The commitment of Israeli nursing preceptors to the role of preceptor

Background: Despite the professional importance of the preceptorship role and the rise in participation of nurses in training courses for the position, a significant number of nurses are not committed to this role. The reasons for this trend globally, and in Israel in particular, are not clear. Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the connections between characteristics of preceptorship, supports, benefits and rewards, and commitment to the preceptor role in Israel. Methods: The present study is a quantitative correlational study. A questionnaire survey was given to a convenience sample of 200 Israeli registered nurses working as preceptors in hospitals and community settings in the northern part of Israel. Results: Respondents showed a moderate commitment to the role of preceptor. Support within nurses' employment framework, intrinsic benefits and rewards, and to a lesser degree, extrinsic benefits and rewards, were found to be related to nurses' level of commitment to the role of preceptor. No correlation was found between support received from outside the workplace and commitment to the role of preceptor. Additionally, no correlation was found between the characteristics of preceptorship (the number of preceptees during the last six months or the average number of preceptees per session), and commitment to the role of preceptor. The most important factor contributing to commitment was support within the nurses' employment framework. Conclusions: The present study highlights the importance of support from within the nurses' employment framework, and also the role of intrinsic benefits and rewards, in relation to the level of commitment of Israeli preceptors to their role.