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For Preceptors

The Department of Family and Community Medicine invites you to become adjunct faculty and precept for our six-week family medicine clerkship that prepares students for a career in family medicine. 

We rely heavily on volunteer Family Physicians in private practice to give our students the depth and continuity of clinical experiences they require. This is a unique and rich opportunity for students to develop an understanding of family medicine and hone their skills at diagnosis, physical examination and general patient care.

Community physicians are invited to become adjunct faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Our adjunct faculty precept for our medical students during their six-week Family Medicine rotation. As an adjunct assistant professor, you will receive a SLU email account and be able to access our Online Digital Library, where you will find medical journals, clinical keys, database research guides and much more.

The experience of working with you will likely be the highlight of the students' year. In addition, Preceptors report being more enthused and renewed when they have medical students with them.

During the family medicine clerkship, students will follow your schedule except for Wednesdays when they are in class.

In recognition of physicians who agree to precept students, the American Academy of Family Physicians will award CME credits (hour for an hour up to 20). For osteopathic physicians, the American Osteopathic Association also awards continuing medical education credits for physicians serving as preceptors.

We are currently recruiting preceptors for all rotations.

Become a Preceptor

To become an adjunct faculty member, take the following steps: 

Please note that once we have all of the above items, it will take a few weeks to process. You may precept a student while processing. Once processed, your paperwork will not have to be renewed again for five years.

For more information, contact Dr. Kimberly Schiel at kimberly.schiel@ssmhealth.com or 314-977-8492.

How to Claim CME Credit for Precepting

Each preceptor may claim up to 20 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for medical student teaching, each year. To claim your credits:

  • Log in to your AAFP account
  • Report CME ->
  • Report Self-Directed Learning Activities ->
  • Teaching ->
  • The title can be entered as: Medical Student Precepting
  • Enter the start and end dates of the rotation (s)

OR

  • Log in to your ABFM account
  • CME ->
  • CME tracking ->
  • Report as a “live” activity

OR

Upon request to Ashley.lewis@health.slu.edu, we will provide you with a letter that can be forwarded to AOA for teaching hour verification.

Preceptor Onboarding

Please send an e-mail to Ashley Lewis (Ashley.lewis@health.slu.edu) with the following information:

  • Full Legal Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Practice Address
  • Phone number
  • Email

After receiving the above, we will start the onboarding process. Thank you.

Performance Improvement (PI) Project

Welcome to Saint Louis University Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Preceptor Performance Improvement (PI) Project! This project is designed to: 

  • Improve your clinical teaching skills as a preceptor
  • Fulfill your ABFM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) PI Project (Formerly called Part IV)
  • Add very little extra time to your teaching load

The project consists of several elements:

  1. Viewing an educational video and/or reviewing two articles on the “One Minute Preceptor” approach to clinical teaching.
  2. Meeting with your student learner(s) before and after the intervention period, which is at least 180 one-on-one contact hours with the learner(s). Both the preceptor and learner will fill out teaching assessments. Note: you may fulfill these requirements over more than one rotation, with more than one learner if necessary.
  3. Filling out a total of five self-audits during the 180-hour intervention period.
  4. Signing an attestation form that you fulfilled the above requirements.
  5. Submitting the forms from steps 2, 3 and 4 above to our coordinator, Ashley Lewis, at Ashley.lewis@health.slu.edu.

One-Minute Preceptor Video

For Faculty and Community Physicians

The Saint Louis University Department of Family and Community Medicine educates medical students, residents, and academic and community family physicians. We offer you relevant and interesting Continue Medical Education, and the opportunity to teach and mentor the next generation of physicians. 

Continuing Medical Education Credit is available at SSM St. Mary's Hospital and on the SLU campus:

  • Join us for our monthly Grand Rounds, held on the third Wednesday of each month at St. Mary's Health Center. Please contact Charron Ford for additional information at charron.ford@health.slu.edu.
  • Learn how to address Substance Use Disorder in patients and our colleagues explore primary care research at the annual Primary Care Research Symposium.