THURS-068 - "It Was a Win-win Experience": Preceptor Insights from the Connecticut Public Health Fellowship Program

Brief Abstract Summary: The current public health workforce is essential for training today’s students. This study explores an evaluation gap in experiential learning, by documenting the perspectives of preceptors to understand their barriers and needs to be effective mentors and practice instructors.
The Connecticut Public Health Fellowship Program created experiential learning opportunities and fostered collaboration between students and preceptors. Between January 2023 and December 2024, 63 preceptors supported 97 students in 36 agencies. We evaluated the experience of the preceptors to understand (a) the profiles of preceptors, (b) their perception of the students, and (c) their experience as a preceptor. This study found that preceptors were overwhelmingly positive about the experience and would encourage other professionals to participate. Results highlighted the mutual benefits for students, agencies, and preceptors while balancing preceptors’ apprehension about meeting students’ learning needs.

Detailed abstract description:

Background: The current public health workforce plays a critical role in supervising and training public health students through internships and applied practice experiences. The significant growth in public health academic programs has coincided with a shift towards applied practice competency development, necessitating placements in public health agencies and supervision by experienced practitioners. The Connecticut Public Health Fellowship Program (CT PHFP) created experiential learning opportunities and fostered collaboration between preceptors and students. This study explores the important gap in public health education evaluation, by documenting the experiences and perspectives of preceptors in order to better understand their barriers and needs to be effective mentors and practice instructors. We evaluated preceptors’ (a) the sociodemographic and education profiles, (b) their perception of the students, and (c) their experience as a preceptor.

Methods: Between January 2023 and December 2024, 63 unique preceptors supervised 97 undergraduate and graduate students across 36 public health agencies statewide. Utilizing a multi-methods approach, 87 preceptors exit surveys were collected and 27 preceptors participated in one of two member checking sessions. Closed-ended responses to the exit surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics while thematic analysis was used to analyze open text responses from the surveys and two member checking sessions.

Results: Preceptors responded positively to the exit survey; all responses (n=87, 100%) indicated they were satisfied with the program, felt supported by the CT PHFP team, and would encourage other public health professionals to precept a fellow. Analysis of the open-ended responses revealed mutual benefits, that preceptors felt the students grew in their core competencies and they and the agency benefited from their new insights, perspectives, and energy. However, there was still apprehension about the student fit, given students varying competencies and knowledge-based and the preceptors ability to meet the student’s individual needs.

Conclusion: Student experiential learning is dependent on the public health workforce to provide supervision and mentorship. This study of the CT PHFP found that preceptors were overwhelmingly positive about the experience and would encourage other public health professionals to participate. They highlighted the mutual benefits for students, agencies and preceptors. However, respondents also noted the potential challenges of providing meaningful learning experience for diverse students and the practical constraints of the agency. The findings offer actionable recommendations to sustain and strengthen programs such as the CT PHFP leveraging the often-under-reported preceptor perspective.