school has no preceptorship?

CharcoalRN · Mar 30, 2011

My school didn't offer a preceptorship and I will start my first job as a new grad nurse next week. They definitely asked all of us interviewees about our preceptorships during the first round of interviews, and at first I really felt like I was at a disadvantage with my fellow new nurse talking about how they had 150ish hours on one type of unit.

I answered the "what/where/how long was your preceptorship?" with the advantages of not having one. My school felt there was more of an advantage to exposing us to all clinical specialties, I had a total of 9 separate clinicals, which my fellow new nurses did not have. We spent 60 hrs on each unit, so I've learned how to become familiar with, be flexible with and adapt quite readily to different work environments. I also noted that I had 2 clinicals on 2 different med-surg units, for a total of 120 hrs on med-surg, and I additionally had 60 hrs on a progressive ICU. So all-in-all, 180 hrs on the floor.

I got the job, without a so called preceptorship, so just state the advantages your school offered for not having a preceptorship.

Piglet68 · Mar 30, 2011

My school does not offer a preceptorship either. We have a very similar situation in that we spend a lot more time in different specialities. The lack of a preceptorship is difficult but as TIWRN explained above, does not mean you won't get a job. Look for nurse externships during school at local hospitals. That can give you the same exposure a preceptorship would have given you.

Thanks TIWRN for the wording above. Really good way to look at the nursing school experience.

nrsshrk · Mar 30, 2011

Thanks guys,

TIWRN, that is a great way to look at it. I will definitely use what you said if they ask me that question whenever I get an interview.

We have a bunch of different clinicals as well: Fundamentals (LTC), ADH1, Gero, Psych, Peds, OB, ADH2, community health, and complex care.

That must be another way of doing it. So there are schools that don't have 9 different clinicals for their students. Got it.

Turd Ferguson · Mar 30, 2011

As stated above, that is a great way to look at it.

As for the experience of a preceptorship, I guess it depends on what kind of clinical experiences you've had. 99% of our time in clinicals was spent doing CNA duties or paperwork for school, so our preceptorship was actually a time for us to be a nurse and do RN things (Not being ill about CNA duties at all, but only having 2 attempts at an IV and putting in one foley for over 750 hours of clinical experience sucks)