Preparing Nurses and Engaging Preceptors

Abstract

The healthcare workforce is a complex entity that provides ongoing challenges for the preparation of professionals. This chapter examines the preparation of undergraduate student nurses to become functioning registered nurses through their experiences in practice settings. The concept of preceptorship is explored as a premise to examining workplace learning for nursing. The worth and qualities of preceptorship are discussed in the context of a 3-year Australian study that followed the journeys of novice and experienced nurses in their preparation to either become a nurse or engage in being a preceptor. The intricacies of workplace learning in relation to individuals’ dispositions, the level ..