Within nursing in the UK, preceptorship refers to an individualized period of support under the guidance of an experienced clinical practitioner which aims to ease the transition into professional practice or socialization into a new role.
The HCA Nursing Preceptorship Programme is a 4-6month programme for those new starter nurses identified by their manager as requiring support with the transition into a junior staff nurse role.
The programme includes relevant mandatory and developmental study days together with structured support from an experienced nurse. A competency framework and reflective journal are used as evidence of professional development. This framework promotes the development of skills within the areas of:
- clinical practice,
- teamwork,
- communication,
- safe practice,
- equality & diversity,
- research based practice and
- professional development.
