The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between the perceived preparation and support provided by the preceptor program and the preceptors' commitment to their role and professional advancement. Preceptors are considered clinical educators in the practice setting connecting nursing education to practice. The new nurses face unique challenges as they transition to the practice setting, requiring preceptors to be ready and prepared to transition new nurses in the complex practice setting. Qualified preceptors who are prepared for their role and properly supported display willingness to precept and is disposed to experience a quality preceptorship experience with the preceptees.
Methods:
The study is quantitative using a descriptive correlational design to examine the relationship between the perceived preparation and support provided by the preceptor program, commitment to the preceptoring role, and the professional advancement of preceptors. The predictor variables are: a) preparation and b) support provided by the preceptor program; and the criterion variables are: a) preceptors’ commitment to their preceptoring role; and b) the preceptors’ professional advancement.
The population for this study were experienced nurses who were competent working in the acute care setting, who were role models and resources to the new nurses. Preceptors were recruited from a national nurse residency program. The national nurse residency program partners with health care organizations across the country to transition new nurses into the practice setting. The key characteristics of the population members were: registered nurse, experienced clinical nurse, had preceptor training of some kind, preceptored new nurses in the acute care setting, and had access to an electronic platform, the web-based infrastructure of the national nurse residency program. Purposive sampling method was used to ascertain the relationships between the study variables. The sample size needed based on the statistical analysis was 113, a minimum correlation of 0.03 at a significance level (α) of 0.05 and a power of 0.90 (1-β).
A valid and reliable tool developed by Dibert and Goldenberg (1995) was used to examine the relationships of the preceptors’ perception between benefits, rewards, supports, and commitment to the preceptoring role. The instrument was a four-part questionnaire survey comprised of: (a) preceptor’s perception of benefits and rewards (PPBR) scale (14 items); (b) preceptor’s perception of support (PPS) scale (17 items); (c) commitment to the preceptor role (CPR) scale (10 items); (d) demographic information section.
Results:
The total sample was n = 160. The findings showed that the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) was the dominant educational preparation (65.6%, n =105) in preceptoring the new graduated nurses versus only (17.5%, n =28) preceptors who had an associate degree in nursing. The dominant age was 30-35 years old with (22.5%, n = 36) of preceptors involved in preceptoring the new graduate nurses. The female with (86.4%, n = 133) was the dominant preceptors compared to the male with (13.6%, n =21). On the training length, four hours with (40.6%, n =65) was the major response.
RQ1. What is the relationship between the perceived preparation provided by the preceptor program and the commitment to their preceptoring role? To determine the association between PPS scale related to preceptor’s perceived preparation to the concept of CPR, the Spearman rank correlations, rho analysis was used. A correlation (rho = 0.526, p < 0.001) with the commitment to the preceptor role, indicating that as the subject perceived being well prepared, he/she was also more committed to the role of the preceptor.
RQ2. What is the relationship between the perceived preparation provided by the preceptor program and the professional advancement of preceptors? To determine the association between PPS scale related to perceived preparation and PPBR scale related to professional advancement of preceptors, the Spearman rank correlations, rho was used. All correlation was relatively close between (rho = 0.403 and rho = 0.461). The positive sign indicated that as the subject was well prepared, he/she also believed that he/she had opportunities for professional advancement.
RQ3. What is the relationship between the perceived support provided by the preceptor program and the commitment to their preceptoring role? These two variables were measured directly in the survey by the PPS scale and the CPR scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient, r was used. The association between the two variables was positive (r = 0.598, p < 0.001) that indicated, as the perception of support increased, so did the commitment to the preceptor role.
RQ4. What is the relationship between the perceived support provided by the preceptor program and the professional advancement of preceptors? To determine the association between PPS scale related to perceived preparation and PPBR scale related to professional development, Spearman rank correlations, rho was used, (between rho = 0.485 and rho = 0.514).
Conclusion:
The findings elucidate and support the value of preceptorship in supporting the transition of the new graduate nurses in the practice setting. The provision of adequate preparation and support to preceptors not only effectively transition the new nurses into their professional role but also has a strong relationship to the commitment of the preceptoring role and the professional advancement of the preceptors. These findings could be the basis of the development of a formalized preceptor program.
The social responsibility of every nurse toward upholding the well-being of the population can be attained in preceptorship by successfully transitioning the new nurses in the practice setting. Preceptorship helps in the competency development of the new nurses, confidence, and the augmentation of their clinical experiences. The evidence in this study provides the nursing leadership the rationale in developing an effective preceptor program to successfully integrate the new nurses in the workforce and develop further the preceptors in their competence in preceptorship. The formalized preceptor program that prepares and supports preceptors is the key to increase commitment and professional advancement of preceptors. As the prediction of nursing shortage continues, and the recommendation of a structured orientation program for the new nurses in their transition to practice is necessary for a safe and quality delivery of care to patients, preceptors must be prepared and supported. Preceptors having an essential role in the integration of these new nurses must have competence in functioning as preceptors.