Nurse Practitioner and Physician Preceptors Perceptions of Student Nurse Practitioner Training and Practice: Expectations, Comparison with Medical Students and Faculty Experience

Purpose: To determine the perceptions of nurse practitioner and physician preceptors towards student nurse practitioners focusing specifically on what preceptors expect from student nurse practitioners at the beginning and at the end of the clinical training experience, how each views the student nurse practitioners as compared to medical students at various years in medical school, and the preceptors own faculty experience. Results: The overall adjusted response rate for the survey was 58% (94/161). Nurse practitioner and physician preceptors found student nurse practitioners to be at an expected level of practice when starting clinical experiences in a primary care setting in these areas: completing a history, adjusting med doses, diagnosing common problems, determining treatment meds and teaching about home care responsibilities. Nurse practitioner and physician preceptors thought student nurse practitioners were weaker than expected in the areas of generating differential diagnoses and prioritizing differentials. Nurse practitioner and physician preceptors differed in their comparison of beginning student nurse practitioners to medical students in different years of training with physician preceptors viewing student nurse practitioners as comparable to first and second year medical students where as nurse practitioner preceptors viewed them as comparable to third and fourth year medical students. Conclusion: Remarkable similarity exists among nurse practitioner and physician preceptors around expectations for clinical skill development for their student nurse practitioner trainees. Some differences do exist around views of how student nurse practitioner trainees compare in the clinical setting to medical students in different years of medical school. Regarding faculty experience each group of preceptors values their precepting experience. Enhanced orientation and faculty development efforts may be of value in clarifying roles and responsibilities among nurse practitioner and physician preceptors when working with student nurse practitioners.