Nursing preceptorship in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria: Perceptions of nursing students and clinical preceptors

Abstract

Nursing preceptors play a vital role in providing skills-oriented opportunities for students in the clinical environment. This study assessed  the perceptions of nursing students regarding the clinical learning experience provided by preceptors, and the perceptions of nursing  preceptors regarding their roles in ensuring beneficial clinical accompaniment in the three nursing institutions in Ekiti State,  Southwestern Nigeria. A concurrent mixed-methods design consisting of a survey and semi-structured interviews were used. A  multistage (consecutive, purposive, and convenience) sampling technique was used to obtain quantitative data from 120 nursing students and qualitative data from 20 preceptors. Data were analyzed using descriptive and thematic content analysis. Findings showed  that overall students’ perceptions of the clinical learning experience were good (92%), 91.7% of the students wanted direct supervision  and inadequate support was reported due to the low preceptor-to-student ratio. Preceptors acknowledged that clinical accompaniment is  one of their roles, challenges mentioned include few number of preceptors, lack of policy requirements to guide their duties, and  limited equipment. We conclude that there is a need to provide adequate preceptors in clinical settings, as they are vital to the training of  nurses. A unified policy and standardized procedure manual will improve the quality of the delivery of preceptorships in training  institutions.