The HCPC has today published its Principles for Preceptorship.
This work is the culmination of nearly a year of collective effort from our organisation, our many stakeholders and partners, and our registrants. We are grateful to everyone who has contributed.
The Preceptorship Principles and supporting information set out in this document have been written to support our registrants to access preceptorship when and where they need it, including at key transition moments in their careers. In contemporary practice, it is a vital component in the delivery of safe, compassionate and high-quality care.
Workforce planning is crucial for the health and care sector, and workforce pressures can exacerbate waiting times, create backlogs and compromise patient safety. Recruitment is part of the answer, but retaining good staff is vital too, and has perhaps never been more important. Preceptorship has a vital role to play in both recruitment and retention, and high-quality preceptorship has been proven to improve retention rates.*
Well-resourced Preceptorship can support health and care professionals to develop and maintain their confidence, helping them to provide safe and effective practice throughout their careers. There is good evidence that key ‘transition points’, such as joining the workforce as a new registrant, working in the UK for the first time, or returning after a lengthy period away, can be challenging for many professionals. Tailored preceptorship can aid registrants at these points in their career, giving them the support to suit their individual circumstances.
Our Principles have been developed collaboratively with both professional bodies and individual registrants. We have also engaged with NHS bodies in the UK’s four nations, to ensure they fit with existing and developing preceptorship arrangements.
The supporting information has been written to help registrants understand how the Principles can aid their practice, and for those providing (or seeking to establish) preceptorship, to help them in developing and improving what is offered to registrants.
We believe that well delivered preceptorship support has a key role to play in supporting both current and future HCPC registrants, helping them to achieve their potential and to confidently meet the needs of service users.
Chief Executive and Registrar
