RESUMEN
Nursing preceptors play a vital role in providing skills-oriented opportunities for students in the clinical environment. This study assessed the perceptions of nursing students regarding the clinical learning experience provided by preceptors, and the perceptions of nursing preceptors regarding their roles in ensuring beneficial clinical accompaniment in the three nursing institutions in Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. A concurrent mixed-methods design consisting of a survey and semi-structured interviews were used. A multistage (consecutive, purposive, and convenience) sampling technique was used to obtain quantitative data from 120 nursing students and qualitative data from 20 preceptors. Data were analyzed using descriptive and thematic content analysis. Findings showed that overall students' perceptions of the clinical learning experience were good (92%), 91.7% of the students wanted direct supervision and inadequate support was reported due to the low preceptor-to-student ratio. Preceptors acknowledged that clinical accompaniment is one of their roles, challenges mentioned include few number of preceptors, lack of policy requirements to guide their duties, and limited equipment. We conclude that there is a need to provide adequate preceptors in clinical settings, as they are vital to the training of nurses. A unified policy and standardized procedure manual will improve the quality of the delivery of preceptorships in training institutions.
