Paying Preceptors in Nurse Practitioner Education: Perceptions of the Preceptor

Monday, 30 October 2017: 9:30 AM

Robert Gordon Hanks Jr., PhD, MSN, BSN
Department of Family Health, UTHealth, Houston, TX, USA
Cheryl D. Loudd, MHA
Department of Family Health, UTHealth School of Nursing, Houston, TX, USA

 The innovative Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) Demonstration Project (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], 2013) has ushered in a new concept in APRN education with payments for precepting students analogous to the established Graduate Medical Education (GME) model (American Medical Association, 2007; CMS, 2011).The impact of payments for precepting APRN students has not been studied previously, and this study helps contribute to growing the body of knowledge regarding payments to clinical agencies and the effect on preceptors’ perceptions in accepting APRN students in the clinical setting.

This IRB approved study used an anonymous survey mailed to GNE participating preceptors that included basic demographic information, a 10 item scale on the impact of GNE payments on the preceptors’ willingness to precept, and three narrative questions about positive and negative impacts of the GNE payments. A total of 63 completed surveys (43% return rate) were analyzed showing a sample of mostly female (59%) MD (54%) and NP (36%) preceptors with an average of 16.6 years practicing and 8.3 year precepting. Scale results indicated overall that preceptors were not perceiving the GNE payments as an incentive or an inducement to precept APRN students. Items related to precepting APRN students as more important than GNE payments had an average rating of 'agree'. Narrative comments reflect that participants felt preceptors should precept without payments, but that the GNE payments were a 'bonus'. Several participants noted that they had not received any direct GNE payments. Scale results indicate that preceptors are not perceiving the GNE payments as influential in the decision to precept APRN students; however narrative responses indicated that GNE payments help offset the cost of decreased efficiency when precepting a student. Participants noted the concern that preceptors may be precepting for the money, not for the desire to educate.

The results of this study illuminates preceptor perceptions about paid clinical precepting activities. The payments are seen as beneficial in recouping lost patient revenue due to precepting, but are not viewed overall as an inducement to precept an APRN student.