Recent changes in Brazil's educational and health systems have impacted medical schools and other health areas, demanding a new professional profile, namely a more critical, humanist, reflexive, and ethical physician. Preceptors play an important role in medical education, combining theory and practice in a patient care setting during internship. However, such teaching activities have not been fully appreciated. There is no specific training for developing these qualities and building an effective physician-student relationship. The current study analyzed 176 papers on medical preceptorships, presented at the congresses of the Brazilian Association of Medical Education from 2007 to 2009, discussing the concept, activities, training, and ability to integrate theory and practice to support clinical practice. Preceptorships have been discussed extensively in annual congresses, but training and skills required by preceptors need further research.