Exploring perceived barriers and facilitating factors affecting nurse preceptors’ effectiveness: Key implications for nursing faculty and hospital administration
- Kelly Anne Jenkins-Arraf *
- East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, TX, United States
Abstract:
Nurse preceptors are essential to the success of senior baccalaureate students' learning in clinical placements. Although nurse preceptors are often expert bedside nurses, their effectiveness as nurse teachers is influenced by a variety of factors that can either facilitate or hinder their teaching. These factors are multifaceted and may be attributed to the preceptor, the student, the nursing faculty, or the hospital organization. How these factors affect the preceptor's effectiveness is not well understood, leaving a gap in the literature: preceptors' own descriptions of effectiveness when working with students are not available. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore how clinical nurse preceptors perceive their effectiveness when working with senior baccalaureate nursing students. The study aimed to examine the lived experience of being a nurse preceptor to senior baccalaureate nursing students to foster potential strategies and policy implications for both nursing faculty and hospital administrators to best support preceptors in their roles. Data were collected from semi-structured virtual interviews, field and journal notes, and a demographic survey. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis was used to identify four central themes within the data: (a) preparation essential for preceptor success, (b) student readiness for clinical engagement, (c) the need for faculty communication, and (d) administrative challenges. Overall, preceptors desire training for their roles, better communication with faculty, clear expectations, a scope of practice for students, and genuine recognition for their work. This knowledge can foster practical and policy change initiatives for both nursing faculty and hospital administrators. Both of which may contribute to a more successful clinical learning experience, impacting students’ satisfaction, competence, and retention in the nursing profession.
- Keywords:
- Badge-buddy; Barriers and facilitators; Effectiveness; Faculty implications; Nurse preceptors
- Received:
- December 18, 2025
- Accepted:
- January 21, 2026
- Published:
- February 06, 2026
- How to cite this article: Kelly Anne Jenkins-Arraf. Exploring perceived barriers and facilitating factors affecting nurse preceptors’ effectiveness: Key implications for nursing faculty and hospital administration. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice. 2026;16(2):8-16.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
