Impact of Preceptor Training on Teaching Characteristics of Preceptors

Written by Marie Antoinette L. Ortaliz

doi: https://doi.org/10.13178/jnparr.2020.10.01.1008

Abstract

Background: New nurses are expected to provide nursing care to patients with complex health problems requiring a higher level of care. Nurses are assigned to preceptors during the orientation period for a few months depending on hospital policy. Nurse orientees encounter several challenges during the orientation period which include the preceptors’ lack of teaching and mentoring skills. Without the proper mentoring during the orientation
period orientees leave the clinical units without completing orientation.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of preceptor training on the effectiveness of preceptors based on the core characteristics of effective teachers: teaching ability, nursing competence, evaluation, teacher personality, and interpersonal relationship.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study investigated the independent variable, preceptor training, on dependent variables, teaching ability, nursing competence, evaluation, teacher personality, and interpersonal relationships. The dependent variables were the five core teaching were the five core teaching characteristics of preceptors that had a major impact on their effectiveness as teachers in the clinical units of four New York State hospitals.
Intervening variables to these relationships were also examined: the number of years of the nurses’ experience as preceptors, academic preparation of preceptors in nursing, and the number of years of experience in critical care nursing practice.

Results: Results of the aggregate scores of the five subgroups of effective teaching characteristics on orientee survey showed that the mean scores of the treatment group was higher than the mean scores of the control group. The independent t-test suggested that there was a statistical significance (p < .001) in all five subgroups of teaching characteristic as rated by orientees who were oriented by preceptors who received preceptor training. In
the preceptor survey aggregate scores on the means of preceptors showed that those who received preceptor training had higher means in interpersonal relationship, followed by personality, teaching ability, evaluation, and lastly, nursing competence. The independent t-test comparing the means of the control group and the means of the experimental group in the preceptor survey showed that the only teaching characteristic that was statistically significant was the nursing competence (p = .02). There was a significant correlation between preceptor training and three core teaching characteristics: nursing competence (r = .27, p = .01), interpersonal relationship (r = .21, p = .03), and teaching ability (r = .19, p = .05). A correlation was found between academic degree and nursing competence (r = .37, p = .001). Multiple regression suggested that of the five outcome variables,
academic preparation had the strongest contribution to nursing competence and preceptor training had the second strongest contribution to nursing competence.

Conclusion: This study provided evidence that preceptor training had a positive impact on the effectiveness of preceptors in delivery of knowledge and skills to nurse orientees measured by the five core teaching characteristics of preceptors.

Keywords: preceptors, orientees, preceptor program, critical care, teaching characteristics