The classroom setting can’t fully prepare nursing students for their first exposure to real-world patient care. That’s why one of the most valuable tools you can offer new nurses as they transition to their professional lives is the opportunity to work with a preceptor. And, because many experienced nurses are more familiar with the role of clinician than teacher, it’s equally important to give preceptors the training they need to understand their roles as knowledge experts and mentors.

Designed to introduce the general principles of serving as a clinical preceptor for a nursing student or a new nurse orientee, IUSON’s Preceptor Online Education Course can play an integral role in your efforts to “socialize” students to the profession. This course will enable you to standardize the education and leadership training preceptors receive, helping to ensure that they are fully prepared to act effectively as mentors. By learning techniques to teach and evaluate their orientees, your preceptors will feel confident in their abilities to help new nurses fit basic skills into the broad perspective of patient and family care.

The course can be completed in four to eight hours, depending on the experience and knowledge of principles of teaching and learning of the participant, and is composed of four modules and a multiple choice post-test. During the clinical experience, the new nurses will be asked to demonstrate program outcomes as well as skill acquisition for each of the identified psychomotor skills. Topic areas covered include:

• Course Management - In the Course Management module, preceptors will learn the "nuts and bolts" about their responsibilities in the clinical teaching and learning environment.
• Adult Learners - The Adult Learners module provides preceptors with an essential understanding of how adults learn. It includes theoretical and practical application of adult learning concepts to the role of the preceptor. An optional self-assessment of the preceptor's own learning style is included.
• Clinical Teaching - The clinical teaching module includes hints, techniques, and teaching strategies to enhance learning in a clinical setting.

• Nurses who serve as preceptors for students or nurses in the clinical agency
• Nurses who wish to understand basic principles of facilitating learning in the clinical setting
• Nurses who are considering joint appointments with schools of nursing and may assume clinical teaching roles

• Modular format for small or large chunks of study time
• 24/7 accessibility and flexibility with easy navigation
• Interactive learning activities, web links and exercises

• Flexible learning for all shifts and learner needs
• Accessible, convenient training
• Consistent content with defined, measurable outcomes
• Career development