The Lived Experience of Preceptors in Respiratory Care Clinical Education

Background: Respiratory Therapist (RT) preceptors provide expert clinical instruction and support for respiratory care students. These RTs are often faced with the conundrum of heavy workloads, short staffing, and mandatory overtime. Yet, in the midst of this demanding work environment, selected RTs are often being asked to act as preceptors for students. The purpose of this paper was to describe RTs’ lived experiences of preceptorship and to develop an understanding of the meaning of being a preceptor. Methods: This qualitative study explored the attitudes of 45 participants in a respiratory care clinical education preceptor training program at a large urban children’s hospital. During the training program, an open-ended critical-incident questionnaire was administered. Results: A phenomenological approach was applied to study the insights of the RT preceptors as they provided clinical training of RT students. The attitude trends revealed in the data were meaning, lived experience, and introspection. Conclusions: Data provided rich insights into the inner experience of veteran preceptors. Thus, we have gained valuable and detailed information with regard to the factors that may promote more successful preceptorpreceptee relationships.