An Exploration of Student Nurses' Perceptions of Clinical Preceptors

Background: A critical component of student nurses' training is preceptorship, which supports the attainment of knowledge, skills, and attitudes to meet learning outcomes. As such, the preceptor-student relationship is critical to students' success as they complete their prelicensure program. Method: A descriptive correlational design examined senior students' perceptions of preceptor competence using the adapted PSAT-40, measuring skills/attitudes, knowledge/understanding, administrative resources, and support. Results: Students rated preceptors as proficient across all domains. Students with health care backgrounds, including certified nursing assistant, paramedic, or emergency medical technician, reported significantly different perceptions. Preceptors who received training had higher total PSAT scores ( p = .007, p < .05). Conclusion: Students with prior medical experience perceived their preceptors as significantly more proficient. Providing administrative resources/support and onboarding strengthens preceptor preparedness, further supporting the achievement of clinical learning objectives and the need for formal training for this role.