As an NP student, you are no doubt familiar with the stress and pressure that accompany the cold calling process when trying to find clinical preceptors. It is a literal jungle out there. Messages go unanswered, emails are left not replied to, and the number of times that one spends checking one’s phone for messages or emails cannot be counted…in an hour.
While there are FNP programs that offer a decent amount of assistance with clinical placements, because as a student it can be incredibly disheartening trying to find the right person on your own, alas - there are many yet who simply do not. Throw into the equation that the Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t exactly helped anyone’s case, and there is something of a ‘perfect storm’ that surrounds preceptorship placements and rotations.
So, we’ve created this post to help you find a preceptorship on your own, and without all of the stress and drama.
START EARLY
Finding a clinical preceptor on your own can be incredibly taxing and highly tedious. NP students don’t often truly understand how much time and effort it requires to secure a rotation when in reality all pointers suggest that you should start looking for preceptorship placements at least six months before your clinical rotation is due to start.
The playing field is tough and it isn’t exactly, always fair and in prominent or sought after areas, it becomes exponentially harder to secure a clinical rotation. Starting early means that you’ll have a higher chance of securing a preceptor while meeting the requirements of your school.
An early start also means that you get to work on finding a ‘plan B’ preceptor should your first choice preceptor not be able to take you in the time frame that you need them to.
Remember, Preceptor Tree is one of the preceptorship placement agencies that could help if you don’t want to do this on your own.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook and LinkedIn are both great resources for nursing students to get in touch with preceptors. Over and above, they are also valuable tools that help you communicate with your other NP students who might have completed a rotation and thus know of an available preceptor in your area.
There is normally a higher student-preceptor ratio in these groups, so it’s worth remembering that, and you will need to use a little of your ‘savvy self’ when communicating with people. Some people don’t always have the most honorable of intentions and there is a trend, by some, to overinflate their own ability to help you get what you need - so do take care. But, there are still some great places to find leads. ‘Practicing NPs willing to Precept NP students for clinicals’ is a very popular group and many students have reported some success with this group.
Medical practices are essentially business and we’d all like to believe they’re run the best possible way, but this isn’t always the case - be mindful of that too.
LinkedIn offers a professional way of reaching out to potential placements, so it’s worth exploring some networks and opportunities on that site too.
Remember that nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, so if it’s worth doing - and it is, then it’s worth doing well.