Nursing students, preceptors meet at UCQ programme

A group of Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students from University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ), preceptors from hospitals and medical centres across the country and UCQ nursing professors met recently for the “biggest gathering of nursing students and preceptors in the institute’s history”.The preceptor programme is an alliance between UCQ’s partners in healthcare education, working nursing professionals and nursing students. “A preceptor is like a mentor, and at the same time is more than a mentor,” UCQ said in a statement, stressing that collaborating to achieve the goals of the Qatar National Health Strategy 2011-15 was important to all participants in the healthcare system. Shouq al-Matawah, a BN student at UCQ, is eager to begin the final senior practicum phase of her nursing education. “I will be mentored by two professional nurses in Post Natal Care at Al Wakra Hospital,” she said. “I am being given the opportunity to apply all that I have learned here at UCQ in the real world of nursing. If I could start this practical experience tomorrow, I would.”The 23 other fourth-year BN students, 47 preceptors and UCQ nursing professors who attended the gathering “shared Shouq’s excitement”, the statement noted.“Formerly, our students and their preceptors were brought together individually or in small groups,” said Behi Nikaiin, clinical placement co-ordinator. “However, UCQ and the preceptor programme have grown so much that we now need to hold large workshops that will meet everyone’s needs.”Nikaiin further explained, “The preceptor programme provides nursing students and professional nurses with an opportunity to combine their theoretical nursing knowledge and clinical experience, and so practise at a higher level.”“Being a preceptor with UCQ nursing students benefits all of us,” said Alaine Adea, nursing education supervisor at Al Ahli Hospital, citing the reciprocity of learning and exchange of ideas between the student and preceptor as key benefits of the programme. “Student expectations in the programme are high, and we are excited to be able to meet their expectations and exceed them.”UCQ provides BN and Master of Nursing (MN) programmes. In November, it will graduate 76 students from its BN programmes. An additional nine students will graduate from the MN programme, becoming the first MN graduates “educated in Qatar for Qatar”, the statement adds.