Precepting offers so many educational learning benefits, like opportunities for co- learning with people in the nursing profession, and interdisciplinary learning with students who bring different backgrounds to their precepting experience.
As nursing students prepare to enter or advance within the profession, they learn a repertoire of hard and soft skills. While theoretical knowledge is essential for building a strong foundation in nursing concepts, hands- on clinical experience helps students apply that knowledge in real-world situations. A key aspect of nursing education is working with nurse mentors and preceptors. These are experienced practitioners who provide supervision during clinical practice.
Precepting can take two forms. Some preceptors and mentors work one-on-one with a nursing student. Others work with small groups of students, including interdisciplinary teams with students from other health care fields. The latter approach is particularly valuable, ensuring students gain a well-rounded understanding of how health care professionals collaborate to provide comprehensive care.
“Precepting offers so many educational learning benefits, like opportunities for co-learning with people in the nursing profession, and interdisciplinary learning with students who bring different backgrounds to their precepting experience,” says Diane Chapman, DNP, an assistant professor at University of Utah College of Nursing (CON), and the clinical placement coordinator for students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Beyond clinical learning, preceptorships often lead to long-term mentoring relationships, through which students can seek guidance throughout their careers.
FINDING AND SUPPORTING QUALIFIED PRECEPTORS
One of the biggest challenges for nursing schools around the country today is finding enough qualified preceptors for students in pre- and post-licensure programs. While the profession has faced a significant nursing shortage, health care facilities have implemented strategies like hiring new nurses, using travel nurses, and offering incentives to address staffing gaps. Many newly hired nurses are still gaining experience and are not yet qualified to precept, and experienced preceptors are often needed to mentor these newly hired RNs and APRNs. Additionally, efforts to address the nursing shortage, like increasing enrollment in established programs and the opening of new nursing schools, have further increased the demand for preceptors.
At times, potential preceptors wonder if they possess the necessary expertise and confidence to effectively guide and mentor nursing students. Sometimes, clinical sites restrict preceptor programs to ensure nurses don’t take on too many responsibilities. Balancing these duties can be difficult, though precepting remains essential in preparing the future workforce of nurses.
“The biggest hurdle we see in trying to find clinical placements today is simply a shortage of nurses who meet the criteria and are able to take on precepting students,” says Leslie Minion, the contracts & clinical placement manager at the CON. “Preceptors don’t get paid extra or get any other perks. They do it because they believe in the importance of educating the next generation of nurses, and they understand the need.”
Limited clinical placements remain one of the most common reasons nursing schools cannot increase enrollment, even as the demand for nurses continues to grow. Between August 2023 and December 2024, preceptors and mentors in more than 30 specialties and at dozens of facilities worked with more than 550 CON students. Specialties span from acute care to psychiatric-mental health, ensuring students are exposed to a wide array of clinical experiences that prepare them for diverse career opportunities in health care. The CON is deeply grateful to the preceptors and mentors who make these invaluable learning experiences possible. CON staff and faculty work diligently to identify preceptors, mentors, or nurse educators for every prelicensure, RN to BSN, Master of Science (MS), post- MS to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and DNP student. The resulting mentorship enables students to meet the learning goals of their respective programs.
Fortunately, the CON has longstanding partnerships with many clinical partners throughout the Salt Lake Valley and Utah, from large hospital systems to small community clinics and private practices. Importantly, the CON is part of the U of U Health academic health system, which prioritizes educating health care professionals and ensuring a skilled workforce through precepting, as well as residency and fellowship programs. Together, clinical placement managers like Minion and U of U Health placement coordinators collaborate to align the requirements of education programs and the learning needs of students with authentic clinical learning opportunities and preceptor competencies and availability.
Thanks to a strong partnership with U of U Health, the CON increased enrollment in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program by 25% beginning in 2022, providing even more students with the opportunity to gain real-world experience. Additionally, the college’s extensive network of alumni working in a variety of settings across the region continues to expand opportunities for clinical placements and helps maintain a high standard of clinical education.
For graduate programs, faculty connections with colleagues and alumni in the community are a source of qualified preceptors. A challenge of placing DNP students in clinical settings is that they generally specialize in one or more specific patient population and often pursue advanced roles that align with their specialized training. Yet DNP preceptors play a vital role by contributing to the profession.
WHY PRECEPTING BENEFITS STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS
Chapman has a unique perspective on the world of nurse preceptors. Not only does she oversee clinical placements for DNP students, but she also maintains an active practice as a family nurse practitioner and precepts for one to two students most of the time. This hands-on role allows her to stay closely connected to the clinical realities that students must learn to navigate.
“One benefit of precepting is that it requires me to stay up to date on my knowledge, and gives me an opportunity to continue learning,” she says. “Students are learning the latest research and evidence-based care, and when they come into a precepting situation they bring that knowledge with them. It helps me keep an open mind for professional growth and self- reflection. In some situations, I’ve changed my own practice to improve based on something I learned from one of my students.”
There are other intangible benefits of precepting too, such as preparing for a nursing faculty role, either as a full- time or adjunct faculty member at the CON. Precepting has inspired some to further their own education, benefiting their careers. Finally, preceptors evaluate students’ skills in a real-world setting and can advise managers or other administrators about which graduates they might recruit for an open position.
Preceptors also develop key leadership skills by guiding students through their clinical experiences. This strengthens their own ability to manage teams and mentor peers. Such opportunities for growth enhance clinical practice and open doors for career advancement.
“Preceptors have an opportunity to be a role model for the nursing profession,” says Chapman. “We can shape the next generation of nurses and advanced practice clinicians through our interactions with them as students and have so much impact on improving patient care for decades to come.”
For preceptors, the reward lies in knowing that they’re making a lasting contribution to the future of health care by ensuring today’s students are well-prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.
BECOME A PRECEPTOR: EDUCATE THE FUTURE OF NURSING
Are you ready to help educate the next generation of nurses while advancing your own professional skills? Contact the college today to become a preceptor and make a lasting impact. As a preceptor, you will not only mentor students but also enhance your own practice and leadership abilities. Your contributions will help strengthen the nursing profession and improve patient care for years to come.
Preceptors have an opportunity to be a role model for the nursing profession. We can shape the next generation of nurses and advanced practice clinicians through our interactions with them as students and have so much impact on improving patient care for decades to come.
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