Primary care providers' views of precepting nurse practitioner students

To explore perceived barriers to and facilitators of precepting as viewed by experienced community-based preceptors.

Twenty-four nurse practitioner and physician preceptors participated in a 20-minute telephone interview, using a semi-structured format. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Constant comparative analysis was used to organize the preceptors' responses into thematic categories.

Overall, most preceptors were satisfied with the precepting experience; however, many preceptors cited increasing difficulty with teaching students in primary care sites due various organizational constraints such as the imperative to increase productivity. Good communication with school of nursing faculty was cited as the key factor to continued willingness to precept.

Understanding factors that are important for preceptors continuing in their clinical teaching role is important for schools of nursing, especially given the increasing time-limitations that many providers face due to social and economic changes in health-care delivery.