Nurse practitioner preceptor resource needs and perceptions of institutional support

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Advanced Practice Nursing
• Preceptor Development

Background:

• Nurse practitioner (NP) preceptors experience significant stress balancing clinical duties and mentoring responsibilities.
• Adequate support systems are crucial for mitigating preceptor role stress and fostering resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the specific resource needs of NP preceptors.
• To evaluate NP preceptors' perceptions of the support available for their role.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods, cross-sectional study utilizing a web-based survey.
• Data collection included researcher-designed questions, the Preceptor's Perception of Support Scale, and qualitative inquiries.
• Analysis involved descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of returned surveys from a Midwestern academic university.

Main Results:

• Preceptors desire accessible, free mentoring resources, ideally via smartphone app, and identified key mentoring topics.
• While role preparation and supervisor support were perceived positively, key insufficiencies included time for duties, access to resources, peer collaboration, and faculty assistance with student performance issues.
• Qualitative findings emphasized concerns regarding faculty-preceptor communication and compensation.

Conclusions:

• NP preceptors require targeted support, including enhanced faculty-preceptor communication and compensation strategies.
• Study findings can inform interventions to bolster preceptor resilience, strengthen academic-practice partnerships, and improve NP student clinical education outcomes.
• Development of resources supporting specific NP competencies is recommended.