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Preceptor Preparation: Resources, Styles & Development

Purpose: The learner willuse their self-awareness of personality, learning, conflict management and Critical thinking styles and strengths to support and improve experiential learning for the novices that they coach or precept, within the parameters of agency protocol, resources, professional practice and program framework.

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Northeast Multi-State Division (NE-MSD), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The activityawards 5.0 contact hours of continuing education for completion. Expiration date: 6/15/18. Program Code # 40-0018-0068.

Disclosures: This offering is made available by VNIP, a not-for-profit organization that develops transition into practice support for nurses and other direct care providers. All completion records are maintained in the VNIP office. The planning committee has reviewed the disclosure forms and found no real or perceived conflicts of interest. There is no commercial support or sponsorship for this learning module. Completion of the full self-study module is required for contact hour credit. No partial credit is offered for incomplete learning module.

Completed forms: Bring your completed form to the preceptor workshop that you are attending. You can turn it in there or mail it to: VNIP, 289 County Road, Windsor, VT 05089. Your learning module will be returned with the certificate of completion. A $20 processing fee is charged if this module is completed without it being part of a preceptor course offered by VNIP.

Complete the following pages as directed in each section. If you do not have internet access at your home, you can use public or medical library computers to access identified web sites. Staff in your Education Department may be able to assist you in finding both web sites and articles to use within this assignment.

Name RN? (circle one) Yes No
Mailing Address Other license/prof role

FacilitySpecialty area

E-mail address Date

Please track and document the time required for completion of this self-learning module ______

Learning Objectives and Evaluation form: Through completion of this independent study module, participants will

achieve the objectives that are listed in the chart below.

1. Determine strengths and needs within the workplace preceptor and/or orientation program / N/A / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
2. Consider the impact of personality, learning & conflict management styles on preceptorship.
3. Select key concepts unique to integration of generational and diversity issues in the workplace.
4. Determine issues related to delegation, accountability & professionalism within nursing practice
5. Develop teaching strategies that target reflective practice and clinical judgement development
Did the objectives relate to the purpose/goal(s) of the education activity?
This was an effective format for presentation of this material.

N/A, 1=Low - Disagree5= High - Agree

This CNE program free of any bias? Yes No- If NO Explain______

Additional comments/suggestions:

1. Policies and procedures for precepting, students, and orientation

Find and read your agency policies for student management, competency assessment, orientation, and/or preceptor program. (you may need to look in job descriptions for role expectations).

How is the role of the preceptor defined in your agency policy?

What other roles are outlined and defined?

Are there defined expectations and requirements for healthcare and/or nursing students in your agency?

In your opinion, what are the most important guidelines within these protocols?

What might be missing or have need of further development/updating?

If any of these guidelines were missing, please describe a process for ensuring that there are defined protocols to guide your precepting, student, and orientation experiences.2. Personality Type – pick an item from one column or the other for each row, then count the number of items selected from each side. The higher number in a block tells you which aspect is dominant for you.

Or complete the web survey at:

How you're ENERGIZED.

Easily distracted
Tolerate noise and crowds.
Talk more than listen. .
Meet people readily – join in many activities
Blurt things out without thinking
Parties recharge your batteries
Hates to do nothing. Always on the go
Likes working or talking in groups.
Seeks the center of attention and/or action.
Extrovert / Concentrate easily.
Avoid crowds, seek peace and quiet.
Listen more than talk.
Proceed cautiously in meeting people
Think carefully before speaking.
Time alone recharges batteries
Loves quiet time, reflective
Would prefer to socialize with 1-2 at a time
Content being on the sidelines.
Introvert

How you GATHER information...or what you pay attention to

Learn new things by imitation & observation
Focus on actual experience.
Tend to be specific and literal
Give detailed descriptions.
Behave practically.
Rely on past experiences.
Likes predictable relationships.
Appreciate standard ways to solve problems.
Methodical.
Value realism and common sense.
Sensing / Learn new things through general concepts.
Focus on possibilities.
Tend to be general and figurative
Use metaphors and analogies.
Behave imaginatively.
Rely on hunches.
Value change in relationships.
Use new and different ways to solve problems
Leap around in a roundabout way
Value imagination and innovation.
Intuition

How we make decisions and reach conclusions...

