Meeting FNP students' and faculty clinical needs: Two perspectives.

Abstract

Appropriate clinical practice sites with skilled preceptors are the backbone of family nurse practitioner (FNP) students' education. Faculty are also in need of practice sites to stay abreast of current clinical practice and maintain clinical hours for certification. The purpose of this article is to relate the process of developing a practice model to meet the needs of the FNP student and faculty. Academia and student life professionals collaborated to use an existing student health center on campus as an education site with an FNP nursing faculty member as a preceptor. This qualitative descriptive study presents reflections of the experience from the student perspective. Three main themes were identified: independence, confidence, and trust. Lessons learned from the faculty perspective are also reviewed. Benefits of the project ultimately outweighed barriers. The interdepartmental precepted practice experience completed its fourth successful year and maintains support through the university's student life division. The model may provide strategies, particularly for FNP programs and faculty in smaller universities, to increase and diversify clinical experiences and provide a faculty practice site.