Trained nurse preceptors ’ perceptions of a preceptorship training programme offered by a university in the Western Cape

Abstract

The School of Nursing at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Directorate of Nursing Services in the Western Cape Department of Health undertook a collaborative project to strengthen the clinical teaching skills of professional nurses in the province. A preceptorship training programme was developed by the school and professional nurses from public hospitals and higher education institutions attended the training. It was, however, unclear whether they perceived a change in clinical teaching skills following the training. The purpose of this research was to explore the trained nurse preceptors’ perceptions of the preceptorship training programme offered by UWC. The objectives were to compile a profile of the participants and to describe their perceived changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes as a result of the training. A qualitative approach was used to carry out an exploratory, descriptive and contextual study. An abstraction tool was used to compile profiles of the participants from records. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from tertiary, regional and district hospitals for three focus group discussions. The data showed that the 80 trained preceptors would be able to precept 1 600 students in the province. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data, relating to the change in knowledge about clinical teaching; change in clinical teaching skills; change in attitude; self-awareness; and training challenges. It is recommended that the preceptorship training programme remains a collaborative project.