Methods: This qualitative study used personal connections and snowball sampling to recruit individuals to participate in a 15-20 minute interview. The Institutional Review Board of Purdue University approved this study prior to the collection of data and informed consent was obtained from all study participants. To be included in the sample, participants had to be registered nurses who were currently working in the emergency department setting. There were no exclusion criteria based on age, gender, or ethnicity. Interviews were semi-structured with a set of questions used for guidance. General demographic information was obtained to stratify the sample for any possible data correlations.
Results: Individuals identified the lack of an orientation tool, time, and workload as the most common barriers preceptors faced in the emergency department. All participants reported the emergency department was busy and the unit was short staffed making it more complicated to teach. When reviewing common themes of barriers addressed by individuals with previous precepting experience and those with none, the themes that reoccur most often include time, workload, and support. The top motivator was compensation. Other potential motivators expressed were adequate staffing on the unit, sharing preceptor responsibilities, and implementation of a formalized orientation program. All individuals reported knowledge of educational resources available to them. Individuals new to their current job role reported they felt they still needed more experience and would be more likely to become a preceptor if they had confidence performing the role would improve overall department and patient satisfaction.
Conclusions: Emergency departments are a dynamic and fast-paced environment involving patients with a variety of presenting symptoms and acuity levels. These characteristics can make it hard for individuals to take the time to teach the preceptee the necessary skills for the transition into their new role.