Faculty development of community-based preceptors through a collegial site-visit program

Background: Interest in community-based teaching has been coupled with recommendations for faculty development of preceptors. Description: Within the Maine Practice Network, we conducted a year-long pilot program where 6 community-based preceptors each completed 2 collegial visits to another site. A framework for the site visit was developed, with art emphasis on discussing teaching practices. Follow-up interviews of preceptors who had been visited were completed. Evaluation: Qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed 4 themes: Promoting reflection, approaches to teaching, collegiality, and quality assurance. Participants thought the site visitor benefitted the most. Several preceptors indicated that they would attempt alternative teaching methods. The visits also appeared to assess the quality of the educational experience. Conclusions: A collegial site visit program may be an innovative faculty development approach for community-based preceptors. Such visits could promote context-specific reflection and provide an opportunity to build collegiality and to affirm one's teaching practices.