Preceptors
The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing deeply values the time, commitment and expertise of our preceptors. To support you in this important role, we have compiled resources and guidance to assist throughout your experience mentoring our graduate nursing students.
Review the qualifications and required documentation needed to become a preceptor and explore resources designed to help you get started. Our goal is to provide a strong foundation for meaningful engagement with students in the clinical setting, offering guidance to support you in your role and in your interactions with our graduate nursing students.
Becoming a Preceptor
- Preceptor Minimum Qualifications: Our preceptors must have at least a Master of Science in Nursing and have practiced for a year or more. In addition, the college aligns with the NONPF recommended guidelines for preceptors.
- Preceptor Application: If you have agreed to serve as a preceptor for an upcoming semester, complete the preceptor application and follow the instructions for submitting your completed paperwork. The application includes a student information section that must be completed by the student before submission. Preceptor Application (PDF)
- State Authorization: The University of Cincinnati has been approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) initiative to offer online/distance learning programs to residents of most other SARA states.
Authorized states are shown in gray, unauthorized states are shown in red and partially authorized states are shown in black.
UC College of Nursing is authorized to have a clinical presence in all states, except Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
In Washington, Master of Science in Nursing and Post-MSN Certificate programs are authorized; Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are not.
In addition to the preceptor application, California and North Dakota state boards of nursing require specific documentation to be submitted separately by preceptors of students engaging in clinical (practicum/internship) experiences in these states.
All documentation for your state should be thoroughly completed and sent to constateauth@uc.edu at least 1 week prior to the start of the semester in which clinical activity is slated to occur. For assistance related to state regulations and state board of nursing authorization, email constateauth@uc.edu.
- Preparing for your role as a preceptor
- Preceptor overview
- Preceptor for Advanced Practice Nursing Students (Except Nurse-Midwifery)
- Preceptor for Nurse-Midwifery Students
- Building an Effective Learning Environment
- Consider the workspace in your office and which area might best accommodate student learning.
- Keep in mind space in which you can freely offer feedback and address student questions that will not disturb your colleagues.
- Consider your own clinical strengths and weaknesses and how this might affect your teaching style.
- Consider offering the student supplemental readings or identify common disease processes the student should familiarize him/herself with to be successful in the clinical setting.
- Discuss resources or tools the student should bring to the clinical site (e.g, text books or references that are specific to your specialty).
- Explain to colleagues that you are working with a student and request that they consider including your student in possible learning opportunities.
- When questions arise on behalf of the student, encourage him or her to research the answer independently and report back with the findings.
- Prepare personal learning objectives for the clinical experience that complement the course objectives.
- Identify these objectives with measurable outcomes
- Gain approval of these objectives from the preceptor and the faculty.
- Demonstrate responsible professional behavior.
- Follow the dress code, policies, and procedures of the agency.
- Be on time for all scheduled clinical experiences.
- Call in a timely manner if unable to attend clinical experience.
- Avoid personal use of tablets or cell phones in the clinical setting, only accessing apps which may enhance the clinical learning experience.
- Clinical Responsibilities:
- Prepare for clinical experiences.
- Maintain confidentiality of patients.
- Perform appropriate assessments of clients.
- Interpret data obtained from labs, diagnostic tests, and monitoring devices to trend patient condition.
- Prepare a differential diagnosis list and present patient case to the preceptor.
- Develop a plan of care for the patient.
- Recognize emergency situations and make appropriate decisions regarding treatment with preceptor.
- Perform new or advanced interventions only under the direction of the preceptor and according to agency policies.
- Provide appropriate health teaching for patients and families specific to disease process or illness.
- Ensure that preceptor is informed of patient condition.
- Recommend appropriate referrals for specialty services.
- Document patient encounters according to agency policy and identify self as a RN, NP student. Have documentation cosigned by preceptor.
- Communicate effectively with other members of the health care team.
- Maintain a practicum journal which is turned in to the faculty at least three during the semester.
- Confer with the faculty and preceptor at least twice during the semester regarding progress toward meeting clinical and course objectives.
- Update progress toward personal learning objectives in each practicum journal using specific examples of achievement.
- Independently seek learning opportunities in the clinical setting.
- Communicate appropriate policies, procedures, expectations of the agency.
- Assist the student to obtain appropriate identification required by the agency.
- Prepare the agency/staff for the student’s arrival and role in the care of clients.
- Be present in the clinical area when students are seeing patients.
- Orient student to the advanced nursing practice role.
- Review and approve student objectives for the experience.
- Provide opportunities to assess patients.
- Review student assessments and validate findings.
- Cosign any documentation according to the policies of the agency.
- Discuss the management of the client.
- Guide the student in the performance of any intervention.
- Guide the student in identifying ways to evaluate the plan of care.
- Assist the student in learning the referral process and the role of the APRN in the health care team.
- Guide the student in suggesting additional readings or other learning opportunities.
- Confer with the faculty and the student at least twice during the semester about student progress.
- Complete a midterm and final evaluation on the student.
- Validate student’s time logs biweekly.
- Notify faculty immediately of any student issues or concerns.
- Review and adhere to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). See Student & Patient Privacy section at the bottom of this page for more information.
- Review documents related to the clinical course (welcome letter, clinical hours requirement, syllabus, course objectives, etc.) and seek clarification from the respective faculty program coordinator.
