Preceptorship and the Preparatory Process for Undergraduate Nursing Students and Their Preceptors

Assessment of Educational Needs and Design of a Preceptor Development Program for Health Professional Education Programs in Qatar

INTRODUCTION

Experiential learning is the backbone of many health care professional education programs; however, the quality of learning is profoundly dependent on the skills and experiences of clinical preceptors. This study was conducted at Qatar University Health Cluster (Colleges of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Health Sciences) with the primary objective of identifying the educational needs of preceptors to design and review an educational professional development program.

METHODS

This study adopted a mixed-methods approach and was conducted in three stages: (1) assessment of preceptor educational needs, (2) designing of the Practice Educators' Academy program, and (3) revision and refinement of the designed program. The needs' assessment was conducted at all the three colleges through a validated survey and focus groups comprising of preceptors, students, and clinical faculty members. The sample included 209 survey respondents and 11 focus group sessions.

RESULTS

The results yielded five key themes and a variety of individual preferences, which were used to design a five-module face-to-face two-day interactive workshop. For the revision of the designed program, the syllabus was shared purposively with selected scholars and experts in the area of health professions education, and their feedback was collected and critically examined. Furthermore, the refinement of the program was performed on the basis of this feedback, resulting in the revised and representative program being ready for piloting.

DISCUSSION

A preceptor development program on experiential teaching and learning skills was successfully designed and revised with the needs of the clinical preceptors at its core. Preceptors' skills development can advance health care outcomes by preparing competent health professional graduates.

Preceptors' Subjective Competency Ratings in Acute Care Hospitals in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

This study focused on developing a Subjective Competency Scale (SCS) in acute care hospitals and identified factors that affect preceptors' competency to precept new graduate nurses (NGNs).

METHOD

This study was conducted in two stages that included collecting information on preceptor training courses and conducting a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. A total of 350 preceptors completed the survey in 2011. The validity and reliability of the SCS were determined.

RESULTS

An SCS was developed using 22 items and five factors: teaching/assessment skills, interpersonal/communication skills, confidence/self-assurance, problem-solving/stress-coping skills, and self-reflection. These explained 69.73% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha for these five factors of scale ranged from .715 to .889. Preceptors' subjective competency was correlated positively with age, years as a nurse, years as a preceptor, willingness to be a preceptor, and self-rated relationship with NGNs (p < .001).

CONCLUSION

The SCS exhibited high validity and reliability; therefore, it can be used for future preceptors' subjective competency assessment and evaluation. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(2):69-78.].

A student evaluation workshop with rural nursing preceptors

Increasingly, clinicians and faculty members are motivated to provide students quality preceptorship placements in rural areas, particularly in light of the potential for recruitment of new graduates to underserved areas. Invariably, student performance evaluation is an onerous task for many preceptors and one in which they often feel ill-prepared. Rural preceptors may face additional challenges given the lesser availability of educational resources and professional development. In this article, the authors detail the development, pilot testing, and evaluation of a workshop on student evaluation that was created in collaboration with rural nurse preceptors.

A critique of the undergraduate nursing preceptorship model

The preceptorship model is a cornerstone of clinical undergraduate nursing education in Canadian nursing programs. Their extensive use means that nursing programs depend heavily on the availability and willingness of Registered Nurses to take on the preceptor role. However, both the health service and education industries are faced with challenges that seem to undermine the effectiveness of the preceptorship clinical model. Indeed, the unstable nature of the clinical setting as a learning environment in conjunction with faculty shortages and inadequate preparation for preceptors and supervising faculty calls us to question if the preceptorship model is able to meet student learning needs and program outcomes. In a critical analysis of preceptorship, we offer a deconstruction of the model to advance clinical nursing education discourse.

A comparison of a traditional clinical experience to a precepted clinical experience for baccalaureate-seeking nursing students in their second semester

The shortage of nursing faculty has contributed greatly to the nursing workforce shortage, with many schools turning away qualified applicants because there are not enough faculty to teach. Despite the faculty shortage, schools are required to admit more students to alleviate the nursing shortage. Clinical groups in which preceptors are responsible for student learning extend faculty resources. Purpose. To determine the effectiveness of an alternative clinical experience (preceptorship). Methods. quasi-experimental, randomized, longitudinal design. Students were randomized to either the traditional or precepted clinical group. The clinical experience was a total of 12 weeks. Groups were compared according to several variables including second semester exam scores, HESI scores, and quality and timeliness of clinical paperwork. Sample. Over a two-year period, seventy-one undergraduate nursing students in the second semester medical-surgical nursing course participated. 36 were randomized to the experimental group. The preceptors were baccalaureate-prepared nurses who have been practicing for at least one year. Setting. Two hospitals located in the Texas Medical Center. Statistical Analysis. Descriptive statistics and independent t-test. Results. There was no difference between the groups on the variables of interest. Conclusion. Students in the precepted clinical group perform as well as those in a traditional clinical group.

