Effective clinical preceptorship in supporting nurses’ intention to stay at their workplace: A protocol for scoping review

Introduction: Preceptorship has been used in nursing to bridge the gap between nursing education and nursing practice. It is usually employed as part of the transition program for newly graduate or newly joined nurses. The support given by the preceptors can help nurses to adjust to their work environment. The initial clinical experiences of new nurses can have an impact on their career intentions and their sense of well-being, including their intention to stay in the profession. High turn-over rate and shortage of nurses have negative consequences that affect patient care. Thus, several strategies have been employed to retain nurses in their workplace. This study aims to know the extent at which effective clinical preceptorship can have a positive effect in the nurses’ intention to stay.

Methods: The goal of this study is to determine the extent of published scientific literature on clinical preceptorship and its effect on the retention of nurses in their workplace. Hence, a scoping review will be utilized to map out the existing literature on the topic. The results will be presented in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR).

Results: The data will be collated and analyzed systematically and will be presented in a data charting form and reported in a descriptive narrative format.

Conclusion: The findings will identify, understand, map out the literature, and identify research gaps on clinical preceptorship and its effect on retention of nurses. The results may help nursing administration and policy makers to adapt strategies that may reduce turnover rate and retain nurses to avoid staff shortage.