Abstract

Aims: To identify distinct orientation competence profiles amongst nurse preceptors and explain the associated factors.

Design: A cross-sectional study design.

Methods: The data were collected during the winter of 2020–2021 from registered nurses (N = 8279, n = 844) at one university hospital in Finland through an online questionnaire that included a self-administered electronic version of the Preceptors’ Orientation Competence Instrument. K-means clustering was then used to identify nurse preceptor profiles. Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests were used to analyse factors associated with competence profiles. The results were reported as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation.

Results: A total of three distinct orientation competence profiles (A, B, C) were identified. Profile A nurses evaluated their orientation competence at the highest level, whereas profile C nurses evaluated their competence at the lowest level. Sufficient clinical and theoretical experience, a motivation to work, willingness to orient new employees and participation in orientation and/or mentoring education were found to be associated with competence profiles.

Conclusion: The findings expand the current knowledge base of nurse preceptors’ orientation competence. Health care organizations should recognize different orientation competence profiles amongst the nursing staff since the selection of a preceptor should always be based on possessing the necessary orientation competence rather than availability. The results indicate that preceptors (who reported taking on various tasks and covering multiple roles) need support from co-workers to sufficiently concentrate on employee orientation tasks. The results also indicate that preceptors need further orientation education, which should—for example—outline the learning goals for new employees and how preceptors can assess employee performance.