Preceptors' perspective on recruitment, support, and retention of preceptors

In this study, the researchers sought consensus among preceptors of senior nursing students about issues key to the preceptors' recruitment, support, and retention. A modified Delphi method with two rounds of questionnaires was used followed by a focus group to explore issues for which consensus was not reached. Preceptors agreed on the importance of personal satisfaction and on a number of tangible benefits of being a preceptors such as receiving information on a need-to-know basis. Topics such as how to help students think critically and how to provide constructive feedback also were considered important. Preceptors agreed that having students well prepared at the beginning of preceptored experiences was important as was receiving a personalized thank you letter to acknowledge their work a the end of the experience, two strategies that could help with retention.

The professional practice knowledge of nurse preceptors

Significant research has been conducted and disseminated on preceptorship as an essential component in teaching and evaluating student learning in the final clinical practicum. The preceptorship triad-formally defined as an equilateral relationship among a nurse preceptor, faculty member, and undergraduate nursing student-overlooks the contextual challenges preceptors encounter. Preceptors develop relationships in the clinical setting to enhance teaching, and more importantly, to ensure student practice reflects the depth of clinical reasoning and skill acquisition necessary for safe and competent practice. Using descriptive surveys and qualitative focus groups, a research collaborative among academia, practice, and professional regulating bodies was established in southern Alberta, Canada, to research the types of knowledge nurses acquire and integrate to successfully assess, evaluate, and teach undergraduate nursing students in the clinical environment. This article describes the research findings and highlights the professional practice knowledge of nurse preceptors.

Undergraduate nursing students' preparedness to "go rural"

This article reports on a theme emerging from a focused ethnography examining the professional socialization of undergraduate fourth year nursing students during a rural hospital preceptored clinical experience. Nursing students and preceptors geographically dispersed over a 640,000 square kilometer rural area participated in this study. Students report student preparedness for the rural hospital setting means to "know what you are getting into". Assisting nursing students to prepare for the rural hospital preceptorship facilitates a positive experience thus increasing the effectiveness of the preceptorship model of clinical teaching. Having a positive rural-based experience also has the potential for recruiting new staff. These preliminary findings suggest that student preparation for the rural hospital preceptorship includes cognitive and psychological preparation, as well as the acquisition of common advanced clinical skills.

Nursing Clinical Faculty Revisited: The Benefits of Developing Staff Nurses as Clinical Scholars

One of the major contributing factors to the nursing shortage in Colorado and nationally is a scarcity of clinical faculty required to prepare new nurses. This article describes an innovative, collaborative project that purposefully prepares staff nurses to assume the role of clinical scholar. Although there are several models that have sought to make clinically expert nurses available as teaching faculty, the breadth and scope of the described project with its multiple partners is unique. In the first year of this grant, the identified goals were achieved. In addition, there have been significant serendipitous outcomes.

Clinical Track Faculty: Merits and Issues

Clinical track faculty (CTF) has been in operation for more than two decades in the United States, and 12 of the top 20 schools of nursing with the highest National Institutes of Health funding in the United States have CTF in place. Yet, only limited articles have been published regarding the merits and issues related to its operation. This article examines the advantages/merits of establishing CTF in schools of nursing, discusses the qualification criteria and types of appointment for CTF, and analyzes issues related to operating CTF in Korea. A questionnaire survey and two workshops were conducted involving faculty from a college of nursing and clinical nurse managers from university-affiliated medical centers and community agencies. Most of the respondents indicated that establishing CTF was advantageous. Merits included the following: increasing reality-based clinical education and training; decreasing the reality shock of students; increasing student satisfaction; and linking education, practice, and research more effectively. Major issues were as follows: getting the approval of medical centers/universities; developing an agreement on CTF operation between the college of nursing and clinical agencies; clarifying types and criteria of appointment and promotion; and developing a statement on role and compensation policies. Most issues are similar to what U.S. schools of nursing have faced, except for the first one. In conclusion, establishing CTF in Korea appears to be highly desirable. Merits outweigh issues/concerns, and Korean nursing schools may look for an opportune time for obtaining the approval of medical centers/universities. Nursing schools in other countries that face a similar challenge of providing clinical teaching with high research performance may consider instituting CTF.

The CCARE model of clinical supervision: bridging the theory-practice gap

Clinical supervision of nursing students is a key component of nursing education. The clinical setting provides students with an opportunity to develop a professional identity, knowledge base, and the ability to transfer classroom knowledge to the clinical setting. This paper suggests a model of clinical supervision that will address how to bridge the pre-existing theory-practice gap in nursing education through an attitude of caring and the utilization of caring behaviours based on Leininger's theory of culture care. Key concepts included in this model are: communication, collaboration, application, reflection and evaluation, these concepts comprise the CCARE model of clinical supervision.