question about preceptorship

1. I have seen some people post that they did a preceptorship as part of their nursing program. What kind of program are you in--ADN, BSN? Does this vary by state? Around here, we have a preceptor after we graduate, when we start our first job at a hospital. I was just curious, since some have said they put this on their resume. I graduate in May 2006 and will not go through anything like this. I am trying to figure out what to put on my resume besides nursing school and my CNA job. Just curious what this kind of program is like.

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2. 

   About whatnext

   Joined: Jan '02; Posts: 73; Likes: 3

   11 Comments

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3. 
   Dec 1, '05

   I believe it varies state by state. We aren't allowed to sit for NCLEX until we have so many preceptor hours, I think 160.
4. 
   Dec 1, '05

   It varies by state and program too. In my ADN program they only accepted 8 students (out of 35 or so) for a preceptorship, which takes the place of our med-surg clinical rotation 4th semester. This is part of our educational experience, but it is not required. We also end up with a preceptor at the hospital we get hired at as part of the orientation program which is part of our employment experience.
   
   -Bobcat
5. 
   Dec 2, '05

   ADN program here. We are required by the BON in Florida to complete 144 hours. We began after finals and are almost done. Woohooo!
6. 
   Dec 2, '05

   My program required a 260 hour preceptorship. I am not sure what the state requires before you sit for the exam, but I am certain it is less than 244. There are community colleges that allow 144 hours.
7. 
   Dec 2, '05

   wow we have to do 640 hours for our preceptorship! Gosh thats alot!
8. 
   Dec 2, '05

   In NJ, we don't get precepted until we have an RN and get a job, then precepting starts. Usually students do externships between graduation and passing the boards. I am in a ADN program.
9. 
   Dec 2, '05

   I was in a BSN program, essentially, for my last semester I was joined at the hip of a nurse in a Surgical intensive care unit. I had to complete 600 hours of this. For me it was great. My preceptor was expecting- at the beginning she was very busy helping me, as her pregnancy and my skills progressed she took a more laid bakc approach of sitting at the desk waving at me and letting me know she was still around when I needed her.
   Huge confidence booster- and of course, i was offerred a job in the unit as well.
   We all had to do it- we essentially put down three choices and from that somehow the instructors figured it all out....(where to place them etc.)
10. 
    Dec 2, '05

    My BSN program required a preceptorship. We had clinicals for the first three years, then our entire senior year was done as a preceptorship - the fall semester we had one critical care rotation of 144 hours, and one acute care rotation of 144 hours, then in the spring, we had a 360 hour rotation of whatever we wanted. Some did ICU, some did acute care, some did peds, some did neonatal, some did L&D, etc. This was in addition to the externship many of us did between our junior and senior year (these were completely on our own time - most people did 40 hours per week for 8-10 weeks).
11. 
    Dec 3, '05

    Hi whatnext, I'm also in NC and will graduate in May from an ADN Program. Our Program requires that we complete an 80 hour Preceptorship next semester (our last) before Graduation. This is on top of classwork, clinicals, etc. We are paired up with a Nurse at a local hospital and spend the 80 hours working one on one with them.
    
    We all put in our requests for places we'd like to do our Preceptorship, but it's up to our Instructors where we end up - we find that out in January. From what I understand, we work around our Preceptors schedule (on our own time), which might mean working nights, weekends, etc. One Instructor said it's quite a juggling act for them to arrange all of this for 32 students - so it doesn't interfere with our class time or clinicals.
    
    With most hospitals around here, after you pass your Boards and are hired - you normally have a 3-6 month orientation period, where you also get the chance to work one on one with an experienced Nurse before you're on your own (which is very nice to know).... Hope this helps, Sue
12. 
    Dec 3, '05

    Quote from RNKittyKat

    ADN program here. We are required by the BON in Florida to complete 144 hours. We began after finals and are almost done. Woohooo!

    In Arizona it's 108 hours for the ADN program. I have one more 12 hour shift to go in ICU WOOHOO!:wink2:
13. 
    Dec 7, '05

    Thanks for all the replies. It seems like it would be helpful to do something like this. I found out one of the colleges around here offers that to about 8 of the top students, but not mine. Oh well, in five months hopefully I'll be an RN and get plenty of experience.

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