Nursing Faculty Roles in Prelicensure Baccalaureate Clinical Preceptorships

Preceptorships, or use of experienced staff nurses (preceptors) to provide individualized guidance for nursing student learning in clinical settings, offer an alternative to the traditional clinical education approach where faculty work with groups of students. As faculty roles in implementing preceptorships are not well understood, a descriptive qualitative design was used to determine how faculty view their role. Themes and subthemes emerging from nine semistructured interviews revealed that faculty have various roles in preparing, maintaining, and evaluating preceptorships. Faculty also verbalized that they facilitate the transition from student to professional nurse during preceptorships.