How nurse preceptors provide help to new nurses influences perceived relationship quality

Background: In many hospitals, newly-hired registered nurses (RNs) enter into preceptorships, where they are paired with more experienced nurse preceptors who are responsible for ensuring effective transition to practice. Although high-quality relationships between preceptors and newly-hired nurses facilitate nurses' learning and integration into their medical institutions, preceptors have little guidance for what tactics develop such relationships. Objectives: To investigate whether the type of help provided by preceptors (i.e., autonomous or dependent help) influences preceptees' evaluations of relationship quality and psychological safety with their preceptor. Furthermore, we investigate the role of instrumental support and emotional support as explanatory mechanisms. Design/settings/participants/methods: Convenience sampling was used to collect data via a cross-sectional survey of 217 in-patient RNs hired between June 2016 and May 2018 to a magnet hospital within the Southwestern United States. Recently hired nurses evaluated their preceptor's help-giving tendencies, and reported on their perceived support, relationship quality and feelings of psychological safety with their preceptor. Results: Dependent help was positively related to instrumental support. Conversely, autonomous help was positively related to both relationship quality and psychological safety, and these relationships were partially mediated by perceived instrumental support and emotional support. Conclusion: Findings illustrate the multiple benefits of autonomous help for encouraging high-quality relationships between preceptors and preceptees. This study identifies autonomous help-giving as a useful tactic for nurse preceptors (or other organizational insiders, such as mentors or supervisors) to establish high-quality relationships with recently hired nurses.