Preceptor Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits to being a preceptor for a Regis College NP student?

We fully understand the demands of clinical practice and appreciate your willingness to participate in this important teaching role! As a preceptor, you may feel re-energized by mentoring, learning new information from students, and clarifying your own thinking as you mentor clinical reasoning. Another benefit is that advanced students have the potential to contribute to your clinic productivity.

Additional benefits include:

Continuing Education Credits - To thank you for your time and effort Regis preceptors receive course credits for every 240 hours they serve, which you can use to enroll in one free three-credit graduate or four-credit undergraduate course (online or on-campus). You also have the option of gifting this course to a friend or colleague.
Validation letters for (re) certification purposes.
Adding the title of "Visiting Clinical Instructor" to your resume - Once the preceptorship is complete, Regis preceptors can add the title of "Visiting Clinical Instructor" to their resume.
Relationship building with faculty, staff, and students at a nationally recognized Center of Excellence in Nursing Education.
Personal growth gained from teaching others.
Satisfaction from fostering the next generation of advanced practice nurses, at a time when these skills are much needed.

How will I know what the NP student needs to learn?

All preceptors will receive a copy of the course syllabus from the student which includes specific course objectives and a weekly content outline. In addition, students should develop specific individual learning objectives, which are approved by the faculty prior to sharing with the preceptor.

What are NP student requirements prior to starting clinical hours?

Students must provide proof of active and unencumbered licensure for all states in which they are licensed and alert school administration of any pending actions, board actions, or other changes in licensure. Students must also undergo a physical examination, urine drug screen, and background verification including fingerprinting. Students must provide a record of immunizations and TB screening, evidence of NP student malpractice insurance, CPR certification, HIPAA, and OSHA training, submit a copy of current professional resume, and proof of VIRTUS training if the student has planned for clinical hours at a Catholic institution. All students will sign an acknowledgment and assumption of risk form. Verification of COVID-19 vaccination is optional and may be required in the future. However, students are to show verification of their COVID-19 vaccination if their intended clinical placement site has a COVID-19 vaccination requirement.

What constitutes a clinical hour?

Clinical hours are hours spent with a preceptor and/or patient in the clinical setting under the direction of the approved preceptor (i.e., with the preceptor seeing patients, reviewing charts of scheduled patients, and interpreting diagnostic test results). This does not include breaks or meal times, skill lab hours, physical assessment practice sessions, community projects, conferences, or continuing education.

How will I know the number of hours the NP student is required to complete?

All students are required to complete 64 hours in Advanced Health Assessment and a minimum of 600 clinical hours in their focus population to meet program requirements. Optimally, students should spend a minimum of 100 hours with each preceptor placement (unless Advanced Health Assessment). However the total number of hours spent at a clinical placement is an agreement arranged between the student and the preceptor, based on the student’s needs and the preceptor’s availability. Students are advised to arrange their clinical hours to fit the preceptor’s schedule, and cannot expect the preceptor to conform to the student’s personal, work, and school schedule.

How are clinical hours verified?

All clinical hours are logged and verified via Regis College’s CORE Elms tracking system Hours Tracking report page. Students enter each clinical day’s logged hours, which are then electronically confirmed by the preceptor as verification of student attendance and participation.

When the student logs their hours in CORE Elms, CORE Elms automatically generates an email to the preceptor informing them they have hours to confirm from the student. The email contains a link that will connect you to the CORE Elms Verification of Hours page, where you can review and approve the hours. Additionally preceptors can verify hours by going directly to the Hours Tracking tab in your free CORE Elms account. This comes in handy if you are tracking more than one student, as students log their hours on a daily basis. Students must log each day’s hours in CORE Elms within 14 days.

What is the student dress code?

Regis Nursing students must comply with the Clinical Experience Behavioral Standards and American Nursing Association Standards during their interactions with patients and health care facilities as part of their Regis College Nursing program. All students will also adhere to the professional standards and codes developed in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics. This includes:

Advocating for the rights of all patients.
Maintaining patient confidentiality.
Taking appropriate action to ensure safety of patients, self, and others.
Providing care for the patient in a timely, compassionate and professional manner.
Communicating patient care in a truthful, timely, and accurate manner.
Actively promoting the highest level of moral and ethical principles and accepting responsibility for actions.
Practicing respect and compassion for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.
Collaborating in every reasonable manner with the academic faculty and clinical staff to ensure the highest quality of patient care.
Refraining from performing any technique or procedure for which the student has not been adequately trained.
Refraining from any deliberate action or omission of care in the academic or clinical setting that creates unnecessary risk of injury to the patient, self or others.
Participating in the advancement of the profession through contributions to practice, education, administration, and knowledge development.

What is the attendance policy?

The student must notify the preceptor prior to the beginning of the clinical day if they will be absent due to illness or emergency. The student should alert the preceptor directly and use the procedure for communication discussed at the initial planning meeting. During the next scheduled clinical day, the student should discuss with the preceptor the option of rescheduling any missed hours, recognizing that the preceptor's schedule may not accommodate the requested change. The student is also responsible to notify the clinical faculty of the absence as directed in the course guidelines.

