Physicians as preceptors for NP and PA students

Physicians in NP education

The 2022 National Task Force standards ask NP programs to document each preceptor’s degree, license and national certification, and they name nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants and clinical nurse specialists among the clinicians a program may use. Most programs place NP students with an NP in their own population focus for most of their hours, and with physicians for part of them, which broadens what the student sees.

A family physician might precept an FNP student’s adult or pediatric hours; a psychiatrist might precept a PMHNP student; an OB/GYN might precept part of a WHNP or nurse-midwifery student’s experience; a neonatologist might precept an NNP student in the NICU.

Physicians in PA education

PA students complete supervised clinical practice experiences across core areas of medicine, and physicians precept many of those rotations: family and internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health and surgery. Each rotation brings its own objectives and evaluation from the program.

Which physicians suit which students

What the school asks of a physician preceptor

Programs ask physicians for the same foundation as any preceptor:

• An active, unencumbered MD or DO license in the state where the student’s hours take place.
• Board certification in your specialty.
• A practice whose patients match the student’s course.
• A CV for the school’s file, and the school’s preceptor forms; with Preceptorate, our team completes the forms.

Teaching NP and PA students

NP and PA students arrive with a strong foundation in assessment and pharmacology and are ready to see patients, present and propose plans. The teaching models physicians already know from residency teaching, such as the One-Minute Preceptor and SNAPPS, work just as well. NP students bring a nursing lens to patient education and care coordination, which many physicians enjoy seeing in action.

Documentation

Medicare’s 2020 physician fee schedule rule lets physicians, PAs and APRNs review and verify, by signing and dating, notes made by medical, PA and APRN students, rather than re-documenting them, for services paid under the physician fee schedule. Commercial plans set their own rules, which your billing team knows.

Precepting with Preceptorate as a physician

Apply with your specialty and the states where you are licensed, and tell us whether you would like to precept in person, virtually or both. We match you with NP or PA students whose course fits your practice, verify your license, and set up a short first call. You see the hours and the pay before you accept, and our team prepares the affiliation agreement and the school’s forms.

How NP and PA education fit together

Nurse practitioner students are registered nurses completing a graduate program in a population focus, such as family, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, women’s health, neonatal or psychiatric-mental health, with at least 750 direct patient care hours. PA students complete a graduate program built on rotations across core areas of medicine. Both certify nationally, NPs with their population-focused boards and PAs with NCCPA, and both learn best alongside experienced clinicians who include physicians.

Teaching across professions

Many physicians already teach residents and medical students; precepting NP and PA students uses the same skills. The student presents, you probe their reasoning, you teach one general rule and you give feedback. The team-based care NP and PA students learn with you is the care they will practice alongside physicians for the rest of their careers.

Physicians and certification credit

The AAPA Category 1 CME for precepting PA students is for practicing PAs, and the nurse practitioner boards’ precepting credits are for NPs. Physicians who precept NP and PA students bring the reward of training future colleagues, and with Preceptorate, paid hours at the rate they set.

Questions