Preceptorship Roles

Who is involved in a Preceptorship?

A preceptorship programme supports a preceptee, who is the practitioner receiving support and guidance as they move through a transition phase in their career.

They are supported by a preceptor, who is the named person responsible for providing and facilitating this support. 

The role of the preceptee:

Principle 3 of the HCPC Principles for Preceptorship encourages ‘preceptee empowerment’.  This principle details the expectation that the preceptorship will be tailored to the needs of the preceptee, and through this it will encourage active engagement and participation from the preceptee. 

As healthcare professionals, radiographers have a professional responsibility to engage in continuing professional development.  An effective preceptorship programme can help to instil positive behaviours such as this, where life- long learning becomes second nature.   

A well-designed preceptorship programme will therefore build on the individual strengths and experiences of the preceptee to support further development and instil the importance of continuing professional development. Partnership working between the preceptee and preceptor is encouraged throughout, particularly when determining the individual preceptee’s  learning needs, and overall preceptorship content and duration.

As part of the preceptorship period, preceptees have the responsibility of completing their preceptorship by seeking out opportunities which actively develop their professional confidence and autonomy with the support of their preceptor. Preceptees should be provided with appropriate resources and guidance to support this process. 

Where a preceptee feels a certain need or needs are not being met, the preceptee should feel empowered to be able to discuss this with their preceptor and seek further support.  

The role of the preceptor:

Preceptors are registered practitioners/clinicians who are trained and supported to carry out their preceptor role.  In radiography, the preceptor may be the lead practice educator for a department, or be another appointed member of the team who has sufficient experience of working within the organisation and holds the appropriate knowledge and skills to act as a preceptor. 

Current guidance indicates that while a preceptor should be a registered practitioner/clinician, they do not necessarily need to belong to the same discipline as their preceptee (HCPC, 2023).  This can support multiprofessional integrated working and learning, sharing knowledge and building respect and positive relationships across the organisation.  This may be of particular benefit for those preceptees who are transitioning across or into advancing practice roles in radiography, where multidisciplinary working is a frequent aspect of their role.

However, when a preceptor is from a different department and /or discipline, the Society and College of Radiographers recommend preceptees have additional support from someone within the profession, who is close at hand, and has experience of the nuances associated with the professional responsibilities expected of a radiographer and the individual preceptee’s role.  This may be a nominated mentor within their department. This is especially recommended for those who may be new to practice to ensure adequate support is in place.   

Preceptors act as role models, providing regular support to their preceptee(s).  The College of Radiographers recommends that preceptors in radiography have protected time to meet regularly with the preceptee throughout the preceptorship period.  This may be supported by thorough job planning where preceptorship responsibilities are expected within a role.

The preceptor will facilitate opportunities for the preceptee to reflect on their experiences to identify learning and development needs.  The preceptor will be able to seek out and identify learning opportunities for the preceptee and support the preceptee's wellbeing during the period of transition.  These steps are key to ensuring the preceptorship is tailored to the individual needs of the preceptee.

It is important that service managers/leads define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved with preceptorship so each individual knows and understands what is expected from them.

It is encouraged that service managers/leads and preceptors meet prior to each new intake of preceptees to discuss and plan job requirements around protected time for the preceptor and preceptee, preceptor training and development, and other preceptorship related activities. 

Preceptors should be familiar with the HCPC Principles of Preceptorship and the NHSE AHP Preceptorship Standards and Framework or other relevant national preceptorship frameworks and resources.  They should also remain familiar with their organisation’s preceptorship policies and documentation/platforms.

It is essential that preceptors are provided with training opportunities to enable successful delivery of their preceptor role.  This may be through completion of formal education and training such as a post-registration postgraduate certificate, or through non-crediting bearing professional development opportunities such as completion of the Multiprofessional Preceptor eCompendium training.  Preceptors are encouraged to scope out and identify relevant training, development and networking opportunities within their organsiation, system and professional body which will allow them to update and develop within their role. This may include additional skills- based training such as coaching, supervision and reflective skills.

For preceptors who also hold the role of practice educator, CPD planning against the Practice Educator Knowledge, Skills and Attributes and educational expectations as defined in the CoR Education and Career Framework is expected. To support ongoing CPD, engagement with the College of Radiographers Practice Educator Accreditation Scheme (PEAS) is also encouraged.  

Why is preceptorship recommended in radiography?

Preceptorship is about helping those who are at a transition point in their career to have the best possible start, be that a newly registered practitioner, or someone moving into a new role. 

In 2021, the SoR published the findings of the RePAIR report. This work focused on ‘Reducing Pre-registration Attrition and Improving Retention in Radiotherapy’.  This report brought to the fore the challenges facing the NHS in terms of recruitment and retention of key NHS staff.  It provided recommendations to support the transition from pre-registration into practice and improve retention within therapeutic radiography through the concepts of strengthening ‘the flaky bridge’ and early careers support, with preceptorship being highlighted as one element of this.  Since its publication, a number of the RePAIR recommendations have been embedded within the wider work of the SoR and CoR, across both diagnostic and therapeutic radiography.  This included setting the CoR’s work on preceptorship into motion.

Other research also shows how preceptorship can benefit not just the individual preceptee, but also the employer, teams, patients/service users and the wider organisation itself.  Although a large portion of this research features nursing and midwifery as the main focus, a number of other studies focussing on AHP and radiography preceptorships convey similar benefits (Marks-Maran et al., 2013; Health Education England, 2018; Harvey and Morris, 2020; NMC 2020; Atwal, 2022; NHS England, 2023b, 2023c; Nightingale et al, 2023; Chaka et al 2024).

The potential benefits of offering a preceptorship programme include:

• Helping preceptees to feel valued, increasing confidence
• Improved staff satisfaction and morale
• Reduced sickness absence
• Improved retention and possible recruitment of staff within the organisation
• Promoting a positive workforce culture of life-long learning and development
• Ultimately helping employers to instil quality into the care and services provided, maintaining and improving service delivery for the benefit of patients and service users.

As part of the government’s ambition to ensure sustainable future staffing and improve patient care, the NHS England Long Term Workforce Plan identifies good quality preceptorship for the wider workforce as key to supporting recruitment, supporting staff to integrate into their places of work, and supporting staff retention. Because of these potential wide-ranging benefits, it is important that preceptorship is recognised as a workforce priority across radiography and is viewed as part of the wider infrastructure of organisations and systems.  This will help to ensure longevity and sufficient organisational investment in resources for preceptorship and those leading preceptorships.  

What is the difference between mentoring and preceptorship?

Preceptorship aims to provide a structured pathway for those at points of career  transition, to apply previous learning and gain experience in a clinical setting with the goal of building confidence to practice autonomously. A preceptor may use mentoring skills or approaches in providing support to a preceptee on a preceptorship programme.

Mentoring in the workplace typically describes a relationship in which a more experienced colleague shares their greater knowledge to support the development of a less experienced member of staff. It calls on the skills of questioning, listening, clarifying and reframing that are also associated with coaching. 
Source: CIPD

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