Become a Clinical Preceptor

Preceptors have the option to volunteer for a wide range of time commitments across a semester. Our least demanding course starts at 50 hours per student. Our medium-length commitments range from 75 hours in women’s health to 150 hours in pediatrics. Our students complete 200 to 225 hours per semester as they approach their final semester prior to graduation.

No. Duquesne’s brick and mortar location is in Pittsburgh, PA; however, our students are located across the United States as our didactic learning is online. Our preceptors support our students in person in their respective region. Our clinical coordinators will communicate with you via email, and our clinical faculty members will communicate with you via email, phone, and our electronic evaluation system, Typhon. 

Preceptors can gain personal satisfaction by instilling a value-driving education to our students. Your skill and knowledge will bring expertise to a new generation of advanced practice nurses. Our preceptors proudly display Duquesne University’s respected name on their CV/resume for future career advancement while precepting allows individuals to advance on their employer’s career ladder. Some states are even offering tax credits for professionals who host students.

In tangible benefits, preceptors can register for a Duquesne University email address which gives them access to dozens of websites that offer discounts to faculty, staff, and students.  One of the most beneficial benefits is to the wealth of knowledge curated by Duquesne University’s Gumberg Library. These database systems often have expensive memberships and our preceptors have full-text access to resources such as UpToDate, PubMed, and various testing and measurement indices.

Local preceptors can take advantage of the Power Center gym and pool and shop at our on-campus Barnes & Noble and Computer Store with a discount. Regional preceptors can also purchase Cultural District tickets to events at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, CLO, Cultural Trust, Opera, Public Theater, and Symphony Orchestra with a significant discount.

Becoming a preceptor entails having open communication with both the University clinical coordinator, student, and clinical faculty member to coordinate the experience. The preceptor will understand the student’s academic program and the course objectives which will be discussed and provided. Good preceptors will plan and facilitate appropriate learned experiences for the student at their place of employment. The preceptor will act as a role model and professional resource to the student, discussing findings, evidence-based management, allowing students to present, and encouraging critical thinking.  Being a preceptor is more than providing observational experiences to students. Preceptors will integrate their own hands-on skills and knowledge to bring together pathology, pharmacology, billing/coding, charting, and other higher-level healthcare skills. Preceptors will provide constructive criticism to students and complete a mid-semester and final evaluation of the student to the student and clinical faculty member.  Preceptors do not interact with the student as they complete their didactic assignments. Preceptors will communicate any areas of concern such as safety and professionalism to the clinical faculty member. Preceptors will also communicate with the clinical coordinator regarding any site-related requirements. Preceptors are encouraged to reach out to clinical faculty members with any questions. A thorough training manual is provided to preceptors prior to the start of a respective semester.

Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing states that if a preceptor is taking their own caseload of patients, preceptorships must be a 1:1 student: preceptor ratio. This includes other students such as fellows, residents, medical school students, physician assistant students, and MSN students from other programs. A student will be removed from a setting where they are not in a 1:1 ratio per state guidelines. A preceptor may have more than one student during a semester; however, they cannot be present at the same time. Placements can be set up in a MWF/TTH fashion to accommodate two students or any other combination that works for both the students, preceptor, and practice.

Entry-level students can come from any of our MSN-level programs. This includes Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gero Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Forensic Nursing, and Nursing Education students. These students complete an advanced head-to-toe assessment clinical course on adult, awake, alert, oriented, and ambulatory patients.

Once students are in their Management portion of their program, students will be studying the same field in which you practice. You will be guiding them on the hands-on portion of the education by lending your own education, experience, and tactile skills to their growing arsenal of knowledge.

Our MSN graduate students are already registered nurses and most of them are practicing while completing their studies.  These students are ready to hit clinical running as they are already comfortable with patient communication and the healthcare setting.

Our Fall and Spring semesters are 15 weeks long and our Summer semester is 12 weeks in length. Most of our preceptors return to host students semester after semester because they enjoy Duquesne Nursing students so much, but preceptors can take a pause at any time.

Hopefully, you would not decide to stop precepting a student mid-semester. This withdrawal of hours puts a student at a disadvantage trying to find replacement hours when the semester has already started, and spots are already filled across the country. Our clinical coordination team will work with students to replace their hours, hopefully at the same clinical site to reduce paperwork burden. If there are concerns regarding a student, we ask that preceptors bring those concerns to the clinical faculty member immediately. If a student would be left short on hours in a semester, they may have to revise their program plan and retake the didactic portion of the course over again as well.

Email us!  We can’t wait to learn more about you and make the perfect match.  You can also submit a short summary of your role and we will contact you!  Thank you!