Nursing Preceptorship

A preceptor is someone that orientates and teaches someone new in a particular area (O'Shea, 2002). In this essay the writer will discuss on a personal level how her own experiences of preceptorship have been. The writer will also discuss the scenarios that were discussed amongst her group in the four group work sessions. These sessions gave us a chance to reflect on preceptorship and its importance in the clinical area but also to learn more about preceptorship and how it is from the nurses point of view. The four group work sessions represented the four core components of being a preceptor; Communicator, Assessor, Role Model and Teacher.

The most important part of being a preceptor is communication. Communication is the basis for a healthy

The staff did not have time to teach them and therefore their preceptors ended up being agency staff and registered nurses, not midwives. In this scenario it is clear that the ward, although it is good for student learning, is not suitable for students due to the lack of staff available to mentor the students. When a student is not working with a registered nurse or midwife they are working out of their scope of practice, something a student nurse should never do. By putting students on this ward many bad habits would occur, such as students working outside their scope therefore the midwives on this ward were bad role models. A bigger number of permanent staff would solve this issue (University of Pittsburg, 2014). In my clinical placement I have always been given the opportunity to work alongside a registered nurse, these nurses are good role models as they show an interest in how you do things and also are very aware of your scope of practice. To be a good role model as a preceptor you should always follow the student’s scope of

The student in question had all the knowledge needed but could not transfer it from ward based knowledge to outpatient care knowledge. The preceptor must tell the student that ward based knowledge is not sufficient knowledge for continuous care of diabetes. The preceptor must also teach the student about diabetes and its ongoing care by showing her, telling her, giving her leaflets and handouts and also sending her home with some points to look up at the end of the day (Bott Mohide and Lawlor, 2011). This would help the student to expand her knowledge on diabetes. In clinical practice I have met many nurses who have been eager and enthusiastic about teaching and sharing their knowledge. This is important as most nursing skills are learnt in the clinical area. When a preceptor is eager to teach the student is more likely to listen and