- Discuss with student his or her experience/background.
- Approve student’s clinical objectives during the first week of the practicum.
- Arrange for a contract between the clinical agency/preceptor and the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing.
- Provide a course syllabus and a letter of introduction to the preceptor.
- Be available for consultation from the student or preceptor.
- Confer with the student and the preceptor at least twice during the practicum to guide students in achievement of clinical skills and course objectives.
- Evaluate content of the clinical log and other course assignments.
- Communicate with students regarding formative and summative evaluations.
- Provide preceptor the evaluation tools used to assess student progress.
- Provide final evaluation of student performance during the course.
- Review student’s time tracking, case logs and evaluations.
Student & Patient Privacy
Similar to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (34 C.F.R. Part 99—commonly known as FERPA) is a federal law that regulates privacy and the exchange of specific types of information. HIPAA protects patient health information from being disseminated without the patient’s knowledge and consent. FERPA governs the release of and access to student education records. FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records and dictates what UC faculty and staff may and may not share with third parties on a student's behalf. As a preceptor, you must abide by FERPA and HIPAA laws. For more information and resources, visit UC's Office of the Registrar FERPA & Records Privacy page.
Success as a Preceptor
To ensure you are adequately prepared to engage in purposeful interactions with our students in the clinical environment, connect with your student to discuss the following topics before the beginning of their clinical experience:
- Expectations in the clinical setting
- The typical flow of the day and appropriate patients for the student at the start of each clinical day
- Boundaries for the student in the clinical setting
- Personal space for the student and preceptor
- HIPAA guidelines
- Respect for colleagues, friends, or personal contacts in the clinical setting
- Means of communication in the event the student cannot attend clinical
- Your comfort level of the student's interaction and conversation with patients and colleagues in a group setting or during a patient visit
- The length of time needed by the student to feel comfortable in the new role will vary greatly. It is up to the individual student and preceptor to design the clinical experience that best meets their needs.
- How many hours/days per week are needed to work with the preceptor to obtain the required clinical hours. Discuss adjustments to the clinical schedule as necessary.
- Any expectations for attendance at staff meetings, case review, grand rounds or other department functions
- Off-site conferences do not count toward clinical time.
Student should present to clinical in professional dress with a lab coat, student identification, stethoscope and any other tools identified as determined by the clinical setting.
Address policies and procedures required in the clinical setting. Also review any special considerations in dealing with hospital, clinic personnel or clients and any expectations for attendance at staff meetings, case review, grand rounds or other department functions.
- May request a copy of the student’s resume or curriculum vitae (CV) and review document to familiarize yourself with the student’s history or experience.
- You will receive the syllabus; review the learning outcomes with the student.
- Discuss with the student their learning style and successful ways they have learned in the past.
- Reflect on your preferred teaching style and how this will influence the manner in which you precept the student.
Student should present to clinical with proper identification required by the clinical institution.
If your institution requires students to have a UC ID badge, students can obtain one by following instructions on the Graduate Student Registration page.
Feedback & Evaluation
- Feedback: Feedback is critical to student success and learning. Provide the student with anecdotal feedback regularly to improve performance and promote progression in the clinical setting. Feedback should be provided immediately whether offering praise or opportunity for improvement. Consider debriefing at the end of each clinical day. Identify self-directed learning opportunities for the student outside of the clinical setting and set goals for the next clinical day.
- Evaluation: Evaluations are deployed by the student twice during the semester using our online evaluation system. It is the student’s responsibility to determine the midpoint with the preceptor and communicate the need to have the evaluation completed. The same applies for the final evaluation in the final days of clinical. The evaluation is a formal assessment of the student’s progress in the clinical setting. Consider the feedback you have provided the student up until this point and whether you have noted progression and improved performance. Use this opportunity to formally identify the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Provide details supporting the evaluation with specific examples if possible. Following the midterm evaluation, set aside time to discuss with the student. Verbally discuss expectations and hold the student accountable for any goals set for the remainder of the semester.
Working with a Challenging Student
Discuss with the faculty specific concerns you may have with the student. In an effort to organize your thoughts and concerns consider the following approach using the SOAP mnemonic.
- Subjective: What concerns you most about the student? Consult colleagues and incorporate their thoughts or concerns on the student’s performance.
- Objective: Identify specific behavior concerns and maintain documentation to reference when you are ready to discuss with the student and faculty.
- Assessment: Consider how to approach specific concerns and devise a plan for remediation.
- Plan: Discuss remediation plan with student and faculty. Set goals and maintain accountability. Determine timeframe to re-assess performance and progress.
If you encounter a difficult situation with a student please seek support from clinical faculty immediately. It is vitally important that course faculty be involved in any problem that arises during the clinical experience. As soon as a problem is detected, faculty should be made aware of the problem and should be involved in creating a resolution. The course faculty is responsible for notifying the Program Director of the situation and ongoing progress/resolution. It is also vital that the student’s written evaluations reflect the preceptor's or student's concerns.
Optimizing Time with Students
We understand that offering preceptorship requires a large amount of time and effort of your behalf. We are grateful for the opportunity you are providing our students. Use of teaching tools in the clinical setting can optimize the time spent with the student to create a productive learning experience.