The team concept in supervised practice: benefits for students and preceptors.

Economic pressures in health care today make it difficult for many practitioners to provide educational opportunities for dietetic students. Staff members at practice settings, with increased responsibilities on the job, stipulate limitations on the numbers of students and request that they be better prepared. Dietetic educators are faced with maintaining the quality of supervised practice, particularly for new students, in spite of reduced availability of practice settings and time limitations of staff preceptors. An option is the multiple assignment--a technique in which students function as a team. Three students, each with a set of specialized objectives, cooperate in the care of one patient: One is the doer, one is the resource person, and one is the evaluator. This methodology was adapted to dietetics, and a pilot project was conducted in a hospital setting. Three student teams (nine students), three clinical preceptors, and one faculty member participated. Students achieved at high levels and demonstrated great satisfaction in their supervised practice. For staff preceptors, the team approach reduced student-related time involvement by one-half and promoted the quality of student performance. Guidelines for further application of the model are given.