Become a Preceptor for Yale Physician Assistant Online Program Students

The Yale Physician Assistant Online Program (Yale PA Online) appreciates your interest in learning more about becoming a preceptor for our students. Preceptors are key to providing real-world experiences for our PA Online students that hone the skills and knowledge learned in classes. We are looking for preceptors for our clinical rotations and our Clinical Experience in Early Didactic (CEED) program.

Program Overview

Yale PA Online enrolls outstanding students from across the country who are committed to advancing the physician assistant profession. Our program includes students from diverse locations, with a wide range of prior health care experience and educational backgrounds.

The program is 28 months in length. The first 12 months include didactic learning and the CEED program. CEED, which starts each May and lasts eight months, allows students to gain 4-6 hours of clinical experience in their home community each week. The remaining 16 months of the program make up the clinical phase, which includes 15 four-week clinical rotations and a master’s capstone project. The clinical phase also includes three elective rotations.

Clinical Rotation Areas

Each student completes rotations across seven focus areas:

  • Internal Medicine
  • Primary Care
  • Pediatrics
  • Behavioral Medicine
  • Emergency Medicine
  • General Surgery
  • Women’s Health

As stated above, students also participate in three electives.

For additional information about the Yale PA Online Program’s Clinical Curriculum, please visit our CEED page, Clinical Rotations page, and Clinical Course Descriptions page.

Eligibility

You are eligible to serve as a preceptor if you:

  • Are an NCCPA-certified physician assistant (PA), board-certified medical doctor (MD), board-certified doctor of osteopathy (DO), nurse practitioner (NP), certified nurse midwife (CNM), or psychologist (PsyD)
  • Are licensed and in good standing with your state licensing board
  • Have practiced for at least a year in your current discipline
  • Are willing to assist students in meeting their learning objectives for the rotation

All clinical preceptors and clinical sites are vetted by the Yale PA Online Program.

“My preceptor supports me and my education fully; I am incredibly thankful.”

– Class of 2021 Student

Why Volunteer as a Preceptor?

Giving Back

Precepting provides a meaningful opportunity to give back to the next generation of PAs, carrying on the tradition of your preceptors.

Positivity

It is emotionally rewarding to share your passion for your work with enthusiastic students and to witness their excitement as they learn.

Continued Learning

You will learn along with your students as you update your knowledge about trends in medicine and revised clinical practice guidelines.

Continuing Medical Education Credit

  • AMA Category 2: One hour can be claimed for each hour of direct supervision of a student.
  • AAPA Category 1: This may be earned by PA preceptors who register with the program in advance for up to 10 hours per year.
  • AAPA Category 2: One hour can be claimed for each hour of direct supervision of a student that was not used to apply for Category 1 CME.

“I loved my preceptor’s attitude with her patient interactions and passion for her field. I also loved how she would quiz me on board questions … how she would let me see patients on my own and have me come up with diagnoses and a plan for her review, how she took extra time in the day to teach me phlebotomy and various other procedures … She was challenging yet supportive, and I owe my increased confidence and knowledge base to her.”

– Class of 2021 Student

What Our Current Preceptors Say

“Wherever [student] ends up practicing, she will be a wonderful asset to the community she serves, and they will be lucky to have her.” – Primary Care Preceptor

“[Student] is truly an asset to have in a clinical setting. She is confident and is able to perform well under pressure. She will make a fine clinician.” – Primary Care Preceptor

“[Student]’s physical exam skills were one of her strengths during this rotation. Her respect and kindness toward patients and family was an admired strength during this rotation.” – Emergency Medicine Preceptor

“[Student] did a nice job of establishing a rapport with patients quickly and formulating a plan to help. He is certainly one of the most genuinely enthusiastic students we’ve had through.” – Emergency Medicine Preceptor

For more information, please view our Preceptor Approval Form, Clinic Site Approval Form, and Hospital Site Approval Form.

Apply to be a Preceptor

If you are interested in teaming with Yale PA Online as a preceptor, please complete and submit the preceptor interest form. You will be contacted by a member of the Clinical Placement Team. If you have any questions, email us at clinicalplacement@paonline.yale.edu.