Exploring Preceptor Motivations

Abstract

The surge of baby boomers and older adults in the United States continues to grow each year with our rapidly aging population. Most long-term care administrators complete an administrative residency under the supervision of a preceptor. Without an adequate supply of willing preceptors, the preparation could be disrupted. It is critical to understand what motivates administrators to precept and what concerns or barriers to precepting they have. A survey was designed to assess preceptor motivations by adapting questions from previous studies examining precepting and leadership development (Dewar, 2021) The survey attempted to obtain demographic characteristics from participants as well as insight into their motivation for precepting. The survey was designed in Qualtrics and distributed by email to 34 current and 25 previous preceptors of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Health Care Administration program. 100% of current preceptors (n=34) and 68% (n=17) of former preceptors completed the survey, for a total sample size of 51 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize and analyze the data. The results will be described and discussed, including topics like top motivations of preceptors, such as personal satisfaction. By better understanding what motivates preceptors, barriers to entry for LTC administrators can be eliminated