A systematic review: Clinical education and preceptorship during nurse practitioner role transition

The demand for nurse practitioners (NP) is growing; however, the NP role transition is difficult. NP role transition starts with NP student entering the program and can last for as long as two years post-graduation. NP clinical education and preceptorship model is outdated and is in need of restructuring.

The purpose of this literature review was to describe and explain the issues and resources within the NP clinical education and preceptorship that is used to support NPs' role transition both before and after graduation.

The search years included 2010-2022. The following search terms were used: graduate nurse, advanced nursing, nurse practitioner, APRN, masters prepared, advanced nurse, nursing student, practicum, residency programs, residencies, school, program, clinical, clinical education, nursing education, health education, training, clinical site, student, preceptor, preceptorship, apprenticeship, mentor, mentorship, transition, role transition, role change, nurse's role, primary care, qualitative research, collaboration, and clinical competence.

In this review pre-graduation persistent issues with availability of clinical sites and preceptors as well as lack of consistency in competency based clinical education assessment practices were identified. Difficult transition to practice post-graduation showed inconsistent and limited support available to further develop the newly graduated entry level NPs' clinical skills.

Restructuring the old clinical education and preceptorship model used during the pre-graduation NP role transition stage is necessary to improve NP role transition process and graduate the required number of practice ready NPs.