Moving a National Preceptor Development Platform From Design to Reality

Perceptions of academic staff on pharmacist preceptor roles, skills, attributes and training requirements: A qualitative report

“…Live training is usual in the US (O'Sullivan et al, 2020), with face-to-face interactions thought to be vital in developing meaningful relationships between preceptors; however, live online interactions may be a viable alternative (Vos Chair et al, 2018). The provision of CPD points to incentivise training is typical in existing programmes, and integrating preceptor competencies within this CPD process is recommended (Knott et al, 2020;Brownfield et al, 2021).…”

“…However, staff also recognised the importance of quality and consistency of precepting and thus the requirement for compulsory training. As an additional quality assurance, the literature suggests that students be encouraged to confidentially evaluate preceptor performance to ensure that educational goals are met (Danielson et al, 2015;Brownfield et al, 2021).…”

“…Experiential learning is an essential element of the current integrative approach to training pharmacy students across the globe to produce competent and work-ready pharmacy graduates (Wilbur et al, 2018;Brownfield et al, 2021). The integrative approach to the pharmacy curriculum highlights the relationship between academic staff (or faculty educators) and pharmacy preceptors, who play a pivotal role in experiential learning.…”

“…The integrative approach to the pharmacy curriculum highlights the relationship between academic staff (or faculty educators) and pharmacy preceptors, who play a pivotal role in experiential learning. Academic institutions are primarily responsible for ensuring that when teaching and developing students, both parties work together as a coordinated team with common goals and expectations and that preceptors are appropriately trained for their roles (Wilbur et al, 2018;Brownfield et al, 2021). A 2020 study found that, across the United States (US), preceptor training and development programmes varied significantly between institutions and did not always meet the required accreditation standards (O'Sullivan et al, 2020;Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 2022).…”

“…A 2020 study found that, across the United States (US), preceptor training and development programmes varied significantly between institutions and did not always meet the required accreditation standards (O'Sullivan et al, 2020;Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 2022). Consequently, there has been a recent focus on competency standards for preceptors (Walter et al, 2018;Bartlett et al, 2020;Zeitoun et al, 2020) and a move towards a more collaborative and structured approach to preceptor training and development (Mulherin et al, 2018;Brownfield et al, 2021).…”