Building Competency Through Microcredentialing: The iTEACH Experience for Novice Nurse Educators and Preceptors.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Faculty Development
• Professional Credentialing

Background:

• Novice nurse educators and preceptors often lack adequate preparation for teaching roles.
• This can create significant challenges in educating the next generation of nurses.
• Microcredentials offer a potential solution for expanding the nursing educator pipeline, but evidence is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how a specific microcredential program aids novice nurse educators and preceptors.
• To understand the development of core teaching competencies facilitated by the microcredential.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study design.
• Analysis of retrospective self-reflection journals from 10 participants.

Main Results:

• Thematic analysis revealed five key themes: enhanced confidence and professional identity, adoption of innovative teaching strategies, improved collaboration and mentorship, development of emotional intelligence and communication skills, and support for career growth and advocacy.
• Participants reported significant growth in their teaching abilities and professional roles.

Conclusions:

• Competency-based microcredentials provide a scalable and effective model for onboarding new faculty.
• This approach is beneficial for preceptor development and facilitates the transition of clinicians into education roles.
• Microcredentials can contribute to a stronger, more capable nursing workforce.