Precepting

chloecatrn · Jul 10, 2010

Teach the right way, not the "way we/you do things". You don't want your preceptee to be with someone for a day of orientation and then have to spend a day panicking about what you've taught that someone may give the side-eye. Show him where to look up policies. Any time that there's going to be a procedure/intervention that there's a policy about, have him pull the policy.

Seek out learning experiences for your preceptee. If there's a procedure going on down the hall, ask the RN in charge of that patient if she/he minds if your orientee watches, so that the first time that comes up in your assignment, you'll be more comfortable teaching it.

Give a good day one tour. Introduce him to important people that can make or break him, like the unit secretary. I also usually provide a small list of important phone numbers/pager numbers, etc. that's small enough to fit on the back of an ID badge.

Encourage asking questions. Ask for feedback at the end of each week regarding what learning experiences he's had vs. what he'd like to see. Ask what he's most comfortable with, what he's moderately comfortable with, what he's not comfortable with at all. You may be surprised at the differences in your level of confidence in his competence and his level of confidence!

Good luck! Precepting and teaching are highly rewarding, and I have no doubt you'll enjoy yourself and even refresh some skills that you may have not realized you were a little rusty on!

WhiteScrubs · Jul 11, 2010

Teaching other is one of the best ways to learn things (truly master them) yourself, and can be very rewarding.

Be honest about your expectations, communicate clearly and frequently, be open to feedback, give *constructive* criticism. Some things are difficult to teach to a new grad -- time management comes to mind -- so be patient with yourself and your preceptee. Always provide enough supervision that patient safety isn't endangered. Try to remember yourself as a new grad, and/or when you first started on your current unit. What was most helpful to know? What was the biggest aha! moment?

Most of all, remember that everyone learns differently, and at different paces.

Good luck, and thanks for taking on the challenge!! Great preceptors are what make great nurses.

NurseNora, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2010

Different people have different learning styles. Ask him how he learns best. Give him feedback on a regular basis, what he's doing well in and where he is still weak. Ask him how he feels about his strengths and weaknesses. Share any good references you have. Remember to give him praise when he does something right. When orienting it seems like you'll just never get anything right, so it's good to hear when someone notices that you did a good job at something.

Zookeeper3 · Jul 11, 2010

I like to meet at the end of each shift and ask them what I need to do differently and then I provide positive and constructive criticism and a plan for the next shift of goals, we agree on them or tweak them and off we go;)

dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I · Jul 11, 2010

Nobody is born knowing how to be a nurse. When I precept I tell the student that, and that I will tell them if they make a mistake I haven't already made. That said, I'm against new grads in the ER. It's like getting your drivers license and going into the Indy 500. It works for some, but those who can't do it are devastated. 1 year of med/surg helps a lot. They have time to get the basics down, like not using a 30cc syringe for 1/2 cc injection, etc. I agree with all of the above otherwise.