Preceptor Workshop: Educating the Preceptor for More Effective Orientation

The delivery of nursing education is changing. How students are learning is also changing. For several years, nurses who have been out of school no longer understand what goes on in nursing schools. The preceptor needs a review of how to connect and teach the new graduate nurse in the field. There is a gap between seasoned nurses and novice nurses, and the solution to closing the gap is to educate the preceptor. Literature shows preceptor training programs are effective in the retention of new graduate nurses. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a preceptor workshop aimed at providing a more effective and content-focused orientation. This educational offering included a pre-quiz and post-quiz to assess participant knowledge of unit specific content. Nine preceptors attended the workshop and completed the pre- and post-quizzes. Overall results of the pre- and post-quizzes were inconclusive and can be related back to the readiness to learn and barriers to learning of those who attended. Results of the open-end response questions indicated a need for a preceptor workshop and catered to the needs of the preceptors. Preceptors of the Surgical Oncology/General Surgery Unit found a preceptor workshop beneficial to their role and kept them engaged. Preceptors also found a workshop allowed for discussion of concerns of new graduate nurses