Preceptorship:ensuring the best possible start for new nurses

The impending change to nurse education with the move to an all-degree profession in the UK from 2013 and the increasing demands made on nurses working in the NHS make successful transition from student to staff nurse a high priority. The stress of this move can be minimised by efficient preceptorship for the first six months of practice. As part of a practice-based project two focus groups were formed to discover the views of preceptors and preceptees in children’s nursing on what their programme should include and achieve. The knowledge gained from this exercise informed a preceptorship model for one NHS trust