I'm doing SUNY Delhi's RN-BSN program accelerated. This Fall I'm taking the classes that don't require a preceptor, but I'll need one for four classes total in future semesters.
Anyone else in or graduate from online programs that require clinical? How do/did you go about finding a preceptor? I don't know if SUNY Delhi's program is usual or not, but there seems like a lot of stuff a preceptor is required to be in charge of for no pay. For example, the preceptor is to document how the student is meeting goals established with the preceptor and the course (like "student will critically examine literature related to management structure").
Seems like a lot to me, and I'm thinking "Who would want to do this??" But I've promised myself that if I find someone I'll pay it forward and not refuse to precept!
It depends on the type of clinical and also your schools requirement for contracts. I begin my first FNP clinical next week and I just went through all of this. If your class has a clinical portion and your school requires a contract then it depends on the type of facility. For hospitals, the best place to start is the hospital's education department. If they don't deal with setting up clinical time then they know who will.
For smaller facilities like Doc n the boxes, or LTC facilities contact the manager or director of nursing. Again, if they don't actually set things up they will know who does.
Start now. The hardest part of all this is actually getting the contracts set up. If the facility does not already have a contract in place with your school it can take 4 or more months to set them up. Not kidding.
A big part is the type of clinical time as well: is it observation time or hands on time? Some schools don't require a contract if the clinical is observation and under a certain amount of hours.
It is a hard process. I just got my contract in place (3 months to set up) 2 days ago and the class starts next week. I almost had to drop the class because I wasn't sure if the contract was going to go through or not.
Good luck, you will get it done.
The coordinator of the program is supposed to get back to me about whether a contract is already in place at the facility local to me, she thought there was but wanted to double-check.
Did you just start calling units or offices, ask if anyone was willing?
As to what types of clinicals, two are observation, two are hands-on requiring health assessment monitored by a preceptor, the last is a clinical arrangement I'm more familiar with, 8 hours a week for 7 weeks with student developed goals for caring for several patients in that setting. I'm not quite sure where I'd like to that, although it'd be more familiar to go where I've floated as a nurse before, I'm considering thinking outside my unit and sphere while I'm a student and have that opportunity, you know?
Speaking of said unit I float to, saw a nurse I'm somewhat familiar with and said "Hey, wanna precept me?" "Uhm, okay?" so it is a maybe, I said I'd let her look over the paperwork after the weekend - and promised coffee and donuts.
Interesting topic that has been started. I work primarily in a hospital administrative role and in my area of California, precepting of students is an expectation of nurses. Any staff RN (with ability and experience) is expected to work with student nurses on rotation. Because these students are scattered in multiple areas of the hospital, one instructor can't possibly be the preceptor. So, how are nurses compensated or recognized for their extra efforts? Our schools of nursing send letters of appreciation, one provides continuing education credits if the staff RN completes a brief self-learning module, AND those extra efforts to reach out to students is reflected in the staff RN evaluation and earns them more points and a higher raise on an annual evaluation. Facilities on the Magnet journey also must document how we "reach out" and this is on method that meets that requirement.
Now, back to the online programs. Much depends on how the program is set up. Preceptors usually are not expected to do more than they usually do on a busy work day. The student follows along and observes and/or participates according to the requirements of the program. For the BSN program level, the amount of work will depend on the the type of clinical experience being requested/required.
One of the biggest skills a preceptor must have is the ability to "understand" what the student needs. This requires the student and preceptor to communicate (e-mail? phone? letter? in-person?) before the precepting experience and to be able to remain in communication after the experience ends but while the class is still in session.
The faculty for the BSN and other level distance education students have a clear responsibility to follow up on the experience from both sides to validate and improve the experience during and after the program. If your program does not require evaluations or other follow up contact between your preceptor and instructor that is a problem, in my opinion. Your school should also be able to provide names of preceptors that were mentioned positively during previous rotations based on previous student evaluations of the preceptors and faculty comments.
