Precepting nurse practitioner students: One medical center's efforts to improve the precepting process

Abstract

Purpose To describe the challenges shared by schools of nursing and precepting institutions in meeting the clinical rotation requirements for nurse practitioner (NP) students. A formal process was developed to screen students and provide appropriate clinical placement with ongoing evaluations. Detailed description of a preceptor class for NPs is offered. Data sources Single institution NP survey, preceptor class participant survey, author experience, and PubMed, CINAHL. Conclusions The barriers to precepting are well known, particularly from the viewpoint of schools of nursing. This article describes the barriers from a precepting institution's standpoint. Standardizing processes and expectations for NP students and preceptors improves the overall efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of the clinical experiences. Implications for practice Highlights of an NP preceptor class and efforts to streamline precepting arrangements are described. Lessons learned, including the need to minimize paperwork burden on students during the preclinical period and the continued need for improvement of evaluation tools, are discussed. Recommendations for ways to blend specialty rotations with primary care rotations are made.

Precepting nurse practitioner students

“…Preceptors also feel poorly supported in efforts to precept, with limited resources and minimal communication from the programs for which they are precepting students. Despite the barriers, most who precept report enjoying the process, see value in it, and often continue to participate (Logan, Kovacs, & Barry, ).…”

Labor and Delivery Nursing Experience: A Prerequisite for Midwifery Education?

“…One institution developed a standardized form for students to complete and submit that allowed potential preceptors to appraise the level of student experience, comfort, and clinical needs. This helped to avoid misunderstanding about student clinical skill preparation and expectations at the start of a rotation …”

“…ACME‐accredited midwifery education programs are required to provide documentation of clinical preceptor training . This training could also include information on mentorship, strategies for effective precepting, and resources to support the preceptor if the student is not as clinically ready as anticipated . It is important for eduation programs to consider the depth of the information that is provided to preceptors and to consider additional alternative resources when troubleshooting student issues.…”

“…This helped to avoid misunderstanding about student clinical skill preparation and expectations at the start of a rotation. 25 Ultimately, midwifery education is competency-based; therefore, all students should enter the required clinical experiences prepared with the skills necessary to be successful. Preclinical experiences, such as hands-on skills intensives; labor and delivery simulations; and programs such as Advanced Fetal Heart Monitoring (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses), Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (American Academy of Family Physicians), and the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (American Academy of Pediatrics), can help to build confidence and ensure preparedness for all students.…”

Identifying and Addressing Problems for Student Progression in Midwifery Clinical Education

“…A critical friend is a colleague with a comparable educational background, trusted by the new preceptor, who asks thought‐provoking questions of the preceptor, offers other perspectives, and provides observations about their precepting techniques . Although it is beyond the scope of this article to review specific elements of preceptor training, the interested reader is referred to several helpful publications Ideally, preceptors are well prepared clinically, work in an environment that is conducive to student learning, have demonstrated clinical teaching expertise, and have an established relationship with the education program and faculty.…”