FAQs by Preceptors for UTMB's Ambulatory Community Selective (ACS)
1.
Is there a policy in place that allows the rotating medical student to have a 1/2 day off each week from their clinical outpatient rotation? Please clarify.
Answer: Yes. The amount of time a student spends seeing patients under the supervision of a Preceptor is different for each of the 14 disciplines that participate in the ACS course, but UTMB does allow ACS preceptors to send their student home for 1/2 day each week during this rotation. This serves two purposes: 1) Allows the Preceptor time to do administrative duites each week without the student at their side and 2) If applicable, gives the student time to do the other requirements for this course (community projects, for example). This 1/2 day off from clinic time is not intended to be free time for the students. In fact, UTMB expects the students to be studying or working on community based projects during the 1/2 day off from your clinic.
To view the syllabi and specific requirements for each ACS discipline, please visit: http://ar.utmb.edu/ACSelectives/brochure.asp
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2. Does the student need to follow the Preceptor 100% of the time during the 4 weeks?
Answer: No. Every discipline for the ACS has different requirements concerning clinical time with the Preceptor. At minimum, two of the four weeks must be spent seeing patients with a supervising physician. The other 2 weeks can be spent doing things such as:
- Continuing to see patients under the supervision of the Preceptor
- Working with office staff (manager, front desk clerks, medical assistants, etc.)
- Working with NPs/PAs/nurses in the practice
- Service learning projects with community based organizations (a stated requirement with some ACS disciplines – but not all)
The important thing to remember is that this course is not just about learning direct patient care. We hope you will also allow the student to experience what it takes to operate an outpatient clinic. Below are links that will be helpful in explaining more about the ACS.:
- General ACS course information: http://ar.utmb.edu/ACSelectives/HistoryandRationale.htm
- Links to specific objectives for each discipline: http://ar.utmb.edu/ACSelectives/brochure.asp
