Newly qualified nurses' experiences of a preceptorship

What was the experience of preceptorship like for newly qualified registered nurses in a healthcare trust?

A qualitative approach was used with data collected using semi-structured one-to-one interviews with eight participants who had recently completed their preceptorship period. The data was analysed using Newell and Burnard's (2011) Pragmatic Approach to Qualitative Data Analysis, which involved a six-stage analysis process.

Two main categories emerged from the data. These were Support Requirements and Expectations of Preceptorship. Support was further broken down into two themes: time and build confidence. Expectations of preceptorship was further broken down into two themes; understanding the process and understanding the preceptor's role.

The participants felt that preceptorship offered support and helped them in developing their confidence in the transition to registrant. It would appear that consistency of provision of preceptorship is a key issue that would warrant further study.