The impact of medical students on rural general practitioner preceptors.
BACKGROUND
As universities rely more heavily on rural GPs to precept medical students, the formation of symbiotic partnerships benefiting students, universities and GPs, becomes imperative. In order to develop and consolidate these partnerships universities must understand who their rural GP preceptors are and how precepting impacts on them.


METHODS
A review of the literature was undertaken to determine the significant themes of student impacts from articles where conclusions were clearly based on empirical findings.


RESULTS
Forty-three articles were included in the final review, but only nine specifically looked at impacts on rural GPs. Impacts were categorized into six domains: personal; time; patient care; professional relationships and professional development; business and infrastructure; and recognition and remuneration.


CONCLUSIONS
Literature specifically addressing the impact of precepting on rural GPs is scarce. Further studies are required to evaluate the relationship between the quality of teaching delivered to students, the type and length of student attachments and the likely impacts on rural GPs.
Walters
Lucie
L
Flinders Rural Clinical School, Flinders University, Mt Gambier, South Australia, Australia. lucie.walters@flinders.edu.au
Worley
Paul
P
Prideaux
David
D
Rolfe
Heidi
H
Keaney
Cath
C
D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019035:Rural Health Services; D013337:Students, Medical; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce