Survey of current hospital preceptorship programs in the greater Philadelphia area

A survey of acute care hospitals in the five-county Philadelphia area was conducted to gather data on the number of preceptorship programs, the reason for their initiation and continuance, and similarities and differences in structure, process, content, and outcomes. A nonexperimental descriptive design was used. A 25-item original questionnaire consisting of both closed and open-ended questions was mailed to 60 acute care hospitals. Data analysis showed that the number of preceptorship programs had risen since 1980. The content, structure and process of these programs were similar. The majority of programs lacked a formal evaluation process or a cost analysis of program benefits.