New Nurses Precepting Students/New Hires?

[All4NursingRN]

So the other day at work one of my co-workers (2 years out of school) was teamed with a nursing student. Now this particular nurse is still somewhat shaky about his skills- good nurse but not super confident (although he's one of managements favorites sooo you know how that goes)

I ask him how's it going having a student and he says it's ok (just alittle overwhelmed).

Why would you put a nurse with less than 3 years experience to precept?

Like really?

I feel confident in my abilities, but with just 15 months experience I will say HECK NO! to precepting. I think I know alot, but there's way more I don't know and I have no right teaching anyone else at this stage!

Anyway he is management's love puppy (well atleast one mangers') so I guess someone is trying to make him look good.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

lol... I had my first capstone student less than a month off of orientation as a new grad. At that time, all of the experienced nurses were orienting their own new grads, so they didn't have much left to pick from. I felt bad for the girl because she probably didn't have the best experience. Now I have been a nurse for 1.5 years and have precepted for 3 capstone students and one new grad. I think by 6 months I was definitely ready for the capstone students. I am always very clear that, no, I don't know everything and that I am pretty quick to ask other nurse's input if I think I need to. I think that helps ease student's fears a little bit. The new grad was a little shaky, because I have a hard time 'letting go of the reins,' but he turned out okay and is doing very well so far.

I don't really think it is ideal to have new nurses orienting, but on my floor there have been several shifts where I AM the old nurse (I worked a week of nights where all of the other nurses had 6 months or less of experience...scary!). But I also work at a large teaching hospital with TONS of resources. We have clinical resource nurses that round on days and nights, as well as a rapid response team that rounds on days and follows our 'worrisome' patients. On day shift there is always our nurse manager and a nurse leader available if I have any issues. It makes it easier for me to teach when I have plenty of resources who will help me.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

In the past I've worked with some older nurses who, while they technically hit the experience wicket, I wouldn't trust them to precept my cat. At the same time, taking a newbie who is still learning the basics and asking them to precept is setting both preceptor and preceptee up for failure.

IMO, it depends a lot on the nurse who is doing the precepting. Successful preceptors don't need to have 20+ years under the belt. Much less experience, even just a year or so, is fine because the preceptor isn't going to be able to teach the preceptee every single thing there is to know about the profession of nursing: the preceptor is there to ease the preceptee into real-world nursing. Nor is the preceptor/preceptee relationship meant to last forever: ultimately the preceptor stands aside and the preceptee goes on her own.

Of course, willingness and ability to precept helps a lot too.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I think those that post "back in the day" circumstances are talking of a time long gone.

Liability? What liability? Now it's all admin talks about. Nursing students don't do what those of days old did routinely in school. Sheesh. My aunt a diploma nurse now retired for many years spent 4 days of the week on the floor and one day in classroom. They did EVERYTHING. This is why nurses like her hit the floor after graduating nary skipping a beat. Nothing new to be taught, just refining nursing intuitive skills just like MDs when they begin real practice.

Nursing school is NOTHING like that anymore.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

Anyway he is management's love puppy (well atleast one mangers') so I guess someone is trying to make him look good.

Sounds like your co-worker is trying to expand his skills while helping someone else.

I have been on the floor less than a year and I just finished a 90-hour preceptorship with a BSN student. It went great; we both learned a lot.

As I was reviewing the preceptorship with her professor, she was surprised to hear how new I was and she told me I would make an excellent nursing instructor.

To my knowledge, I am not management's love puppy and NO ONE has to make me look good.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

As a senior nursing student, I was precepted by a nurse who had just completed her first year. It was only for one day when my normal preceptor for that rotation was absent, but it ended up being a great opportunity because I got to see her thought process as a new nurse and the resources she used when she was unsure of something. Whereas my normal preceptor would already have known a certain policy, the new nurse showed me where the p&p manual was. Whereas my normal preceptor would have known what to do in certain situations, the new nurse had to consult the charge nurse. It was good to see a similar decision making process to the one that I myself would be making in a few short months.