An innovative preceptor program for intravenous home care nursing

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Home Healthcare
• Professional Development

Background:

• Intravenous (IV) home care nursing demands specialized skills.
• Comprehensive orientation is crucial for newly hired staff in this field.
• Existing orientation methods may lack structured preceptor support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a model preceptor development program for IV home care nursing.
• To enhance collaboration and effectiveness in the orientation process.
• To equip preceptors with essential skills for orienting new nurses.

Main Methods:

• Nurses were selected by managers for a 3-day training program.
• The program focused on developing preceptor skills.
• An evaluation questionnaire assessed participant preparedness post-training.

Main Results:

• Program attendees reported increased confidence in assessing learning needs.
• Participants felt prepared to plan instructional activities for new nurses.
• Trained preceptors felt equipped to evaluate learning outcomes of their preceptees.

Conclusions:

• The preceptor development program effectively prepares nurses for orientation roles.
• This model promotes a collaborative and structured approach to IV nursing orientation.
• The program is adaptable for other home care agencies offering IV nursing services.