Overview
Starting a new role can be daunting and isolating and can lead to higher turnover rates without adequate support being offered.
Preceptorship is a period of structured transition to guide and support newly qualified practitioners from students to autonomous professionals.
During this time, newly qualified practitioners should be supported by an experienced practitioner, and a preceptor, to develop their confidence as an independent professional, and to refine their skills, values and behaviours.
Having expert support and learning from best practice in dedicated time gives a foundation for lifelong learning and allows them to provide effective patient-centred care confidently.
Benefits of preceptorship
Preceptorship can deliver significant benefits including:
- improved confidence and job satisfaction
- positive socialisation into the working environment
- enhanced patient care and experience
- improved recruitment and retention
- reduced sickness absence
- more confident and skilled staff
- increased staff satisfaction and morale
- increased commitment to the employer and profession
The Multi-Professional Preceptor e-Compendium developed by NHS England recognises the needs of preceptors and provides them with the guidance, support and practical tools needed to carry out their vital role.
Maximising the retention of nursing and midwifery staff
The national preceptorship framework for nursing sets national standards for preceptorship for nurses and establishes a framework for good practice that can be adopted across all regions in England.
CapitalNurse has developed a preceptorship framework designed to support newly registered nurses to make the transition to autonomous practitioner, while developing in confidence and proficiency. The preceptorship model provides a summary of the full framework.
CapitalNurse has also developed a Beyond Preceptorship Framework to look at the 12-24 months post-qualification period for newly registered nurses. The framework focuses on four main pillars and identifies different activities which fall within each category. It is intended as a toolkit of resources to assist organisations in developing their own Beyond Preceptorship offering for staff.
In collaboration with the nursing directorate, the National Retention Programme has launched a set of resources, all aimed at supporting the delivery of five high impact actions that have the ability to influence early career, experience at work and late career and maximise the retention and experience of nursing and midwifery staff.
The resources include:
- The nursing and midwifery retention self-assessment tool and supporting toolkit
- National preceptorship framework for nursing and national preceptorship framework for midwifery
- Legacy mentoring resources
- National menopause guidance and e-learning module
Find more on the NHS England National Preceptorship Programme including associated resources.
Case studies
Supporting integrated working through blended roles in Tameside
The Greater Manchester (GM) adult social care transformation programme established several trailblazer programmes to support people to live well at home across their locality. The programme focused on improving career pathways for the workforce across the system and providing better support for people, by integrating health and social care roles.
Read more about the trailblazer programmes
Creating a sense of belonging for new staff at Persona in Bury
The need to create a sense of belonging for new staff at Persona in Bury grew out of some work that the Workforce team completed during the Pandemic. During that time every member of staff was contacted on a daily basis by a member of the workforce team to check how they were.
As a consequence of the workforce programme all staff at Persona:
- are contacted regularly to check how they are
- participate in a corporate induction which includes an introduction to the Learning Hub and the Wellbeing Hub
- undertake statutory training, such as Moving and Handling training and First Aid training
- produce their own Wellness Action Plan to help them untangle how they think and feel when they aren’t at their best and think of ways to ask for help
- can join free weekly yoga sessions, a women’s only fitness class
- can access a range of activities and opportunities for staff to engage with each other and be involved in the Company
Download the Persona case study: Creating a sense of belonging for new staff in Bury
Useful links and resources
- Action Learning Presentation
- Accelerated Preceptorship – Communication
- Accelerated Preceptorship – Communication
- A Team-based Approach to Preceptorship
- CapitalNurse Action Learning
- CapitalNurse Beyond Preceptorship Toolkit of Resources
- Creating a sustainable career pathway
- Establishing a preceptorship programme for general practice nurses
- National preceptorship framework for midwifery
- National preceptorship framework for nursing
- NHS England National Preceptorship Programme
- Preceptorships for newly qualified staff
- Reducing Pre-registration Attrition and Improving Retention
Next » Wellbeing
With staff burnout rates on the rise and a widespread increased desire to achieve the right work-life balance, it is essential staff wellbeing is prioritised to improve retention rates and the resilience of our future workforce.