PRECEPTORS & NEW GRADUATES

Preceptors and New Graduates

Preceptors and New Graduates

Introduction

The imperative to increase the number of nurses for the 21st century is widely recognized, and universities and health care agencies are under pressure to deliver more nurses (Romanow, 2002). Inherent in nursing programs is the need to provide students with clinical practice learning opportunities in a variety of settings throughout the program. Most nursing schools have turned to preceptorship to provide the needed clinical education (Myrick & Barrett, 1992). Preceptorship is an individual teaching-learning method in which an inexperienced person (student) is assigned to a competent and experienced person (preceptor) in a one-on-one teaching and learning relationship so that the inexperienced person can participate in day-to-day practice with a teacher, resource person, and role model immediately available within the practice setting (Kaviani & Stillwell, 2000). This paper gives a brief overview on preceptors and new graduates from three articles. Furthermore, the paper compares the similarities and differences between the three articles.

Discussion

As mentioned by Brenda Happell nurses work in an environment often characterized by staff shortages and stressful working conditions. They are under pressure to balance patient care with their professional responsibility to contribute to the education of nursing students. When faced with the choice of providing patient care or being a preceptor, patient care takes priority. Health care agencies and employers recognize the important role they play in nursing education and how exposing students to their clinical setting can be part of an effective recruitment strategy. However, Brenda Happell recognized that preceptorship can be a burden for nurses in an already busy environment (Happell, 2009). In addition to this, preceptors agreed on some important benefits for being a preceptor, including keeping up to date and stimulated in their profession. They derived personal satisfaction from helping students apply knowledge in a practice setting and hearing from students that the experience was beneficial. They agreed that contributing to the future of the profession was an important benefit.

In another study by Paul Broad and his colleagues (2011) it is highlighted that preceptors agreed that balancing time to do their own work with the time needed to discuss learning issues with students was challenging. Cultural differences as well as communication and working style differences between students and preceptors were considered less important challenges. Lack of support from their employer and university faculty and lack of confidence in their own ability to be a good preceptor ...