What kind of teaching, support, and feedback do medical residents need from the preceptors who supervise their work? For faculty and community preceptors in busy primary care settings, it can be challenging to balance direct patient care, documentation, and supervision while still providing residents with the kind of coaching that truly strengthens their clinical reasoning, communication skills, and professional identity.

A recent article from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine addresses this question by analyzing resident feedback on their experiences, highlighting the methods that are most effective. The authors identify specific supervision behaviors that residents find most helpful in the outpatient setting—such as clear expectations at the start of clinic, timely and actionable feedback, intentional teaching around complex patients and social determinants of health, and supportive debriefing after difficult encounters.

These findings can help preceptors refine their approach to teaching in real time, enhance the learning environment, and ultimately improve the quality and safety of patient care—especially in practices serving Medicaid and other high‑need populations.

To learn more, check out the ADL’s January 1 Highlighted Resource: What Do Residents Want From Clinical Supervision in Primary Care Practice? Identifying Desired Behaviors for Outpatient Precepting.