An investigation of the roles and functions of nurse preceptors in the clinical areas.

This article explores the confusion that exists in the clinical areas concerning proper accompaniment of student nurses. There is a feeling that professional nurses in clinical areas are not always actively involved in clinical teaching. The clinical instructors and nurse educators are unable to accompany student nurses properly because of staff shortages. Some hospitals have identified one professional nurse per unit to work as a nurse preceptor for accompaniment of student nurses. This has resulted in the need to find out if the professional nurse preceptor is solving the problem of lack of student accompaniment in clinical areas. The aim of this study therefore is to investigate the roles and functions of nurse preceptors in improving student accompaniment as compared to other professional nurses in clinical areas namely, clinical instructors, nurse educators and professional nurses working in clinical areas as viewed by student nurses themselves. A comparative descriptive study was done in one of the hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal (Region D) on a purposely selected sample of (80) 4 years comprehensive diploma student nurses, (16) nurse preceptors and (40) randomly-selected professional nurses. Open and closed-ended questions were used for collection of data. The study revealed that the most student nurses 87.5% (70) identified nurse preceptors as playing an important role in their accompaniment as compared to other professional nurses. Student nurses identified the following roles and functions of nurse preceptors in student accompaniment: acting as role models, acting as resource people for them, providing clinical teaching, orientate them in clinical areas, allay fears and anxieties by providing guidance, support and encouragement, demonstrate procedures, help them in solving problems they experienced and do formative and summative evaluation of student nurses. These roles were in agreement with those identified by professional nurses and nurse preceptors themselves. It was found also that nurse preceptors were experiencing many problems which need to be solved in order for them to perform their roles and functions effectively. It is recommended that even those hospitals and educational institutions that are not utilizing nurse preceptors for student accompaniment should consider them because of the contributions they make. Nurse preceptors should be allocated specifically for student accompaniment with minimal patient care responsibilities and administration of Units. In conclusion proper utilization of nurse preceptors can solve the problem of a lack of student accompaniment in clinical areas.