UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass., is working with partners to launch a formal nurse preceptor academy to address the New England region's nursing shortage and increase access to care.
The New England Nursing Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy aims to "increase the number of qualified clinical nursing faculty and preceptors to address health equity and increase access to care," according to a Nov. 28 news release.
The academy — funded by a $4 million federal grant over four years — is a collaboration between the medical school and the federally funded Area Health Education Centers, or AHECs, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. AHEC partners in the New England states each plan to train 20 preceptors or clinical instructors over two years. UMass Chan's Tin Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing will serve as the academy's central hub.
"There’s no real formal education to be a preceptor. The academy is a great opportunity to really tie together training and experience and give people a formal education on how to step into the role of a preceptor," said Jill Terrien, PhD, ANP, principal investigator on the grant. Dr. Terrien is an associate professor of nursing at UMass Chan's graduate nursing school and associate dean of interprofessional and community partnerships at UMass Chan Medical School.