Have truth as an objective.
Decide more with my head.
Question others' findings - they might be wrong.
Choose truthfulness over tactfulness
Deal with people firmly, as needed
Expect world to run on logical principles
Note pros & cons of each option
See others' flaws...critical
Tolerates occasional queries as to emotional state
Feelings are valid if they're logical.
Thinking / Have harmony as a goal.
Decide more with my heart.
Agree with others - people are worth listening to
Choose tactfulness over truthfulness.
Deal with people compassionately.
Expect the world to recognize individual differences
Note how an option has value - how it affects people
Like to please others; show appreciation
Appreciate frequent queries as to my emotional state
ANY feeling is valid.
Feeling

The LIFESTYLE you adopt.

Prefer life to be decisive, imposing my will on it.
Prefer knowing what they're getting into
Enjoy finishing things
Work for a settled life, with my plans in order.
Dislike surprises & want advance warnings.
See time as a finite resource
Take deadlines seriously.
Like checking off "to do" list.
Feel better with things planned.
Settled. Organized.
Judging / Seek to adapt my life and experience what comes along
Like adapting to new situations.
Enjoy starting things
Keep my life as flexible as possible - nothing missed
Enjoy surprises, like adapting to last-minute changes
See time as a renewable resource
See deadlines as elastic.
Ignore "to do" list even if made one
Would rather do whatever comes along
Tentative. Flexible. Spontaneous.
Perceiving

Based on this assessment tool, I believe that my personality style is ______

More info can be found at:

Web assignments:

Workshop participants are asked to access and explore the internet for article retrieval and self assessment tools. If any web address does not link correctly, please use the section heading title within a web search and explore a few web pages that are recommended.

It is usually easier to search by a title or heading, than to type a web page address!! You are encouraged to explore all web sites for further info and print results as desired for your personal use. If you find ‘web surfing’ challenging, please contact someone in your Education Department for assistance and/or guidance to help you in accessing resources (or possibly your librarian).

3. Learning Style inventory

Complete one or both of these learning style assessment tools, then print and review your results.

  1. Index of Learning Styles -
  2. VARK Questionnaire - - click on Questionnaire.

Based on this assessment tool, my dominant learning style is ______

How does this impact your teaching style?

4. Conflict Management Style assessments:

Try the conflict management assessment tool at:

Based on this exploration of information, when faced with conflict, I am most apt to ______

Read the information posted on one or more of these web sites to see if you can determine your dominate style from these descriptions/explanations.

How does conflict management relate to precepting and your own workplace culture?

For the following articles, identify the concept/s mentioned that strike you as new knowledge, most important component, not valid for you, etc.

5. Integrating Generational Perspectives in Nursing - review an article and respond

Weston, Maria J. 2006 OJIN Vol. # 11 No. #2, Manuscript 1: ies/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume112006/No2May06/tpc30_116073.html

The 4-Generation Gap in Nursing -

Lead to succeed through generational differences. October 2014 Vol. 9 No. 10 Author: Joyce Bragg, RN, MSN, BSN

Key Concept:

How might this impact your practice of nursing and/or precepting?

6. Please find and select an article on Critical Thinking to read and respond to.

Articles can be found via:

  • VNIP web links page at
  • By searching with a specific heading or title listed in the search engine
  • Try a search using the words: nurse, critical thinking, nursing judgment, or clinical reasoning

Publication related to Critical Thinking

Title: ______

Key Concept:

How might this information impact your professional practice and/or role as a preceptor?

In relation to Critical Thinking skills, my greatest strengths include:

I may need to work on improving my capability related to:

List the techniques will you use to help others develop their Critical Thinking capability?

-If you are unsure of the answer, you might want to check out the instructor’s resources listed below!

  • Tanner (2006) Thinking like a Nurse Journal of Nursing Education June 2006, Vol. 45, No. 6
  • Critical Reflection, Critical Reasoning, and Judgment
  • Clinical Reasoning – Instructor Resources

7. Developing Delegation Skills

either use the link below or search for the title along with the abbreviation OJIN

You will find a set of articles about delegation. Please review an article and identify the key issue of how this relates to your role as a preceptor.

Core Concept:

How does this impact our support systems for preceptors in the clinical setting?

How does accountability relate to precepting?

If you have questions or would like to verify being on the right track; you may send your completed chart as an attachment or copied into a message to for review and feedback.

Feedback welcome! Please be patient and help us to improve this learning module! Evaluation of the instructions occurs only with use of this learning tool with multiple participants.

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VNIP contact info: 802-674-7069 or