Teaching roles in critical care--the mentor and preceptor

Mentorship and preceptorship have been terms used indiscriminately throughout the literature. The English National Board has used the term 'mentor' in all educational material and the term has slipped into current usage. Despite this, very little preparation and thought has been given to the role. Confusion has arisen as the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) Post Registration Education and Practice Project (PREPP 1990) proposals have outlined the need for a preceptor to support new practitioners to move confidently into a period of primary practice. This paper discusses the development of the mentor role and provides a definition of classical and formal mentoring. The preceptor role is viewed as one of the elements that enable the full development of mentorship. As a functional role, preceptorship can be clearly defined and utilised to support new staff into new areas of clinical practice. It crystallises the teaching, assessing and evaluative element of clinical nurse education and provides a firm foundation for the development of mentorship within the nursing profession.