2 preceptors?

[jwraider]

Anyone have experience/opinions with having 2 preceptors for a paramedic internship?

I'm potentially doing my internship with a FD that is very dedicated to EMS (transports, long history of providing service). The fire medics rotate tours on the engine and the ambulance resulting me having 2 preceptors.

Interested in anyone who's had experience and any advice about what it would be like.

[nsmedic393]

Here it is required by the schools for all students to have two preceptors, 500 hours with one and 500 with the other. Personally i think it is a great practice, as far a quality control the student is evaluated by two independent preceptors. From the point of view of the student, they have the opportunity two learn from 4 medics instead of two (partners included). You can never go wrong learning how different people approach the job.

[LadyDragonFire]

i am right now in my medic class also. for our clinical hours and our ems hours you never really know who your preceptor is going to be. there are a lot of them that all run for this system and you get assigned to a shift and the one that happens to be working that shift. i have already done 6 different field ems rides and have had a different preceptor for each.

[lifesaver4u]

There is really nothing wrong with having 2 preceptors depending on how the shifts run at the agencies you are doing your preceptorship at. And the time you are allowing yourself to get this preceptorship in. This is good in many ways due the possibilities of seeing the differences in the people that you are following could be some different ways to allow you to see calls and how they are handled, as well as two different ways of looking at things due to the individual that you are following. Hope this helped you out some.

[DwayneEMTP]

As well, here we have four preceptors. I think it's an outstanding way to go...assuming you have good preceptors.

We spend eleven shifts with each (132 hrs) and it gives you a good look at what they do, how they do it, but more important, why.

Make sure you milk your preceptorship for all it's worth, and if you find your preceptor doesn't also happen to be a teacher, then request a different one. In my very limitted opinion, preceptorship can make the difference between bringing all of your didactic hours into focus, or simply scattering that information to the winds...

Good luck to you!

Dwayne

[jwraider]

Thanks guys =) Lot's of helpful info and it's good to hear people have good experiences with multiple preceptors.

My internship is expected to last 500 hours but can be extended to 700 ( they really don't like to do that).

I'm mostly worried about getting mixed messages or having one fo the preceptors be not as good (in whatever way) as the other.

[Just Plain Ruff]

having multiple preceptors can be a double edged sword.

On the one hand you get to learn from several people. You can see how others do it and you can take the best stuff from each and integrate it into your routine

The other hand is not so good - you also run the chance of getting some really really bad preceptors. I had one preceptor in my internship that was so lazy and a real asshole that I tried to get off their shift but due to limited numbers of preceptors I was stuck with a "green, fat, stupid" medic preceptor who had forgotten everything they had ever learned about medicine and was content with just being a lazy screwup.

I complained about their behaviour and for my troubles I was told that all my hours with them would not count. Of course I protested and they ended up counting but I had to purge everything this freak of nature told me because it was most often wrong.

So multiple preceptors are good most of the time but you never know.

[firedoc5]

If you do have a problem with different preceptors, go to both of them, not just one. But go to a superior first if at all possible. Everybody needs to be included.

[stcommodore]

I was given two in school, eventually had a third after one didn't work out and moved to another.

When I initally started preceptor A was nights and B was days so there platoon rotation worked well. By the end Preceptor A was back on rotating days/nights and Preceptor C switched platoons and ended up working oppsite of Preceptor A which made the end very intersting.

[bikermedic272]

You should take every hour or call spent with any preceptor as a valuable learning experience. Spending time with a lazy, uncaring medic should teach you exactly wehat kind of medic you dont want to be.