2006 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
PERCEPTIONS ABOUT PRECEPTING
Elsie Collado-Koman
MBA-HCM, RRT UCSD Medical Center, San Diego, Ca, Donna
Murphy, RRT, SharpHealthcare, Grossomt Hospital, La Mesa, Ca.
Introduction: Preceptors
are experienced clinicians who are
competent staff members who serve as a clinical/role model and resource to the
newly hired employee who may be a new graduate or experienced new therapist. At
our institutions we employ preceptors to present an organized planned
educational program which introduces the new employee to their role and
responsibilities. It also, introduces the new staff member to the formal and
informal rules, customs, culture, workplace expectations and standards, in a
competency based orientation. In our institutions we decided to look at what
motivates clinicians to become preceptors.
Method: We developed a survey that queried preceptors concerning their perceptions about precepting. Institutions: Sharp Grossmont Hospital, UCSD Medical Center: Total Participants =33
Rating Scale: 1 Strongly Influenced 2 Some Influence 3 No Influence.
Results: A
100% response rate of total participants.
| Question Answers in Percentage | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1. Has precepting helped improve your communication skills? | 55 | 39 | 6 |
| 2. Has precepting brought you more interactions with other disciplines? | 33 | 48 | 18 |
| 3. Has precepting helped provide a positive impact on other disciplines? | 58 | 33 | 9 |
| 4. Has precepting encouraged you to seek more knowledge? | 52 | 39 | 9 |
| 5. Has precepting helped your performance appraisal? | 27 | 64 | 9 |
| 6. Has precepting influenced you to help participate in department operations? | 24 | 48 | 24 |
| 7. Has precepting helped you to value your profession more? | 52 | 33 | 15 |
| 8. Has precepting influenced your exploration professional organizations? | 24 | 39 | 36 |
| 9. Has precepting influenced you to inquire about an advanced degree? | 15 | 18 | 67 |
Discussion: The data reflects 55 % to 58% of our participants
perceive themselves as having increased communication skills, and a positive
impact on other disciplines due to precepting. While feeling precepting has
improved communication and image with other disciplines, only 33% felt they had
more interactions. A little over half, 52% were influenced to seek more
knowledge and value their profession more, due to precepting, where as 27% felt
precepting did not influence their
performance appraisal. Surprisingly, less than 25% reflect, precepting has not impacted
their department participation, but we observed many are already involved, also
precepting has not influenced their
exploration of professional organizations. Finally precepting has not
influenced them to inquire about an advanced degree.
Conclusion: The data reflect a positive perception in the areas of
communication and interactions with other disciplines, seeking a broader
knowledge base, and an improved perception of one's profession. These positive perceptions could benefit departments
by projecting themselves into the attitudes of the participants presenting
positive posture within the department and in interactions with other departments.