Improving New Nurse Orientation by Increasing Preceptor Education and Guidance

Nurse preceptors are a crucial element of the orientation of new staff to the clinical setting. Prior to the implementation of the preceptor educational offering, preceptor training was not mandatory. Therefore staff training orientees may not have formal education regarding orientation. Lack of information can cause frustration for the preceptor and newly qualified nurses (NQN) and hinder the orientation process. In order to prepare staff for the workload of training while providing patient care, formal education should be available. Competent preceptors should be able to identify the phases of nurse orientation, educational content presented in orientation, and resources available to them when precepting. The preceptor education project aims to improve the guidance offered to preceptors and create education for preceptors to improve the overall orientation experience. One two-hour session was held for eight nurses who were new to the preceptor role. A PowerPoint presentation and group discussion were part of the educational offering, followed by a post-preceptor education survey. All eight participants completed the survey, and 100% of responses supported the continuation of preceptor education sessions before functioning in the preceptor role