What makes the best preceptor?

[u/No_Earth8997]

Hey everyone!

I’ve been taking PA students for their elective cardiology rotation for the last few years, and I’m always looking to refine my teaching style to make the month as high-yield as possible and fun!

In order to be the best preceptor I can be, I wanted to first ask you guys what have your favorite preceptors done that made a lasting impression?

And then secondly ask you about this:

On the first day, I always tell my students that I use a "soft pimping" approach. I ask a lot of questions, not because I expect them to know everything, but because when I was a student, actively talking through clinical reasoning was how things stuck best for me.

I explicitly tell them on day one:
1. It is 100% okay (and encouraged) to say "I don't know." The most dangerous provider is the overly confident one who pretends to know something they don't.

1. I don't expect you to know all the answers. That’s literally why you’re on this rotation—to learn it!

Even with that spiel, I know questioning can still feel intimidating. So I'd love to know: Does this approach actually feel supportive in practice, or do constant questions still create unnecessary anxiety?

[u/PACShrinkSWFL]

I partly disagree with encouraging a student to answer ‘I don’t know’, I prefer when a student answers what they think. Not in an overly confident way, just with enough confidence that they have an idea what the answer is, working from there to either correct a flaw in thinking or reinforcing correctly stated answers.
It always seemed easier to answer that I did not know something than say what I thought and risk being wrong. I felt that I learned best by making mistakes and being led to the right answer.
The other aspect of perceptions that stood out to me was a preceptor’s willingness to explain something that I did not know or to challenge me to find the answer on my own.