Precepting a UNCW nursing student: what it involves

Who can precept a UNCW student

UNCW's nurse practitioner students train with clinicians practicing in North Carolina. NP and certified nurse midwife preceptors hold an RN license, current NC Approval to Practice and board certification; physician and PA preceptors hold a North Carolina license and board certification; and every preceptor has at least a year of experience as a provider, ideally at the site where the student will train.

Each track looks for a different practice. FNP students need primary care, pediatric and women's health experiences with NPs, CNMs, physicians or PAs. AGPCNP students see patients from age 13 through end of life and need at least one NP preceptor over the program. PMHNP students train with PMHNPs, psychiatrists and PAs with a psychiatric focus, and they log therapy hours with licensed clinical social workers, professional counselors, clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors. The full list sits on UNCW's preceptor requirements.

Evaluations, Typhon and faculty visits

UNCW students log encounters in Typhon within five days, and Typhon also carries every evaluation. Links arrive at the email address you give for the student's packet. Before the semester ends, the student confirms that you have completed the Assessment of Clinical Performance by Preceptor, since the course grade depends on it; FNP students also run evaluations at mid-semester and at the end.

Clinical faculty visit each site once a semester, more often if needed, and complete student and site evaluations during the visit. For FNP students the visit can be in person or virtual, with at least one in-person visit across the program. If anything concerns you about a student's performance, UNCW asks you to call the faculty member, and evaluations and site visits explains each form.

What UNCW offers preceptors

UNCW frames precepting as professional service and lists what it gives back:

• Access to electronic resources through the UNCW library, with digital database access on request
• Verification of precepting hours for credentialing or licensure, and documentation of completed rotation hours at the end of each clinical semester
• For NP preceptors, 30 precepting hours toward the continuing education the NC Board of Nursing requires
• A potential adjunct faculty appointment in the School of Nursing; UNCW reports three preceptors joining as adjunct faculty in July 2024
• Self-paced Clinical Precepting modules, CP 101 to CP 106, from North Carolina's AHEC network

One detail to check: UNCW describes the 30 hours as counting toward an annual 50, while the NCBON rule sets 50 contact hours every two years, and the Board's guidance asks for an original letter from the program director as evidence. Separately, NC AHEC offers preceptors its digital library; NC AHEC and clinical rotations has more.