Preceptor Question

Is a preceptor someone you work with while you are still in school or is it someone you work with on the REAL job??

*** A preceptor is who trains you on your "real" job

Could be either. I have served as preceptor to senior nursing students taking Leadership/Management or whatever they call it now. These students are placed with a supervisor for at least 50 hours then they hand in a recommendation for change and create a poster or action plan to implement the change. In Texas preceptors of nursing students are allowed to earn college tuition for themselves or immediate family. The idea is that the student gets clinical experience without a faculty member on site.

We have preceptors for new employees too.

Hope that helps clarify.

I've heard both.

Heard of both too. Usually though I've heard it in reference to orienting new employees.

Both.

Most schools have clinical hours the senior semester when the student is paired one-on-one with an experienced RN for a number of hours, usually 120-150 hours. This nurse is called the student's preceptor.

Also when a new nurse is hired and put on orientation, they go one-on-one with an experienced nurse until their orientation is finished. This experienced nurse is the new nurses preceptor.

I did a 90-hour preceptorship during my senior year of nursing school- 3 weeks of a sort of in-hospital, real-life advanced clinical where I shadowed a preceptor and was allowed to practice skills.

When I graduated, I also had a preceptor as a new employee. She was the one who taught me pretty much everything I know about nursing. So, both. =)