How preceptorship shaped my career in nursing

By Jenna Stocks, Newly Qualified Registered Nurse at Exemplar Health Care and winner of the Nursing Times Preceptee of the Year award in 2024. 

 

Jenna started her career at Exemplar Health Care as a Student Nurse, before this she had never considered a career in the social care sector. 

Something we hear often from Student Nurses is their negative perception on care home placements due to stereotypes, but we’re on a mission to change that! 

Jenna loved her placement with us that much she joined one of our homes as a Senior Health Care Assistant the day after she left university and transferred to a nursing role as soon as she was qualified. 

Jenna now inspires Student Nurses to pursue careers in social care. Hear her story:

“My experience as a preceptee has really prepared me for my role and shaped the Nurse I am today. 

“Over the course of 12 weeks, I gained invaluable support from an experienced team, giving me the develop my knowledge and transition into a Registered Nurse. 

“Working alongside experienced Registered Nurses allowed me to observe how typical days go, and introduce me to the residents. 

“This gave me the opportunity to understand each resident and build important therapeutic relationships. 

“Having a strong relationship with the people you care for requires good communication, mutual understanding, and trust, and this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to build these relationships and learn about each individual. 

“This 12 week period also allowed me to complete all my mandatory training at a pace that was comfortable and not too overwhelming. 

“As a preceptee, I felt supported, understood and most importantly listened to. 

“As a Newly Qualified Nurse, you have to battle the daily anxieties and worries around being able to fulfil the position you’ve spent so many years studying, working and preparing for. 

“It takes strength and courage to take that leap and believe that you can do this, and being in a supportive environment makes this so much easier.”

 

From student to professional

 

“The transition from student to Nurse is an overwhelming experience to say the least. 

“As much as university prepares you, the real work begins when you start that preceptorship programme. It’s so important to have a team that supports and helps you navigate through this at the start of your nursing journey. 

“Not once during my preceptorship did I feel unsupported. 

“This definitely shone through when the opportunity arose to speak at a clinical nursing conference; everybody Exemplar Health Care colleague was so supportive, encouraging and inspiring. I was reassured and told stories of how they felt when first having to stand up and speak in front of others.” 

 

My path to social care

 

“If I’m honest, whilst completing my nursing degree I didn’t want to have a social care placement. 

“I had a very negative perception of social care due to the stories I’d heard, and common misconceptions.

“I often heard ‘Newly Qualified Nurses need ward experience’, ‘working in care homes leads to you becoming deskilled’ and ‘here’s a lack of career progression’. 

“During my third year I found out one of my placements was at Willowbeck care home, and I really wasn’t happy. I even tried to change it! 

“I was surprised how much I enjoyed my first day, and Willowbeck quickly became one of my best placements. 

“I really loved how well you get to know the individuals you care for and how well relationships form. This really does improve the care you deliver and how you can advocate for somebody. You become one big family. 

“Some days can be hard, but most days are full of laughter, joy and smiles and I’d never experienced this before whilst being a student. 

“I’d always envisioned qualifying and working on a ward within the NHS, however I’m so glad I became a social care Nurse.

“I love working with students, telling my story and hopefully inspiring other future Nurses to come on board.”