The hardest part of ANY program is getting the forms done. You will probably have forms that are agency and school related as a contract to allowing you on that site. These are typically legal agreements and may require you to jump through some hoops to even access the facility. Background checks can take weeks and these are becoming more common unless you are on staff already at that facility and have gone through the process. Then you have to "find" that preceptor and get those forms completed. . . and usually the preceptor has to complete forms and all must be submitted so the school you are working with can evaluate whether they are appropriate as your preceptor. That can take time because many advance practice nurses procrastinate on yet another form and there are several layers of approval required! Sadly, if you wait until a week or two before your practicum classes begin you may find yourself sitting out a semester because you couldn't enroll or were disenrolled because your forms were not completed in a timely manner.
I also want to point out the dangers of using your supervisor or someone you report to as your preceptor. Depending on the type of class you are in, you may be constrained or put off by the experience. I am a distance education MSN graduate. My class had horror stories of being taken advantage of, ignored, neglected, and otherwise abused when they used their supervisors as preceptors. . . especially in the final practicum project. The students walked away with a completely different view of the people they respected and counted on to share knowledge and education. I would encourage you to look outside of your unit or personal work area for your preceptor so that you are able to make the most of your experience.
I have been a preceptor for several levels of students. When I agree to precept, I make the commitment to understand the program, understand "what" the students need, and I know I have to adjust the way I do things because I will need to explain what is second nature to me. Yes, preceptors get slowed down a bit in their daily work. Preceptors that are engaged in the process understand this and make adjustments. When looking for a preceptor, find out if they have done this before, get recommendations from others in the setting who might have done them before. Trust me, I know students in any role and every college have a gossip and rumor mill for every instructor in that college! The same will be true for preceptors if you ask around.
Finally, don't forget to send your preceptor (and their supervisor) a thank you letter at the end of the experience. A well-written letter means far more to them than a box of candy or coffee. It motivates them to continue to grow others in a positive way. Even a negative experience can usually find some silver lining to mention and may be the stimulus needed to motivate the preceptor to improve their own performance for the next opportunity.
I've "precepted" 3 MSN students from one very large online program and the program NEVER contacted me for any reason. They never verified my credentials or even that I actually existed. For all they know, I am a fictional person that the students made up and the students never actually did any of the work they claimed they did. There is no faculty-preceptor contact and they take the student's word for everything with no process to verify that the student is not falsifying the entire preceptorship.
One of the students I precepted did a wonderful job and truly deserved the "A" she got in the class. The 2nd student should have gotten an "F" because she didn't actually do the work she said she was going to do. She was given a "A" by the faculty based on what she said she did. The 3rd student is currently still in the process of completing her preceptorship. She never speaks to me. I see her and ask her how she is doing, if she needs some help with her project, etc. She always says that she is fine and does not need or want anything from me. I have little idea what she is doing or whether or not she is doing it well.
I have tried to talk to the school about this recurrent issue ... but they never get back to me. They say they will pass the information along to the next level within their school, but I never hear from them again.
You can form your own opinions of what I think of that particular large, famous online program.
CrescentLuna
20 Posts
The coordinator of the program is supposed to get back to me about whether a contract is already in place at the facility local to me, she thought there was but wanted to double-check.
Did you just start calling units or offices, ask if anyone was willing?
As to what types of clinicals, two are observation, two are hands-on requiring health assessment monitored by a preceptor, the last is a clinical arrangement I'm more familiar with, 8 hours a week for 7 weeks with student developed goals for caring for several patients in that setting. I'm not quite sure where I'd like to that, although it'd be more familiar to go where I've floated as a nurse before, I'm considering thinking outside my unit and sphere while I'm a student and have that opportunity, you know?
Speaking of said unit I float to, saw a nurse I'm somewhat familiar with and said "Hey, wanna precept me?" "Uhm, okay?" so it is a maybe, I said I'd let her look over the paperwork after the weekend - and promised coffee and donuts.