that you declare this up front in order to avoid any conflict of interest claims.

Students are expected to complete the tasks assigned to them within a timely manner and while this is primarily an observership some students are exposed to a variety of supervised tasks according to their ability. Please ensure that you clearly convey your expectations and requirements to the student and advise if you are setting tasks that may be assessed for a level of competency.

We genuinely thank you for your involvement and hope that this will be both a professionally and personally rewarding experience and that you may wish to participate in future years.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PRECEPTORS

Students should at all times be dressed in smart business attire that is suitable for your practice. They should be reminded that, for all intents and purposes, this is their work place and should dress as such. Students are expected to comply with any dress requirements that you may have for staff and must demonstrate that they are attempting to adhere to these directions.

Students should behave in a professional and appropriate manner at all times during their observership. They have been advised that their code of conduct will come under scrutiny and that this is part of becoming a professional in the Medical field. We ask that when you are giving students an induction into your practice that they are made aware of any OH&S requirements and any other practices that you would expect from staff and that they are expected to comply with your practice’s code of conduct in conjunction with the UQ Student Code of Conduct.

All students are encouraged to ask questions, research further and to become involved with the practice/site during their time with you. Conversely, we would ask that they are treated as any other member of staff would be including having the same requirements and expectations on them as other staff as well as being afforded the same level of support and involvement.

If students are to be absent from their elective for any reason they must notify both your office and the Electives Office and any time missed must be made up in order to satisfy the requirements of the placement. If students are absent for ill health they should supply a medical certificate to that effect and again the time would need to be made up. We take attendance very seriously in relation to the observership and ask that you record any concerns that you may have.

Students have been reminded that they should communicate appropriately and professionally at all times with clinical and administrative staff, patients and other colleagues. Should you have a concern in relation to a student’s conduct we would ask that you contact Leanne Cronin whose contact details appear below.



EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

In week 3 of the placement students are required to submit a “student experience report” online which will include questions about how they feel they have performed in this setting, experiences they have had, and a chance to include any additional self-directed learning they have undertaken to ensure they are able to perform in the clinical or research setting as required. At the conclusion of the Elective, the student will request that the Preceptorcomplete the Preceptor Assessment Form which is available online at:

https://survey.its.uq.edu.au/Checkbox/ObservershipCPA.aspx

Preceptor/s will be requested to be open and honest and indicate whether they believe that the student has successfully completed their placement. Questions surrounding the conduct of the student in the clinical setting, their ability to adapt to the various situations, their communication skills, their attendance and their general demeanour and attitude will form part of this preceptor report.

Prior to the student finishing their time with you we would ask that you discuss their placement with them and the assessment that you have made. We would also welcome you making any relevant suggestions to the student on how they can best move forward with their studies and their future career. Given students can pass or fail this course, and in an attempt for them to take your feedback forward into their next learning experience, we would ask that you give as much feedback in each area as you are able to ensure an accurate understanding of the student’s performance can be gauged.

UNSATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THE ELECTIVE

We do acknowledge that students learn and progress at different stages and that their experiences will vary. We do ask that you submit a pass/

fail assessment of the experience. Students who you feel have not performed as you would have expected or do not demonstrate an

accepted level of knowledge to advance in their studies should be marked as “fail”. While this is unfortunate, this outcome will be discussed with the student by the Program Director during a counselling session. They are also given the opportunity to undertake a remediation elective that can be arranged by UQ Medicine. Students must successfully complete this elective prior to advancing to Year 2.

As a guide for preceptors, unsatisfactory completion of the elective could be due to poor attendance and/or attitude or not

displaying an accepted level of knowledge. Preceptors who are unsure of the assessment should feel free to contact Leanne Cronin

on the details below.

www.medicine.uq.edu.au

PROBLEMS THAT ARISE DURING THE ELECTIVE

If during the course of the elective any problems arise that cause concern to you as the preceptor please feel free to contact Leanne at UQ Medicine as soon as practicably possible. In particular, if student attendance or behaviour is inadequate or inappropriate, preceptors are urged to make urgent contact with:

Leanne CroninTeam Leader – Phase 2

Faculty of MedicineMayne Medical School

Herston Rd, Herston QLD 4006E [email protected]

T +61 7 3346 4885F +61 7 3365 5433

In closing UQ Medicine is extremely grateful to you for the experiences that you will support this student through during their time with you. The opportunities that you have afforded this student will contribute greatly to their continued learning experiences through their studies in their Doctor of Medicine program. The Faculty of Medicine acknowledges its debt to colleagues who contribute to this important component of outreach teaching and learning by taking on this role of preceptor.

uq medicine 1 2016 preceptor... · dedicated to act as a preceptor to a year 1 student and...

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