Frequently Asked Questions

The overall goal of SCI is to expose students to a population perspective on health and illness and to provide students opportunities to learn about the social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental forces affecting the health of patients and communities. Through the community clinic component of SCI (described below) students practice the interviewing, history-taking, and physical examination skills they are learning in their longitudinal medical skills course. As a part of SCI, students also take required conversational and medical Spanish and they are encouraged to participate in volunteer service learning.

Medical students attending the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine (PLFSOM) in El Paso, Texas take this course during the first and second year of medical school.

The community clinic experience (CCE) is an important component of SCI. First and second year medical students are assigned to a community based clinic in the greater El Paso area under the supervision of a primary care clinician or primary preceptor. First and second year students are expected to spend 2-4 hours per month in a community setting including numerous visits to their primary preceptor. Some of these visits will involve seeing patients with you in your office and others will provide students opportunities to spend time with other members of the health care team in your office and throughout the area.

Community clinic visit objectives are linked to SCI course and institutional objectives. These SCI objectives are shared with preceptors by the SCI team in preparation for student visits. Objectives and other resources are also posted on an SCI preceptor-only resource webpage.

The preceptor is asked to review learning objectives, allow students to interview designated patients and office staff, and provide feedback to students after each visit orally and by completing a brief online evaluation form. (Hard copies are available upon request.)

The number of students assigned varies depending on your availability and preferences. We encourage one student per week but one to two per month is a help too and some take up to four per week.

First year students are scheduled on either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons from August to April. They visit their primary preceptor five times over the academic year.

Second year students are scheduled on either Wednesday or Thursday mornings from August to February. Ideally they continue with their first year primary preceptor visiting just two times at the start and end of their second year.

Yes. Community preceptors require an adjunct faculty appointment at the PLFSOM to be in compliance with Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) requirements. LCME is the accrediting authority for medical education programs in the US.

With your faculty appointment at the PLFSOM you can have full access to the resources of the medical library and the thousands of journals and databases that are available online 24/7 including Up-To-Date.

Serving as a community-based faculty for the PLFSOM does not commit you to working only with our students, nor commit you to every semester. It is not uncommon for a community faculty member to have similar roles with more than one institution.

Prospective community preceptors must complete a faculty appointment form, provide a curriculum vitae, and copies of credentials. You will also need to obtain three letters of reference from colleagues. We will assist you in the preparation of this application (including the letters) to make the process as easy as possible. Paperwork must be in to the Office of Faculty Affairs at the PLFSOM before we can assign students to you.