A checklist for precepting by telehealth

Before the first visit

A little setup in the first week makes every visit after it easy:

• Give the student access to your practice’s HIPAA-compliant video platform, the same one you use with patients.
• Agree how the student joins: from their own login, or added to each visit by your staff.
• Share your visit template, so the student documents the way you do.
• Agree a backchannel for quick questions during a visit, such as your practice’s secure messaging.
• Check the student’s camera, microphone and a quiet, private space for visits.

Introducing the student

Patients are used to students in clinics, and most welcome one on a video visit too. A short, confident introduction works best: “I have a nurse practitioner student working with me today, and they’ll start our visit. I’ll be here the whole time.” Follow your practice’s consent process, and the patient knows who is on the call and why.

Start each visit by confirming the patient’s location and a callback number, as you would on any telehealth visit.

Who does what on the call

Agree the split before the visit so the call flows. A common pattern as the rotation goes on:

1. 1OpeningYou greet the patient and introduce the student.
2. 2HistoryThe student takes the history while you listen.
3. 3ExaminationThe student guides the parts of the examination that work by video, such as observation, gait or a patient-assisted check.
4. 4Assessment and planThe student proposes the assessment and plan, and you confirm or adjust it with the patient.
5. 5ClosingYou close the visit, confirm follow-up and answer the patient’s questions.

The two-minute debrief

Right after the call, before the next visit, take two minutes with the student. The One-Minute Preceptor steps fit perfectly: ask what they think is going on, ask what led them there, share one general rule, name one thing they did well and one thing to do differently. Short and specific feedback, every visit, is what builds a student’s confidence over a rotation.

Documentation

The note should show that a student took part, which parts of the visit they led, that you supervised and saw the patient, and that you agree with the plan or what you changed. For services paid under Medicare’s physician fee schedule, you can review and verify a PA or APRN student’s note by signing and dating it, rather than rewriting it. Other payers set their own documentation rules.

Logging the hours

Ask the student to log each day’s hours the same day, in the school’s clinical log, while the details are fresh: the date, the time, the kind of visit and their role. You then review the log once a week and sign it off. Accurate weekly logs make evaluations and the school’s record-keeping simple for everyone.

With Preceptorate’s virtual precepting, our team runs the mentorship sessions, and your part is that weekly review and sign-off.

Good habits that keep it easy

• Schedule student visits in a block, so the student can join several in a row.
• Pick visit types that suit teaching by video: follow-ups, medication management, chronic care and psychiatric visits.
• Keep one teaching point per visit; the debrief stays short and memorable.
• Review the log on the same day each week.

Visit types that teach well by video

After the visit

A short routine after each visit keeps everything complete:

1. 1DebriefTwo minutes of feedback using the One-Minute Preceptor.
2. 2NoteThe student drafts the note; you review, adjust and sign.
3. 3Follow-upOrders, referrals and messages go out under your name.
4. 4LogThe student logs the visit and the hours the same day.

Common setup questions, answered

• Can the student join from home? Usually yes, from a quiet, private space, as your practice’s telehealth policy allows.
• Does the student need their own login? A student login keeps their drafts marked for your review and is the cleanest setup.
• Can the student lead a visit? Yes, once you have seen them do it well, with you on the call throughout.
• How are hours logged? In the school’s clinical log, the same day, with the visit type and their role.

Questions