An innovative approach to orientation: faculty preceptors.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Administration

Background:

• Hospitals face challenges assimilating large cohorts of new graduate nurses.
• Effective orientation is crucial for retaining nursing staff and maintaining patient care standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of the Faculty Summer Preceptor Program for graduate nurse orientation.
• To assess the feasibility of using faculty as preceptors for new nursing staff.

Main Methods:

• Instituted a Faculty Summer Preceptor Program in 1987.
• Utilized hospital faculty to orient over 200 newly employed graduate nurses.
• Planned orientation to minimize disruption to patient care delivery.

Main Results:

• The program facilitated the assimilation of a large number of new graduate nurses.
• Faculty preceptors provided a familiar and effective resource for orientation.
• Patient care delivery was maintained during the orientation process.

Conclusions:

• Faculty are a valuable and "ready-made" resource for nursing staff orientation.
• The Faculty Summer Preceptor Program effectively supported the integration of new graduate nurses.
• Leveraging faculty expertise is a viable strategy for large-scale nursing orientation.