234 - The Gap Between Best Practices in Clinical Preceptorship & Actual Preceptor Practice

Description: Many anesthesia departments still rely on unstructured mentoring methods, leaving Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) preceptors unsure of expectations and students vulnerable to inconsistent teaching, heightened anxiety, and potential safety lapses; a gap especially evident at a 383-bed tertiary hospital in West-Central Florida where no formal program existed. Recognizing the critical influence of preceptors on learner competence and confidence, the authors asked: For CRNA preceptors at this facility, will a structured Preceptor Training Program (PTP) improve role clarity, teaching competencies, and perceived institutional support compared with baseline practice over three months?

Grounded in the FADE quality-improvement model and Lewin's Theory of Planned Change, the evidence-based PTP combined high-fidelity trigger-film scenarios, facilitated reflection, and role-play exercises mapped to the validated 40-item Preceptor Self-Assessment Tool (PSAT) domains of interpersonal skills, instructional knowledge, and administrative resources. Fifteen CRNA preceptors completed a pre-intervention PSAT, engaged in the multi-component curriculum, and repeated the PSAT three months later; demographic data contextualized participants' experience levels and prior training.

Post-intervention, median scores rose across all domains: interpersonal/intrapersonal skills (104 → 109.5), knowledge/understanding (35 → 38.5), and administrative support (15 → 16.5). While self-efficacy also trended upward, none of the domains reached statistical significance (p > 0.05), likely owing to small sample size and hurricane-related attrition. Still, the consistent upward trajectory suggests the PTP enhanced perceived competence and clarified expectations, aligning with wider literature that formal training boosts teaching effectiveness and satisfaction.

The authors conclude that structured, evidence-informed preceptor development is both feasible and beneficial, recommending expansion to larger, multi-site cohorts, longer follow-up, and supplementary objective metrics, including student performance and patient-safety indicators to verify impact. For perioperative nursing leaders, embedding a PTP into orientation offers a scalable strategy to standardize clinical teaching, reduce learner stress, and promote a culture of reflective practice. A PTP may ultimately improve patient safety, preceptor retention, and transition-to-practice outcomes across high-acuity surgical settings.