Celebrating Preceptorship

This week I went to London to Celebrate Preceptorship. I woke up at 4am, got the train all on my own and found my way to London.  

The place was FANCY - I’m talking marble staircase, huge chandeliers, real fabric table cloths - you know, fancy! 

I was full of nervous energy and coffee, going up and down that room saying ‘hello my name is…’ starting conversations with lots of different people.  Shout out to the London region who I think I spoke with the most, they were super kind, quick to smile and quicker to laugh! 

I got to meet - in actual real life - the major preceptorship celebrity’s that are Dr Jane Wray and Desiree Cox (Coxy for short, I even met mini Coxy!).  


Desiree was even wearing her Gold Preceptorship Champion Daisy Badge that I’d sent from our Trust.  That made me smile! 


It was a great day of celebrating preceptorship, reflecting on what we had done and looking forward to the future.  The Q&A section was good, they didn’t steer away from the hard questions.  With the new National Preceptorship Standards in full swing we had lots to discuss.


https://workforceskills.nhs.uk/projects/nhse-i-national-preceptorship-programme-2022/


I have spent a lot of time trying to make my preceptees feel valued, and on this day I felt valued. More than that, I felt seen, heard and listened to.  It sparked curious conversations and community spirit. 


Preceptorship is such an amazing time of transformation. It’s a time full of hope and promise. It’s butterflies in your belly. It’s the sense of pride putting on your uniform for the first time. It’s the feeling like you’re going to make a difference - and then doing it.  Full of hope and joy.


Of course they feel fear, have good days and bad days and feel exhaustion too but preceptorship is that safety net.  As Preceptorship Lead you are an ally and advocate.  This is not always easy, and uncomfortable conversations sometimes need to be had to support your staff.  


My favourite thing with Preceptees and Preceptors is group coaching, developing that growth mindset, a skill I hope they will continue to grow and develop.  What’s in my circle of control, what can I do, who can help me - and if it’s outside my circle of control and influence, then what can I do to stop worrying about it.  These are the change agents of the future and it’s so important that they know that THEY are everything they need.  


I leave this post soon, I would have stayed if I could progress, but that’s not possible and I’ve got a little family to support.  I am delighted to see HEE publish a strategy to support Healthcare Educators as this might give the role more scope in the future.  I have learnt so much in this role and I am so proud of all my wonderful preceptees, preceptors and champions.


https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events/news/hee-publishes-new-strategy-support-healthcare-educators


I’ve tried my hardest to educate, empower and inspire.  But the reality is that I have been far more inspired myself. I’m going to leave you with the biggest lessons I have learnt from my preceptees:


1/ Never give up 

2/ Be kind to yourself 

3/ Be brave

4/ Have fun 

5/ Always something new to learn 

6/ We have lots to be grateful for 

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