The skills of the preceptor

The skills of the preceptor were described as being: knowing someone’s learning styles (P3), articulation, knowledge, professionalism (P7), supportive, experienced (p6) approachable (p1) experience in the job, having “a few years under their belt” (p4).

It is evident from the data that the participants had expectations of what preceptorship, or their preceptors in particular would be like. P4 describes it clearly:

“I think actually that there is this expectation that the preceptor, you are going into the post thinking my

experience of preceptroship structure the preceptor the organisation a journey ownership support

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preceptor is my preceptor on high, and you think they know everything.”

P2 also discussed the expectation stating that:

“I had this idea of what it should be, and that ‘senior – junior’ role would be”

However these expectations were not reported as being matched in reality. P2 was clearly disappointed and upset that her assumptions of support were perceived as not being met:

“Expecting all these things and it just not materialising, that was the hardest part”

However even the more optimistic expectations of P4; thinking the preceptor would know everything turned out to not be true as she goes on to state that:

“It (preceptorship) can be a really new experience for them, it was for mine”

Some, however, felt that their preceptors did have experience within the preceptorship role, P1 for example states that her preceptor: “had experience of using preceptorship”. P6 does not state this in terms of the experience in the role but does feel that her preceptor was experienced, as when she was asked directly, whether the preceptor had enough experience to complete the preceptorship process she answered: “yes definitely”.

Of the seven people interviewed for this research, two reported negative experiences and at least one had a preceptor that had been brand new to preceptorship. Three had had more than one preceptor, and it is these participants who report the negative experiences. Those with the negative experiences however raise interesting points about the ability of the preceptors, and perhaps also about choice. P2 states:

“It was kind of like this is your preceptorship you’re lumped with it”

If I think about this reflexively as an insider researcher, the reason I feel this statement relates to choice is because of my own experience in the Trust. A band five rotation post was created in the team I work for and after the recruitment process had been completed and a newly qualified occupational therapist appointed, I was then told that I would

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have to do preceptorship with her. It was assumed that this was going to happen and that I would be happy to do this, even though at the time I had not heard of preceptorship, or had any concept of what was involved. Although I feel that I have been able to embrace preceptorship, I have to wonder if this lack of choice plays a part in the negative experiences reported and described by P2 and P7. P2 discussed how her preceptor was close to retirement and P7 how his initial preceptor then went on long-term leave.

P7 is interesting as he discusses an initially negative experience and then a later positive one which leads him to remark about the disparity of his experience. And indeed he opened up the interview by making this point:

“mentors do need to be . . . similarly skilled within being a mentor for preceptorship, there is a real inconsistency I feel”

And this is highlighted across the whole set of participants that there was not a consistent level of either professional or personal skills throughout the preceptorship process, and that even when a preceptor was perceived as skilled in terms of being an occupational therapist this did not mean that they were skilled at being a preceptor, for example, it has already been stated that P4 recognised that preceptorship was new to her preceptor, but she also had the experience where another member of staff had to tell her preceptor what was acceptable in terms of workload:

“one of the OT’s there actually said “oh my god why are you doing that it’s such a waste of your time” . . . and I know she then spoke to my preceptor and the demands reduced.”

This leaves me as a researcher with the sense that some of the experience of the preceptorship process at least is dependent upon the preceptor and their level of experience, level of skill, and level of commitment to the process. P2, with her difficult experiences reflects:

“if I had a preceptor like I had the band seven in services for older people, that experience (preceptorship) would have been very very different”.

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We can perhaps, therefore, learn more about the importance of a ‘good’ preceptor by listening to the experiences of those who report having had a ‘bad’ one. That the preceptors should choose to do the role and therefore be engaged in the process, that they should have a sufficient level of experience in order to perform in the role, that they should have a base level of training that allows them to have knowledge about what is expected from the preceptee within the process. These three points together, choice, experience and training could go some way to addressing the concerns raised about the inconsistency in the process by P7.