Emergency Medical Services Preceptor

Minimum requirements for becoming a preceptor:

• Current certification/licensure at or above the level of the student being precepted
• At least two years of full-time experience providing patient care at the current level of certification/licensure
• Employing agency approval

At Maricopa County Community Colleges, we value and take pride in our healthcare partners. A preceptor is a crucial part of the hands-on experiences for Health Science programs and contributes to training the next generations of healthcare professionals. Preceptorship involves teaching, demonstrating, and observing the student, as well as providing feedback and support. A preceptor has a vital role in developing safe, skilled, and ethical professionals. The Healthcare Education Preceptor page provides education and resources for our current and new preceptors. All preceptors must review the Preceptor Information Guide, HIPAA, and FERPA training modules. Additional information, modules, and an acknowledgment form for the various disciplines will be found on the specific discipline site.

• Review clinical objectives with the paramedic student/intern and discuss which objectives are to be included in the department activities for their scheduled shift. If you have any questions concerning specific skills or procedures, please contact the Prehospital Coordinator or Clinical Education Coordinator at your facility. You may also contact the Paradise Valley Community College Paramedicine Clinical Coordinator or Program Director.
• Have the paramedic student/intern sign in and determine their proper attire for the department/unit. The Paradise Valley Community College students have been directed to wear the approved paramedicine education program scrub uniform with required student identification cards.
• Orient the paramedic student/intern to the department/unit, reviewing rules and operating procedures with the staff and define the student/intern’s role. Any special regulations concerning the student/intern’s activities should be defined during this orientation.
• Review with the paramedic student/intern their clinical objectives and identify those skills applicable to the specific clinical area that they are assigned (e.g. OB assessments when assigned to the OB floor).
• For each activity, please demonstrate the skill initially, then coach the paramedic student/intern through the skill at least one time. Finally, observe the paramedic student/intern as they perform the skill.
• Observe the paramedic student/intern when they are performing activities with the staff. The preceptor should review the paramedic student/intern techniques and suggest corrections when appropriate. Constructive criticism is both expected and welcomed as a part of their development as healthcare professionals.
• Assist and evaluate the paramedic student/intern until they display competence in each activity on the checklist.
• Employ a variety of coaching and mentoring techniques, including but not limited to goal setting, active listening, follow-up, coaching questions, action planning, strength and weakness assessment, accountability, etc.
• Answer any of the paramedic student/intern questions concerning activities with the team or specific patients and their conditions.
• Each paramedic student/intern will have in their possession an electronic tablet device with their FISDAP or Platinum Planner access. This will allow the preceptor to complete the Daily Internship Evaluation Form: Preceptor Evaluation of Student. This electronic shift evaluation form must be completed and signed at the conclusion of their rotation in the department/unit. If more than one preceptor has been assigned to the student (e.g. shift changes, unit changes), the student will request additional preceptors to complete additional evaluation forms for the period of time they observed or were assigned to the student/intern.
• The paramedic student/intern may administer medications by oral, intramuscular, intravenous, intraosseous, subcutaneous, topical, and rectal routes under the direct supervision of the preceptor Paramedic, RN, NP, CRNA, PA, MD, DO. Observation of a patient's reaction to a drug (whether administered by the student or other licensed person) should be noted by the student and documented as required.
• Assist and evaluate the student until they are competent in each activity on the checklist.
• Answer any of the student’s questions concerning activities with the team or specific patients and their conditions.
• Each student will have in their possession a clinical evaluation form that must be signed at the conclusion of the rotation in the department.
• The student may administer medications by oral, intranasal, intramuscular, intravenous, intraosseous, subcutaneous, topical, and rectal routes (These should be accomplished under the direct supervision of the preceptor Paramedic, RN, NP, CRNA, PA, MD, DO).
• Observation of a patient's reaction to a drug (whether administered by the student or other licensed person) should be noted by the student and documented as required by the institution’s guidelines.
• Prior to clinical internship placement, all paramedicine students are currently validated and verified through The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Each Paramedic Student holds valid completion certificates in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP), and Pediatric Emergencies for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP).

• The student has successfully led the team if they have conducted a comprehensive assessment (not necessarily performed the entire interview or physical exam, but rather were in charge of the assessment), and formulated and implemented a treatment plan for the patient. This means that most (if not all) of the decisions were made by the student, especially formulating a field impression, directing the treatment, determining patient acuity, and disposition and packaging/moving the patient (if applicable). Minimal to no prompting was needed by the preceptor. No action was initiated/performed that endangered the physical or psychological safety of the patient, bystanders, other responders, or crew.
• For the capstone field internship to meet the breadth of the profession, team leads include transport to a medical facility and may occasionally include calls involving transfer of care to an equal or higher level of medical authority, termination of care in the field, or patient refusal of care. For an interfacility transfer to be documented as a patient contact during the field experience or the capstone field internship, the patient is transferred to a higher level of care requiring assessment and management.
• The student must serve as the Team Leader on at least 20 emergency response (EMS) patients.

The students will be using electronic evaluation forms on their FISDAP or Platinum Planner accounts. For each clinical and field internship shift, the preceptor will “Sign Off” after the student’s shift has ended and also complete a Daily Shift Evaluation Form.

An additional evaluation form will be completed after the student’s last field internship shift. This final capstone evaluation form is a Summative Affective/Cognitive Evaluation and serves as the student’s final field internship assessment.

See a sample of the FISDAP Daily Field Internship Evaluation Form—Preceptor Evaluation of Student and the grading rubric

See a sample of the Platinum Planner Daily Field Internship Evaluation Form—Preceptor Evaluation of Student and the grading rubric

Field internship competency is confirmed by consistent preceptor evaluations reflecting ratings of standard or above-standard performance.

At the conclusion of the paramedic student/intern’s capstone field internship phase of training, the assigned field preceptor must fill out the Final Capstone Field Internship—Preceptor Evaluation of Student form that will be sent to you by the Program Director. Prior to completing this required form, the field preceptor should verify that the paramedic student/intern has met the program requirements for completion of their capstone field internship phase and meets the competency standards to function solely and independently as an “entry-level paramedic.”

Capstone field internship competency categories assess all learning domains cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. Specific areas evaluated include:

• Knowledge base
• Assessment skills
• Treatment/patient management
• Communication skills
• Scene management
• Documentation

Field internship preceptors will evaluate and document the students’ performance as above standard, standard, below standard, or unacceptable. Field internship preceptor evaluations reflecting below standard or unacceptable marks will result in follow-up by the paramedic coordinator and program director with the student’s field internship preceptor and will require student remediation. At the discretion of the program director and/or program medical director, remediation may include:

• Additional required field internship shifts with a program-assigned paramedic preceptor
• Direct evaluation by Paramedic Program staff during assigned field internship shifts
• Direct evaluation by the Medical Director during assigned field internship shifts

See a sample of the Final Capstone Field Internship Evaluation Form—Preceptor Evaluation of Student and grading rubric.