The Effect of Preceptorship Program on Clinical Skills of Undergraduate Nursing Students

Introduction: Several programs have been introduced to improve clinical skills of nursing students. Meanwhile, taking benefit of expert clinical nurses (preceptors) for educating nursing students is a new groove to clinical learning. Regarding the limited number of studies on this subject in Iran, current study aimed to determine the effect of preceptorship program on nursing students’ clinical skills. Methods: This experimental study of pre and post-test with two groups design was conducted on 64 BSc nursing students passing their clinical course in the burning-care ward of Imam-Reza hospital of Mashhad. Students were randomly assigned into two groups of control and intervention. In the intervention group, every student was supervised and trained by an expert nurse (preceptor). Control group were trained through the routine teaching method by the clinical instructor. The students’ clinical skills were measures and compared before and after clinical course in the two groups, using t-test, paired t-test Mann Whitney and covariance analysis Results: The students’ clinical skills were improved in both groups. According to the findings of independent t-test and Mann Whitney, the score increments in preceptorship program were significantly more than in the routine method (p≤0/002). Conclusion: Implementation of preceptorship program is helpful and effective for improving clinical skills of nursing students. Thus, it is recommended that educational centers and hospitals try to employ this educational method. On the other hand, the results of this study revealed the necessity of collaboration between academic members and health care providers.