The Effect of Educational Podcasts on Preceptor Perception of Support

Blum, Cynthia

Tuesday, 19 November 2013: 10:00 AM

Cynthia Blum, PhD, RN, CNE
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL

Learning Objective 1: recognize podcasts as contemporary and supportive resources to nurse preceptors while precepting students and new nurse orientees.

Learning Objective 2: design scenarios and methods of creating podcasts as an educational resource for nurse preceptors.

Purpose: The purpose of this staff development study was to develop and test a mechanism for ongoing educational support for nurse preceptors in the workplace and to examine the relationship between support and role commitment. The support involved producing four podcasts as a staff development intervention, each representing an identified area of unsafe practice: the inability to demonstrate knowledge and skills, attitude problems, unprofessional behavior, and poor communication skills (Luhanga et al. 2008). These podcasts, continuously available through common web sites, demonstrate how a preceptor could constructively approach situations using caring behaviors to engage novice nurses.

Methods: In Phase 1 of the project, podcast scripts were created by the researcher, community collaborators, and a Caring theory expert. Focus groups of nurse preceptors helped refine the scenarios to assure meaningfulness for practicing nurses. In Phase 2, preceptors assessed the effect of viewing podcasts using a 4-part preceptor evaluation questionnaire with subscales addressing perception of support for precepting, benefits to be derived, and commitment to the preceptor role. In Phase 2 of the study, an ex-post facto component of the research design enabled investigation of the relationship between support and commitment while controlling for benefits. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data.

Results: Number of years precepting, preceptor experiences, and preceptor training were predictors of perception of support. There was a significant increase in preceptor perception of support and a strong correlation between the preceptor’s perception of support and commitment to their role as measures by the Preceptor’s Perception of Support Scale and the Commitment to the Preceptor Role Scale (r=.760, p<.001).

Conclusion: Educational podcasts are a supportive tool for preceptors and should be expanded to additional subjects as identified by the sample. Access to the resources via a common internet site assures “free” preceptor support for all audiences.

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