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Discussion

NP Programs, Preceptors and You - Get Your Voice Heard!

Over the years I've read numerous posts and articles about nurse practitioner education - the pros, the cons and the absolutely unacceptable. One of the things I am passionately opposed to is schools that do not provide preceptors for their students. This is unheard of in physician and physician assistant education, and is degrading to the NP profession. Quality is not assured nor required, adequate experience is not assured and yet schools keep getting paid. If we are to be a profession to be reckoned with, we should start acting like one.

Enter CCNE, the largest accrediting body of nursing programs, both baccalaureate and graduate, in the nation. They are currently revising the old standards for accreditation, and are open to comments about the concerns in the programs and about the programs they accredit. They are asking for your opinion. Instead of complaining, let's act!

Here's the link to the webpage: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | CCNE Accreditation

Please, please consider inputting your opinion! Every opinion counts, especially those that differ. Let's be a profession of quality, not numbers.

Please put your opinion down below if you'd like, but please take the survey. It ends May 5, 2017.

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    Done. Not sure what good it will do. But it's worth a try. Just had a clinical buddy tell me her school popped up just a couple of weeks ago and told the class they decided their entire summer semester needed to be strictly therapy (its a PMHNP program). Ummmm it's April. The summer session starts in May. Luckily she had a few connections and got hers taken care of but several of her classmates are struggling to find placements because they were set up at other places for summer. This madness has got to stop. If a program decides to change the rules mid semester, they should be required to find their students clinical placements. Period.

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    I'm not convinced that it will help to be honest. However, I did complete the survey and add comments about schools providing preceptors and compensating them for their time (another issue I have with current APRN education).

    !Chris :specs:

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    • Expert
    ... and yet schools keep getting paid.

    "Schools keep getting paid" because students keep enrolling in them and paying tuition. Many of us have been saying here for years that, regardless of any position the CCNE may decide to take (finally), schools would not be able to get away with doing this if students would "vote with their feet" and refuse to enroll in schools that don't provide quality, vetted preceptors. However, it appears that a large majority of NP students are looking for the most convenient nursing program possible, regardless of the quality of the program.

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    • Author
    "Schools keep getting paid" because students keep enrolling in them and paying tuition. Many of us have been saying here for years that, regardless of any position the CCNE may decide to take (finally), schools would not be able to get away with doing this if students would "vote with their feet" and refuse to enroll in schools that don't provide quality, vetted preceptors. However, it appears that a large majority of NP students are looking for the most convenient nursing program possible, regardless of the quality of the program.

    I completely agree with you, elkpark. I wish students would be more mindful of how their schools benefit them and their profession rather than what benefits their pocket and time. Thank you for your input!

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    • Author
    I'm not convinced that it will help to be honest. However, I did complete the survey and add comments about schools providing preceptors and compensating them for their time (another issue I have with current APRN education).

    !Chris :specs:

    I wrote the same comments! In my area, preceptors are paid pretty well for taking in PA students. Hence why they are more willing to precept PA students over NP students.

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    • Expert
    I'm not convinced that it will help to be honest. However, I did complete the survey and add comments about schools providing preceptors and compensating them for their time (another issue I have with current APRN education).

    Although I am a CNS, not an NP, in my graduate program (well-known B&M program), all the clinical supervision (in all the tracks) was provided by full-time or part-time faculty, in facilities that had ongoing relationships with the school. The clinical faculty were all vetted, known to the school, and evaluated on an ongoing basis. The school monitored the quality of the clinical education we were getting on an ongoing basis. I don't really understand why anything else is considered acceptable. I certainly wouldn't have considered attending a program that did anything different.

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    Such a great topic, and I will be sure to let my voice be heard! I will be starting a B&M graduate program in the fall (nursing education specialty), and one of the main criteria in my search for a school was NOT having to find my own clinical experiences/preceptor. I believe that the ever-rising tuition rates should include clinical experiences. No exceptions.

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    • Expert

    I hope the preceptor issue isn't the only concern about the current state of NP education worth mentioning. What about the total lack of admission standards many schools have? There are some that will waive the gpa requirement on a probationary basis, I'm guessing the probation being as long as the check continues to clear covering the tuition each semester?

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    I am a CRNA and was surprised to learn of a local NP program that requires the student to find preceptors. I learned of this when a NP student was 'hanging out' in PACU with no clear objectives. But aren't there 2 accreditors for NP programs? I think the local program is ACEN accredited, so a CCNE change won't affect them.

    As for the issue of paying preceptors, who is going to bear the increased cost? And is payment a good motivator to find quality preceptors? I hope paying preceptors never happens in the CRNA community. For CRNAs, clinical sites must be approved by the program and accreditor (COA). Programs are required to have adequate clinical experience for each student. How would a student know what a good preceptor looks like? Also, what about the student who just wants to do enough to get by? And if the preceptor was getting paid, then the preceptor may never give a negative evaluation or they might loose their 'business'.

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    I just finished the survey as well, but I don't have a lot of faith in change.

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    • Author
    I just finished the survey as well, but I don't have a lot of faith in change.

    It is so sad that so many do not have the faith for change! :( I wish there was something that we knew we could do to change things. I just finished reading a number of articles from a physician's viewpoint of NPs, and while there were some that were supportive of our role, there were numerous who were not in favor of our education and frequently point to the lack of science-based courses and the large amount of "theory" and "politically-correct" classes. While I don't agree with them, I can see their frustration, especially with very lenient admissions. A number of physicians also mocked our profession because we have a large amount of online programs.

    I can only hope that something will change for the positive! Thank you for taking the survey and letting your voice be heard!

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