Preceptorship In Nursing Essay

Preceptorship as Academic Progression for New and Graduate Nurses Every year students emerge from their respective nursing programs as new nurses and enter the world of healthcare. They leave the comfortable confines of their classroom and the shadows of their instructors to take care of those in need. Yet, after entering professional practice, many continue to feel an overwhelming sense of insecurity. Implementing preceptorship programs that allow new, and graduating, nurses time to practice and become more comfortable with the demands of being an independent nurse can provide a solution to this issue.

The Problem According to The Institute of Medicine’s (2010) report entitled The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, “nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression” (Institute of Medicine, 2010, pp. 6). Many new, and graduating, nurses feel the immense pressure of being the primary caregiver for their patients. Thus it is imperative to promote and integrate the necessary programs to help ensure that nurses provide excellent patient-centered care in all areas of the

This could be attributed to dealing not only with patients but their families, not enough support from their preceptor, or simply because it is new to them (Harrison-White & Simons, 2013). Many new nurses expressed a feeling of insecurity and that they “didn’t know anything” (Harrison-White & Simons, 2013, pp. 25) especially when it involved more difficult skill sets. Harrison-White and Simons (2013) further expressed the importance of preceptees needing to set realistic goals and holding conferences with their precepting nurse to review the goals and accomplishments preset, as well as review and questions or concerns the new nurse may have (Harrison-White & Simons,