October 28, 2022
Congratulations to our 2021-2022 Clinical Preceptors of the Year
Educating a nurse requires not only classroom instruction, but also clinical experience. For the latter, a nurse-in-training is overseen by an experienced nurse—a preceptor.
Preceptors do much more than provide clinical guidance. Both directly and indirectly, they help nurses understand how to be effective, efficient, and compassionate providers of care. They are a vital link to the next generation of nurses, transmitting not only their knowledge of nursing skills, but also their knowledge of nursing culture.
Preceptors are the largely unseen and unknown educators of the nursing world. Most people don’t know about the crucial role of preceptors, which is unfortunate because we all owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for all they do.
Preceptors are the bridge between classroom learning and practical learning. They are also the ones who help new nurses through the inevitable challenges that come with undertaking a task whose complexity seems to increase daily. Today’s nurses must be skilled in not only clinical matters, but also technology and pharmacology, and it is preceptors who help nurses learn those additional skills.
Being a preceptor is a job, but it’s not a nurse’s only job. While overseeing the work of a student nurse, a preceptor continues to have patients to care for, decisions to make, and “paperwork” (on the computer) to do. At the same time, the preceptor must continuously evaluate the progress of her/his trainee and decide how much that person is ready to undertake with varying levels of supervision, while also assuring that patient safety is never compromised.
Patients have a role to play, too. If you find yourself with a trainee nurse, be patient, supportive, and provide useful feedback. In this way, you too become a bit of preceptor and help create better care for everyone.
The School of Nursing depends on preceptors at local healthcare facilities. We are grateful for their commitment, their teaching skills, and the support of their hospitals and clinics. Without them we could not continue educating new nurses.
Every year we cite a few people as Clinical Preceptors of the Year. It is a difficult choice, because we greatly admire and honor all our preceptors and feel each is worthy of special recognition. In honoring a few, we honor them all. We respect and thank them for their contributions to our students and our profession.
The UW School of Nursing 2022 Clinical Preceptors of the Year are:
Dr. Jason Goldman MD, MPH—Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Track
Kate Hough DNP, ARNP-BC—Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Track
Chana Schaffer, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC—Nurse-Midwifery Track
Ginni Buccola DNP, PMHNP-BC—Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track –
Carrie Foster ARNP—Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Track
Lisa Davidson DNP, CPNP—Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Track
Amy Curtis BSN—Population Health Nursing Track