RN Education

Preceptorship and Mentorship

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is committed to enhancing the profession of nursing in the interest of the public. One of our current priorities in support of this mission is to promote the quality of practice environments to help nurses achieve excellence in their professional practice.

The Guide to Preceptorship and Mentoring is an important tool for improving performance and job satisfaction through role modelling programs for nurses. Role modelling programs can help create a sense of achievement for both the role model (preceptor or mentor) and the learner (preceptee or mentee). By building on our existing human health resources - experienced, competent nurses - employers in the profession can foster healthier work environments and promote the successful transition and growth of new or developing nurses.

Both preceptorship and mentoring hold much promise for making important differences in the quality of work life and practice quality for nurses.

The Guide to Preceptorship and Mentoring is part of the series Achieving Excellence in Professional Practice, as is the 2002 CNA document A Guide to Developing and Revising Standards.