The Perfect Preceptor.

Every plastic surgeon can become a better teacher. One of the keys to improvement is to have a thoughtfully considered plan of what to teach and how to teach it. This article describes what any surgeon can do before, during, and after a rotation to create an excellent learning environment for a medical student, resident, or fellow. Before the rotation, the preceptor should collaborate with the program director to develop the goals and objectives. The defined content is then distributed by week so that each objective is consciously addressed. During the rotation, the resident and preceptor identify the critical clinical and surgical experiences germane to the week's topic and focus on those patients. After the rotation, giving and getting meaningful feedback is much easier as the assessment scope and tool is derived from the curriculum that the preceptor helped develop.