It is the student's responsibility to monitor the number of hours completed, and plan to complete the required number of hours for the term. The student is responsible for adjusting his/her personal and employment commitments to complete the required number of clinical hours. If the planned hours are not completed, an extension of the clinical rotation requires approval by the preceptor, clinical agency, clinical faculty, and Program Director.

The student is to work only with the identified and approved preceptor, and may not be at the clinical site or telehealth site (if applicable) if the preceptor is absent. The preceptor and/or site should alert the student if the preceptor is absent.

What should my patients expect?

Patients should be asked if they agree to be examined by a nurse practitioner student under the direction of the preceptor, and given the option to decline this opportunity. Patients may be impressed that their provider is serving in a teaching capacity and may appreciate the opportunity to participate in the student’s learning. Potential problems arise if the preceptor fails to allow the student access to all patients (e.g., male student performing pelvic examinations) or assigns the student an inappropriate role in the clinical site, (e.g., observation only; performing staff nurse functions, or venipuncture) rather than giving the student the opportunity to directly assess patients and assimilate the nurse practitioner role.

What is the grading criteria for student clinical performance?

The clinical experience is a required component of the clinical course. Students must meet the clinical objectives identified on the Clinical Evaluation Tool in CORE Elms, satisfactorily complete their clinical hours with preceptor Hours Verification and Evaluation submissions, complete documentation in CORE Elms Field Encounters, complete SOAP notes, and participate in clinical seminar in order to receive a passing grade for the course.

What is the procedure for management of a weak student?

The preceptor is expected to provide formative or ongoing feedback to the student regarding their performance to allow the student the opportunity to enhance their skills over the course of the rotation. Use of anecdotal notes is encouraged as references to specific situations where the student demonstrated weak skills. The clinical faculty member is to be contacted whenever there are significant concerns about the student’s performance and ability to meet the clinical objectives.

A plan for remediation should be initiated when the student needs practice and proficiency in either technique or interpretation of assessment findings. Demonstration by the preceptor at the time of the patient visit can refine an incorrect psychomotor skill/technique. Interpretation of diagnostic results requires the student to apply prerequisite knowledge and identify links to the patient’s history, presenting concerns, physical exam, and differential diagnoses. This may be handled best after the patient encounter and sufficient time is available to walk the student through the process.

What is the preceptor and faculty role in student evaluation?

The Preceptors Role

The preceptor’s initial role is to evaluate the student’s level of knowledge and assessment skills. As the student progresses from novice toward proficiency in assessing patients, identifying a diagnosis, and formulating a management plan, the preceptor evaluates the student's:

Psychomotor skills
History, physical data, and organization
Interpretation of data
Proposed management plan

Guiding the student in gathering reliable assessment data involves observing the student while he or she is eliciting a history and performing a physical exam and then validating the assessment. The student presents findings to the preceptor, who evaluates the student’s interpretation of the assessment data. Incorrect information is corrected by discussion and re-examining the patient as appropriate. Providing positive feedback reinforces the student’s skills and confidence in successful clinical learning. Students need time to practice their skills and test their abilities. It is expected that students would improve over time, demonstrating higher levels of proficiency and efficiency in clinical reasoning.

Regis preceptors are required to conduct both a midterm and final or summative clinical evaluation of the student. The midterm evaluation is formative and meant to provide opportunities for growth. The final evaluation should be given on the last day of clinical rotation and is meant to summarize the student’s overall performance and growth.

The Regis College Clinical Faculty Member’s Role

Student evaluations are ultimately the responsibility of the faculty, with input from the preceptor. The clinical faculty assigned to the student will contact the preceptor at the start of the clinical rotation to share contact information, review the evaluation process and tools, identify due dates for the evaluations, and schedule future meetings.

The preceptor should expect a minimum of three contacts from the clinical faculty member over the course of the clinical rotation and notify the faculty in a timely manner to discuss problems regarding student performance and to clarify any issues that may arise. It is also possible a site visit could occur. The preceptor would receive notification and collaborate with the clinical faculty to establish a visit day and time, either in person or via meeting video application.

How many students can I be a preceptor for at once?

Regis College prefers our students have a 1:1 relationship with their preceptor, and no more than a 2:1 relationship with the preceptor during their clinical training. Preceptors are welcome to take on several students, as long as they are not observing more than two students at the same time. (e.g., a preceptor can precept three students on three separate days).

How do I receive my voucher for continuing education credits?

The Graduate Clinical Programs Office maintains a record of precepted hours, and authorizes and emails vouchers to the preceptor and/or the designated facility contact at the end of each semester. To redeem, please send a copy of the voucher with your course invoice to the Bursar’s Office as partial-payment or payment (up to the value of the voucher). Vouchers are valid for 24 months from the issue date and can be transferred to anyone you choose.

If you have any questions or concerns about course vouchers, please send an email to graduatenursingpracticum@regiscollege.edu.