Role of the Preceptor is Important in the Orientation of Newly Hired Graduates as well as Experienced Staff

Preceptors promote professional development, lifelong learning, and a multidisciplinary approach to care delivery for experienced staff. They foster inclusion and personal relationship, and acceptance into the existing company’s social network.  Accordingly, preceptors as teachers enhance nurses’ confidence and socialization, creates an environment that promotes clinical skills acquisition, enhances their organization skills and knowledge, and improves their communication to promote clinical efficiency (Powers, Herron, & Pagel, 2019). As a clinician, preceptors also reduce lateral violence that undermines care delivery and promotes an environment that supports questioning, exploring, and learning minus fear of being reprimanded (Foley, Myrick & Yonge, 2013). Accordingly, preceptors provide nurses with a platform to succeed in their careers through information sharing, staff development opportunities, increasing job satisfaction, and addressing workplace stress (Shinners, Mallory, & Franqueiro, 2013). 

Additionally, preceptors enhance the conflict management skills of nurses, establish leadership opportunities, facilitate teamwork, and promote professional autonomy. Thus, preceptors play a vital role in promoting nurses’ retention, enhancing communication and collaboration in healthcare, and boosting nurses’ confidence and knowledge, professional competency, job satisfaction, and patient satisfaction.

 Preceptors also play a vital role in new nurses’ transition into the nursing profession. Preceptors help bridge the gap between practice and academia, socialize new graduate nurses into the nursing role, and help them become part of their department’s team and culture (Powers, Herron, & Pagel, 2019). As counselors, preceptors build new graduate nurses’ confidence, reduce their anxiety, and help them become independent. New nurses value preceptors teaching and knowledge because they provide support and guidance in the acute care setting.

New graduate nurses require structured supervision during their transition process.  The preceptor’s role as a teacher and clinician during this process is to ensure that new nurses uphold patient safety while gaining clinical experience and knowledge (Sanford & Tipton, 2016). Preceptors help new nurses learn unit-specific and hospital procedures and policies, documentation systems, and equipment use. Preceptors as teachers assist new graduates in performing psychomotor skills, design and implement plans, socialize them to the healthcare team and unit’s culture, and progressively assume full client assignment (Powers, Herron, & Pagel, 2019). Preceptors use appropriate teaching strategies and support to address the transition shock and enable novice nurses to practice safety.

Preceptors’ role in clinical care setting is somewhat challenging because new graduate nurses lack previous education about providing critical care. Thus, for new nurses, care plans, equipment use, psychomotor skills, guidelines, and policies will represent new experiences and knowledge. Also, new nurses lack experience tending to unstable patients. Accordingly, nurses in critical care settings are often compelled to adjust their care plans depending on acuity changes. Thus, new nurses are taught by preceptors the importance of collaborating with other healthcare workers to offer complex care. Accordingly, nurse preceptors help novice nurses develop clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills.

Why the Fit between the Preceptor and Preceptee Is Important

Preceptorships and preceptors have been an integral part of the nursing profession. Preceptors teach new nurses across the community and acute care practices. Through their experience and knowledge, preceptors provide experienced staff with a safety net to provide insight and answer questions (Sanford & Tipton, 2016). Therefore, a good preceptor should develop a caring relationship with the preceptee; have a deep sense of responsibility and mutual respect. Thus, the preceptee-preceptor relationship is vital in enhancing successful orientation. An excellent relationship provides the preceptee with actions and resources that enhance their success in the nursing profession (Sanford & Tipton, 2016). Additionally, a good relationship boosts the preceptee confidence and morale and makes them feel part of the organization. A preceptor and preceptee fit are important because it inspires and guides novice nurses while introducing preceptors to concepts they may not have thought about. A fit between the preceptor and preceptee is important because it helps new graduate nurses settle into the nursing profession. A good fit makes the preceptorship experience rewarding for preceptees and preceptors. For instance, a good fit ensures that preceptees remain in thei