The first time a medical student sits beside a seasoned physician in the exam room, something transformative happens. In that ordinary moment of listening to a patient’s story and deciding on a course of care, the student begins to see what medicine truly means. For many, that moment, guided by a preceptor, becomes the compass that defines the kind of doctor they will become. “Preceptors profoundly shape the trajectory of medical students,” says Dr. Lynsey Drew, dean of Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo. “The time a physician spends teaching in the clinic or hospital often becomes the moment a student discovers who they are, what kind of physician they want to become and why the calling to medicine matters.” That calling has never been more urgent. Across the United States, and even more acutely here in Utah, medical schools are expanding faster than clinical teaching opportunities. Class sizes are growing and new campuses are opening, yet the number of available preceptors has not kept pace. Each year, thousands of clinical weeks must be filled to meet accreditation and graduation requirements. Without more physicians willing to teach, students face delays or limited access to the very experiences that make them competent, compassionate clinicians. The Growing Strain In 2025, Veritas Health Solutions published “Bridging the Gap,” a report commissioned by Utah’s Health Workforce Advisory Council. The findings were sobering: The state faces a “significant and growing deficit in clinical preceptor capacity,” particularly in “You Help Shape Who They Become” A Call for Family Physicians To Meet Utah’s Urgent Need for Clinical Preceptors family medicine. Its companion report, “Development Process and Supporting Research,” outlines how that shortage emerged alongside Utah’s rapidly expanding medical education landscape, including new osteopathic and allopathic programs and regional campuses designed to keep students in-state. Research shows that most medical students who attend school and complete residency training in a state will stay to practice there. That means Utah’s preceptors aren’t just teaching students, they are shaping the future healthcare workforce of their own communities. Dr. Drew calls this a “tremendous opportunity.” She notes that nearly 80% of healthcare happens not in large academic centers, but in community-based clinics. “Those community physicians are uniquely positioned to teach the skills, judgment and values students need most,” she says. “The investment of preceptors strengthens our profession in ways that extend far beyond any single rotation.” A Preceptor’s Perspective In Provo, Dr. Erik Gulbrandsen, a family physician, has been precepting medical students since finishing his residency. 17
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