About Preceptorship in Senior Undergraduate Professional Practice Courses
- Preceptorship in nursing is an approach to teaching-learning frequently utilized in professional practice courses at the senior level, at the time when learners are making the transition from the senior student role to that of a professional nurse.
- The BScN Program utilizes this preceptored approach to teaching-learning in the two Level IV professional practice courses.
- Preceptorship is viewed within the context of professional nursing & its major domains: practice, education, research, administration & policy.
- Preceptorship is facilitated by the teaching-learning triad (student, preceptor & faculty tutor) & experiential learning is central to this educational collaboration. See the BScN Program Preceptorship Framework below.
BScN Program Preceptorship Framework
- A number of key concepts in this Framework contribute to successful completion of preceptored professional practice courses:
- Competence & caring are fundamental expectations of professional practice experiences; students learn to perform the complex professional nursing role in ways that exemplify both competence & caring; caring without competence would be expected from an empathetic lay person & competence without caring would be anticipated from a person performing a highly technical role, but both competence & caring are expected to occur simultaneously in professional nursing;
- Effective communication is foundational to the development & maintenance of the preceptorship triad, & it also is vital to the delivery of safe nursing care & satisfaction with teamwork;
- Conscience or ethical practice is critical to practice by all health professionals;
- Comportment refers to professional behaviours to which students are socialized (e.g., appropriate workplace grooming and attire, interaction with patients, families, & inter-professional team members);
- Commitment to the experience is made by all triad members; students commit to their educational development, striving to achieve entry-to-practice competencies; preceptors commit to acting as role models & clinical teachers & faculty tutors commit to providing educational support & guidance to the preceptors & students during the preceptorship experience;
- Collaboration occurs both formally & informally; clinical agencies formally agree to collaborate in students’ professional practice learning & each triad informally agrees to form a partnership that meets the goals of the professional practice courses;
- As learners, each member of the triad assists one another in developing confidence in their respective educational roles;
- Preceptors make a critical educational contribution to the future health & health care of our citizens by shaping the profession, one nurse at a time.