R. Hardyman et G. Hickey, What do newly-qualified nurses expect from preceptorship? Exploring the perspective of the preceptee, NURS EDUC T, 21(1), 2001, pp. 58-64
Preceptorship plays an important role in ensuring the smooth transition fro
m student to registered nurse (UKCC 1993). To date, there has been little e
vidence to demonstrate the extent to which preceptorship has been introduce
d, and scant research into newly-qualified nurses' expectations and experie
nces of preceptorship. A longitudinal, questionnaire survey is exploring th
e expectations of preceptorship, from the perspective of newly qualified nu
rses, as part of a Department of Health funded study into the careers of pe
ople qualifying from nursing diploma courses. The paper demonstrates how pi
lot work with a cohort of newly qualified nurses, combined with literature
on preceptorship, enabled the identification of key aspects of preceptorshi
p. Findings are presented on the expectations of adult branch nurses at the
point of qualification. There was an overwhelming demand for preceptorship
, and the majority of respondents anticipated that all identified aspects o
f preceptorship would be important in their first job. Aspects identified a
s particularly important were 'constructive feedback on my clinical skills'
and 'teaching new clinical skills'. Future questionnaires will reveal the
extent to which these expectations are met. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Lt
d.