Stakeholders create and manage a sustainable culture of safety and learning through formal preceptorships managed by Preceptors and Preceptor Specialists. Preceptoring activities and preceptorships have evolved over the years as leaders have assessed their impact to the high reliability and operational excellence of their organizations. Preceptoring has grown as a specialty practice area that fits criteria for certification as models are being developed by multiple disciplines, e.g., nursing and pharmacy, occupational therapy, and medicine. Moving to certification for preceptoring validates the achieved mastery of skills, knowledge, and abilities. Fostering a culture of learning and safety is key to building healthy teams, expanding communication networks, and increasing the potential for success in recruitment and retention of best practice employees, the next generation of service leaders and educators.

In this course, participants will discover ways to foster such a culture of learning and safety by exploring the stages of clinical competence and individual learning styles through the lens of Benner’s Novice-to-Expert Skills Acquisition Model, King’s Goal Attainment Theory, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wright’s Accountability-Based Competency Model. This module forms a bridge between (a) the knowledge and attitudes, skills and performance procedures, and outcomes evaluations inherent in developing and advancing operational excellence and high reliability through Preceptor specialty practice in formal preceptorships across the organization and (b) the foundational concepts in communication and stakeholders’ readiness to engage in those preceptorships.

OBJECTIVES After reviewing this content, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the stages of competence
2. Apply the concept of Benner’s Novice-to-Expert Model to preceptoring and operational excellence
3. Evaluate Preceptees using Benner’s Novice-to-Expert Model