Individualizing instruction in family medicine preceptorships.

By tailoring the objectives, rate, content, strategy, and control of instruction to match each medical student's aptitudes, it is possible to increase his level of achievement and satisfaction. The preceptorship setting is ideally suited to such individualized instruction, which can best be accomplished by matching the student to a preceptor, and continually adjusting instruction during the preceptorship. However, any program of individualized instruction requires the medical school's support in terms of time, resources, and faculty development.