Precepting and mentoring needs of nursing faculty and clinical instructors: fostering career development and community

• Published in: The Journal of nursing education Vol. 51; no. 9; pp. 497 - 503
• Main Authors: Smith, Sheila K, Hecker-Fernandes, Jill R, Zorn, CeCelia, Duffy, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SLACK INCORPORATED 01.09.2012
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Aged; Attitude of Health Personnel; Career Development; Career Mobility; College campuses; College Environment; Data Collection; Departments; Doctoral Degrees; Education, Distance - organization & administration; Education, Distance - standards; Education, Nursing, Graduate - organization & administration; Education, Nursing, Graduate - standards; Educational Objectives; Faculty Promotion; Faculty, Nursing - organization & administration; Faculty, Nursing - standards; Female; Females; Group Discussion; Health sciences; Humans; Institutional Mission; Labor Turnover; Likert scale; Likert Scales; Literature Reviews; Male; Mentors; Middle Aged; Models, Educational; Nursing; Nursing Education; Nursing Education Research; Nursing Research; Online Surveys; Opportunities; Organizational change; Organizational Culture; Outcomes of Education; Peer Groups; Philosophy, Nursing; Preceptorship - organization & administration; Preceptorship - standards; Residence Characteristics; Standard deviation; Studies; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Tenure; Women Faculty; United States > US
• ISSN: 0148-4834; 1938-2421
• DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20120730-04

A descriptive survey was conducted to describe (a) perceptions of precepting and mentoring at early-, mid-, and late-career phases and (b) the organization's support of department members' precepting and mentoring needs. Participants were nursing faculty and clinical instructors at a midwestern public university. The Measure of Precepting and Mentoring was developed for this study. Findings indicate that clinical instructors experience greater precepting and mentoring satisfaction than faculty and distance-site department members experience a higher level of satisfaction than main-campus department members. Faculty expressed the most dissatisfaction for late-career mentoring and organizational culture and outcomes. From the qualitative data, three themes emerged: (a) a need for precepting and mentoring that changes with time, (b) a lack of an organizational precepting and mentoring philosophy and supporting mechanisms, and (c) the feeling of together but separate. A model of precepting and mentoring emerged from our study.