Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

The chief nursing officer at AMOpportunities and the founder of PreceptorLink.

About

Lynn McComas is the chief nursing officer at AMOpportunities and the founder of PreceptorLink. She is a recognized expert in precepting nurse practitioners and advanced practice provider students and has been matching preceptors since 2014. With over two decades in primary care, McComas has served as a coach, advisor, mentor, and preceptor for countless health care professionals, including NPs, nurses, and medical assistants. She co-founded a successful skills and procedures business and speaks nationwide on NP-related issues.

McComas is also a regular contributor on LinkedIn, KevinMD, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram @preceptorlink, X @LynnMcComas, and her blog, where she addresses the growing NP and PA professions and the urgent need for preceptor sites.

Her unique perspective, shaped by her business, clinical, and educational experiences, positions her as a key voice in tackling preceptor shortages. McComas is committed to driving change through a paradigm shift in NP education, reducing barriers, offering preceptor incentives, and advocating for reforms within the profession.

On The Podcast by KevinMD

How a unified agreement could help the preceptor shortageJan 5, 2025
How lack of hands-on experience could endanger patient safetyOct 4, 2024

Latest articles

Medical education

Teaching clinical reasoning starts with saying it out loud

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

October 7, 2026Oct 7, 2026

One of the most useful teaching techniques I have used as a preceptor is also one of the simplest: I think out loud. Experienced clinicians make hundreds of small decisions throughout the day. We know which questions to ask, which…

Much of that thinking becomes so automatic that we may not realize our students cannot see it. They can watch us conduct …

Conditions and diseases

What happens to evidence-based medicine when patients stop trusting the evidence?

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

August 20, 2026Aug 20, 2026

National Immunization Awareness Month got me thinking about vaccines, but probably not in the way you might expect. I have never been anti-vaccine. In fact, vaccines are very personal to me. My father had polio. I spent my entire life…

National Immunization Awareness Month got me thinking about vaccines, but probably not in the way you might expect. I have never been anti-vaccine. In fact, vaccines are very personal to me.

My father had polio. I spent my entire life watching the effects it had on him and thinking about how different his life might have been if the polio vaccine had been available before he contracted the disease. It became …

Health technology

Can AI scribes give clinicians time to teach again?

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

March 18, 2026Mar 18, 2026

If the computer is getting more of our attention than the patient, we have a problem. It is not a small annoyance. It is not just part of the job. It is pulling clinicians away from patients, draining attention from the exam room, and quietly chipping away at the quality of clinical education. We can debate workflow, efficiency, and EHR optimization all day long. But here is what I see …

Conditions and diseases

Protecting what matters most: Guarding our NP licenses with integrity

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

August 24, 2025Aug 24, 2025

As nurse practitioners, our professional licenses are more than credentials. They are symbols of trust, responsibility, and commitment. It is vital we never take them for granted, because when they are compromised, not only do we suffer, but our entire…

We must be vigilant: Safeguarding our licenses is on us alone

No one cares about our NP licenses as much as we do. They grant us the privilege …

Conditions and diseases

What if medicine had an exit interview?

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

June 20, 2025Jun 20, 2025

They left quietly. Logged their last note. Disconnected their badge. Maybe cleared out a drawer, maybe not. And just like that, another clinician walked away from medicine. No exit interview. No debrief. No conversation about what led up to that…

In most professions, when someone resigns, leadership wants to know why. What worked? What didn’t? What could we do better next time? But in medicine? We barely …

Read more…

What if medicine had an exit interview?

Medical education

The preceptor paradox: PAs get the nod while NPs are sidelined

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

April 23, 2025Apr 23, 2025

Let's talk about a trend I'm seeing—and honestly, I can't stay quiet about it anymore. Across the country, more and more NP programs are telling highly experienced family nurse practitioners (FNPs) working in acute care settings that they can't precept…

Let’s talk about a trend I’m seeing—and honestly, I can’t stay quiet about it anymore.

Across the country, more and more NP programs are telling highly experienced family nurse practitioners (FNPs) working in acute care settings that they can’t precept ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner) students. Meanwhile, those very same programs are approving Physician Assistants to precept ACNP students in those exact same roles.

I’m all for collaboration, and I respect the …

Medical education

How a standardized agreement could end the preceptor shortage

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

November 4, 2024Nov 4, 2024

A few years ago, my college-age sons utilized the Common App for college applications. It's a logical and brilliant concept: one online application that students can use to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once. And it's accepted by…

A few years ago, my college-age sons utilized the Common App for college applications. It’s a logical and brilliant concept: one online application that students can use to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once. And it’s accepted by thousands of colleges and universities worldwide. I remember thinking, “Why aren’t we doing this for nurse practitioner (NP) programs?” It seemed like a great solution, so I decided to research it.

Anyone …

Medical education

The future of health care depends on hands-on training: We cannot afford to cut corners

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

September 3, 2024Sep 3, 20244

Imagine walking into a doctor's office or hospital and being treated by someone who has never actually touched a patient before. Sounds absurd, right? Yet, this could become a reality if we continue to push aside the hands-on training of…

Imagine walking into a doctor’s office or hospital and being treated by someone who has never actually touched a patient before. Sounds absurd, right? Yet, this could become a reality if we continue to push aside the hands-on training of our future health care providers.

This may seem extreme, but it reflects a recent message sent by HR to one of our most dedicated preceptors. (Parts of the message are redacted …

Health policy

Why nurse practitioners train on the backs of physicians

Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C

December 19, 2017Dec 19, 201741

"Nurse practitioner (NP) education is seriously underfunded. The profession is attempting to saddle private physicians with this cost." That is how "Dr. X" replied to my email asking whether he would be willing to precept a nurse practitioner student for…

“Nurse practitioner (NP) education is seriously underfunded. The profession is attempting to saddle private physicians with this cost.”

That is how “Dr. X” replied to my email asking whether he would be willing to precept a nurse practitioner student for her clinical rotation. I read through his clearly disgruntled letter and wanted to explain to him why NPs have to train “on the backs” of physicians and why funding for nursing …