A survey of the role perceptions of graduate level clinical nurse preceptors

Increasingly, in the United States and around the world, health policy analysts and nursing leaders recognize that any real and lasting improvement in the health of the public requires a committed and educated nurse work force. In the United States, the Patient Protection and Accountability Act of 2010 (PPACA) authorized and funded new programs to increase the primary care nurse workforce and to support better access to home care, community-based services, birthing centers and nurse managed clinics. PPACA also will fund demonstration projects to develop, implement, and evaluate NP and MD primary care teams engaged in home care. New funding and loan forgiveness programs encourage nurses to become nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and teachers. Nurse educators, especially teachers of graduate students, are challenged to identify and form effective partnerships with clinician-preceptors to assure that the next generation of advanced practice and advanced public health nurses has the competence to make evidenced-based clinical decisions, a requirement of the health delivery systems of the future. Recognizing that preparation for advanced practice is dependent upon the commitment of clinical preceptors, this presentation reports on the findings of a descriptive, correlational study using web-based survey methodology. Ninety one experienced graduate level clinical preceptors comprised the national sample.