In response to a growing medical care crisis, Manteo formed a Health Care Task Force in 2022 to tackle the challenge of attracting and retaining medical professionals. As part of this effort, the preceptor program was introduced, which pairs final-year medical students with experienced professionals to gain valuable hands-on experience.
In medical training, a preceptor is an experienced practitioner who provides supervision during clinical practice.
Franklin Walker, Vice President of the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), shared that the preceptor program can be an effective recruiting tool, especially for rural communities.
“It’s getting them into the rural communities and getting a taste of what goes on,” he said. “Hopefully this can be a recruitment not just for us, but for the rural communities, to try to entice medical personnel to our communities.”
In February of last year, Walker proposed the idea of Manteo becoming a preceptor hub to the Health Care Task Force. Since then, six students have participated in Manteo, Engelhard, and Ocracoke. The program is currently partnering with two North Carolina schools, Campbell University and UNC School of Medicine. Students typically spend one to three weeks at the preceptor locations, depending on their course requirements.
Any medical professionals who might be interested in working with students can contact Franklin Walker at [email protected].
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