Western Pennsylvania Health Preceptorship Program (WPHPP)
The WPHPP was initiated in 1969 by University of Pittsburgh medical students working with faculty members from the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Division of Family Medicine, and continues to be entirely student-administered. The purpose of this program is to expose post- first and -second year students from the University of Pittsburgh and other medical schools to health care delivery in a community setting.The program is not designed to provide more than a rotating externship in a hospital, an experience available elsewhere. For an eight-week period in the summer, each student is assigned to a physician-preceptor at a community hospital, having the opportunity to work with the other hospital personnel and spend some time visiting community hospitals throughout Western Pennsylvania. Each participant receives a stipend for the eight weeks and, in some cases, room and board are provided.