Precepting for my first time...

[Jenni811, RN]

I'm not techinically new anymore, i've been a nurse for almost 2 years. (It will be 2 years in may). We have a new hire that had precepted for a week with another seasoned nurse who precepts alot. She is very very good nurse, like what i inspire to be. However; her personality is a little rough, she isn't very warm and fuzzy. You kind of have to "prove yourself" in order for her to accept you. She is very tough on her orientees, really doesn't baby them. Actually she was my preceptor for a few weeks when mine was on vacation.

All of her orientees come out to be very well prepared.

k, enough about her...going on to my normal topic . So the orientee she has now requested to change preceptors. I don't know why, i don't know anything other than that. So this orientee has been a nurse for years, having been in outpatient surgery at another facility. So my manager asked ME!!! to be her preceptor. I've never precepted...i've only been a nurse for a year and a half, i'm still learning things. This nurse is an older nurse and has lots of experience prior to this. I have many concerns...like i have BIIIIIG shoes to fill because she had Courtney as her preceptor (who knows? maybe she did like her but she wanted to do 12s instead of 8s or something). I am new and still learning things. I am younger than she is, (im 24 she is upper 30s?) she has more experience than i do.

does anyone have advice? How would you feel having gone from that preceptor to one like me? What made your preceptor amazing or not amazing? I told my manager my concerns and i would take the weekend to think about it. She just told me that i was ready to precept and is well aware of my concerns but feels if they would really be a problem she wouldn't have asked me.

[RNJill]

I haven't been a nurse for too terribly long, and was in a similar precepting situation to yours. I was nervous that I technically had less experience than my preceptee, but things actually ended up working out well. On thing that became clear to me was that just because she was an experienced nurse didn't mean that she had experience in the exact setting she was now working in. So, your preceptee may actually be grateful for *your* particular expertise.

The other thing that I've learned during my precepting experiences is that you can handle those I-don't-know experiences in a way that is both humble and appropriate. Rather than just brushing off your preceptee's questions and saying you have no idea, tell them that "this is something new to me too-let's both find it out!" You will be surprised at how much you learn, and just seeing a calm approach to a new problem will often impress/inspire/reassure your orientee (not to mention, they'll learn how to find new info).

Also, stay calm, pleasant, and maintain a sense of humor. You may very well have rocky days together, but a lot of the awkwardness will disappear if you can accomplish the previous. Finally, take some time (like 2 mins) after most shifts to give the person some feedback/debrief a little and ask them if you can do or change anything for them. I find this helps to nip any little orientation problems in the bud.

[Jenni811, RN]

Thanks! Sounds like a good way to handle a situation im unfamiliar with. I'd feel like an idiot if i said i didn't know...but even nurses who have been there for 10, 20 years or whatever are still getting new situations everyday. Makes me feel better...

Hopefully it goes well, i'd hate for my first preceptor experience be awful!

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

It depends if she is new to you area (med surg experience but new to ICU) or just new to your workplace itself (the hospital). Either way, you need to look upon it as a learning experience for both of you. I suggest you don't give her all the answers but ask her questions that drag the information out of her or you can show her where she can look up the answers herself. She will become more self reliant and you will become a stronger nurse for it. Also try to keep critiques constructive! If you must say something about what they did wrong, make sure you tell them how they can improve and what they did right too. Good Luck!

[RNperdiem, RN]

I had two preceptors that I worked with.

The first one was like the preceptor you describe. She was was a little intimidating, but her standards were high, and she made it clear that she expected nothing less from me. I think of preceptor #1 as the strict father who will push you further than you thought you were able to achieve. Her communication style was truthful and to the point.

My second preceptor I though of as a nurturing mother. She gave me encouragement to try new things and not be so afraid.

Both were excellent preceptors and nurses who I respect and who served me well as preceptors because they brought different qualities to their precepting.

You have your own abilities; there isn't only one way to teach.

[NursieNurseLPN, LPN]

I had many different preceptors for my job and you will be fine! One of my favorite ones was a new nurse who had been working for seven months because she knew exactly what it was like to be new and in my shoes. She remembered the anxiety of learning new things, meeting new co-workers, and remembering the massive amounts of things this facility does (paperwork) and how they do them. Even though she has some experience, there are still little things you can show her. As long as you're respectful you will be fine. In fact, id be honest and upfront with her, telling her you've never done this before, but you will do your best to introduce her to your facility and encourage her to ask questions. You will be fine and when its all over, you'll be even stronger and more experienced for having conquered this situation. Just think, you'd have to precept at some point in your career, might as well get it over with now. Keep us informed of how it goes. Dont try to be like other people, be yourself but also think of what your preceptors did for you that you liked and try to include parts of that. Good luck!