Preparing nurses and engaging preceptors

© 2011, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 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 of engagement with available learning opportunities, and the receptiveness of the workplace to the novice are posited as the bases for a learning practice supported through a partnership model of learning. Pedagogical strategies are considered that can enhance the contributions of both the academic institution and healthcare organisation in realising the potential of both novice and practitioner in professional learning.