What Is a Preceptor?

What is a preceptor? A preceptor is an experienced clinician who teaches and supervises a student or a new colleague one-on-one while caring for their own patients. Preceptors train nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physicians and pharmacists.

If you’re a nurse practitioner student, your preceptor is the clinician you’ll learn from during each clinical rotation. They supervise the hours your program requires, teach you during patient visits and evaluate your progress.

TL;DR

• A preceptor is an experienced clinician who trains a student or new colleague one-on-one during real patient care.
• Precepting is that teaching work. The learner is the preceptee, and the training period is a preceptorship.
• Hospitals use preceptors to train new nurses, and NP, PA, medical and pharmacy programs use them for clinical training.
• Nurse practitioners, physicians and other licensed clinicians can precept NP students, and your program approves every preceptor before you start.
• A preceptor supervises and evaluates you during a rotation. A mentor guides your career, and that relationship can last for years.

What does preceptor mean?

In everyday English, a preceptor is a teacher, instructor or tutor. The word comes from the Latin praeceptor and first appears in English writing in the 1400s. It shares a root with precept, a rule or direction for how to act.

In healthcare, the meaning is more specific. Dictionaries describe a preceptor as a practicing physician who gives a medical student practical training. Nursing uses the same word for a nurse who teaches new employees or nursing students one-on-one while doing their regular work.

What does precepting mean?

Precepting is the work a preceptor does. To precept is to teach a learner one-on-one during patient care, so a nurse practitioner who takes an NP student for a rotation is precepting that student. The person being precepted is the preceptee. The whole training period, from the first day to the final evaluation, is called a preceptorship.

Preceptor and preceptee: who does what?

A preceptor and preceptee work side by side. The preceptor teaches, acts as a role model and gives constructive feedback. The preceptee learns by watching, asking questions and taking on more of the patient care as their skills grow. In a hospital, a preceptor also helps a new nurse feel welcome on the unit and part of the team.

What is a preceptor responsible for?

During a clinical rotation, a preceptor has four main jobs.

• Supervise. Your preceptor is present for the patient care you give and reviews your work with you.
• Teach. They show you how they assess and treat patients, ask you questions and explain their reasoning.
• Evaluate. They complete your evaluations at the points your course sets, discuss them with you and keep your faculty updated on your progress.
• Verify hours. They confirm the clinical hours you log so your program can count them.

Expect to start by observing. Next, you’ll take histories and do exams with your preceptor beside you, and by the end of the rotation you’ll lead visits with little help. A sample checklist in the 2022 national standards for NP education asks preceptors to plan the same progression, “from observing to conducting visits with minimal intervention.”

Where do preceptors work?

Preceptors work wherever healthcare professionals train, from hospital units to private practices and pharmacies.

What is a preceptor in a hospital?

In a hospital, a preceptor is usually an experienced registered nurse who trains new nurses on the unit where they’ll work. New graduates, and nurses moving to a new specialty, work alongside a preceptor until they’re ready to practice on their own. Nursing students on clinical placements train with preceptors too.

What is a preceptor in PA school?

In PA school, a preceptor is a licensed clinician who supervises a student’s clinical rotations. The accreditor for PA programs, ARC-PA, expects those rotations to take place with board-certified physicians, NCCPA-certified PAs or other licensed clinicians qualified in the area they teach. So a nurse practitioner can precept a PA student too, though ARC-PA’s current standards require most of each student’s rotations to be with PAs and physicians.

Who precepts medical and pharmacy students?

In medicine, a preceptor is a practicing physician who gives a medical student hands-on clinical training. Pharmacy students train with preceptors during their practice experiences, and ACPE’s 2025 accreditation standards call for most of each student’s preceptors to be U.S.-licensed pharmacists.

What is a preceptor in NP school?

In an NP program, your preceptor is a licensed clinician who supervises your clinical rotation at their practice or hospital. The national standards give a precise preceptor definition: “a qualified clinician … who collaborates with faculty to facilitate and supervise NP student clinical learning experiences in a faculty approved clinical setting.”

Preceptors supervise the clinical hours you need to graduate and become certified. The 2022 standards set a minimum of 750 direct patient care hours for every NP track, and ANCC and AANPCB certification require at least 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours.

Some programs place you with a preceptor, and others ask you to find one yourself. Either way, your faculty approve every preceptor and clinical site before your first day, and your school signs a contract with the preceptor or the site. Our guide explains what an affiliation agreement is and who signs it.

To learn more about the NP role, including how preceptors evaluate you, read our article on what a clinical preceptor is in NP education.

Who can be an NP preceptor?

Your program decides, within national standards. Those standards list many kinds of clinicians who can precept NP students, including nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, social workers and other healthcare providers. Programs check each preceptor’s degree, national certification and license, which must be unencumbered (free of restrictions) in the state where they practice.

Each program also sets its own criteria. United States University’s FNP program, for example, accepts board-certified NPs and licensed physicians (MD or DO) with at least one year of work experience. It won’t approve a spouse, partner, close family member or direct supervisor as your preceptor. Read our guide to NP preceptor requirements for the common rules.

How is a preceptor different from a mentor or clinical instructor?

A preceptor trains you at your clinical site, a clinical instructor oversees your course for your school, and a mentor advises you on your career.

• Preceptor: a practicing clinician at your clinical site who supervises your patient care, evaluates you and confirms your hours for the length of a rotation.
• Clinical instructor: a faculty member at your school. In NP programs, your clinical faculty approve your site and preceptor, meet with you and your preceptor, and evaluate your progress in the course. In RN programs, clinical instructors often supervise a group of students on a hospital unit, while a preceptor works with one learner at a time.
• Mentor: an experienced colleague you trust for career advice and support. A mentor has no formal role in your grades, and the relationship can last for years.

The roles can overlap, since a preceptor who takes an interest in your growth can become a mentor after the rotation ends. Our article on preceptor vs mentor roles shows how to build that relationship.

Do preceptors get paid?

Many preceptors volunteer their time, while others receive an honorarium for teaching. If you’re a clinician, you’ll earn $1,000+ per rotation as a Clinical Match Me preceptor, and we pay your honorarium when your student starts their rotation. Here’s how to become a preceptor and choose the students you precept.

Common preceptor questions

Is a preceptor a teacher?

Yes. A preceptor teaches at the point of care while treating their own patients, and the word itself means teacher. Your faculty handle the classroom side of your program.

What is preceptorship in nursing?

Preceptorship is a set period of one-on-one training with a preceptor. Hospitals use it to train new nurses, and nurses moving to a new unit, until they can practice on their own. Nursing and NP programs use preceptorships for students’ clinical rotations.

How long do you work with a preceptor?

Usually for one rotation. NP rotations typically run over one semester, and your program sets how many hours each rotation lasts. You may work with a different preceptor in each one.

How do NP students find a preceptor?

Your options include your school’s network, clinicians you already know, practices you contact directly and a preceptor placement service. Our guide on how to find NP preceptors explains each option, including creative ways to reach preceptors beyond cold emails.

If finding a preceptor is your responsibility, Clinical Match Me can connect you with a nurse practitioner preceptor in your specialty. We’re a preceptor placement service for NP and PA students, and our founder is a nurse practitioner who struggled to find a preceptor as a student. Since 2014, we’ve helped more than 10,000 students find preceptors in all 50 states.

Submit your placement requests and receive offers from preceptors who match your profile. Then compare offers, choose the best preceptor for your schedule and learning goals, and start your rotation. Many students receive their first preceptor offer within 24 hours of registering.

Free to join and no credit card required. Pay nothing until you accept an offer. Sign up free and start receiving offers from preceptors who meet your requirements.