Interprofessional preceptor and preceptee educational programing: An interdisciplinary needs assessment

This paper presents the results of a needs assessment undertaken by an interdisciplinary team concerned with developing an interprofessional preceptor and preceptee education program for health professionals and students. The study draws on a pragmatic philosophical perspective, to undertake what Robson (1993) referred to as “real world research”, with the aim of applying the results for practical purposes. The objective of the needs assessment was to identify which content areas were considered to be of greatest educational value to an interdisciplinary range of health professional preceptors and students. In addition, the needs assessment sought to ascertain whether preceptors and students would find such an education resource useful, and if they would use a web-based electronic resource, and to identify preferred formats of potential educational modules. The needs assessment involved three phases: a literature review, an environmental scan of available preceptor/preceptee education programs and the design and implementation of a preceptor/preceptee survey. The results of the study point to content areas in education and design that hold relevance for both preceptors and preceptees. The findings hold significance for others concerned with preceptor and student preparation, and informed the development of an open access, online interprofessional educational program (Bossers et al., 2007).