Systematic review of tools to measure preceptors' perceptions of their role in undergraduate health clinical education

Objective: Evaluate tools used to measure preceptors' perceptions of their role in the clinical education of health undergraduate students.

Background: Measurement of preceptors' perceptions of their role in students' learning in practice lacks consistency. The preceptor role makes an important contribution to quality clinical education.

Design: A systematic literature review informed by PRISMA Guidelines.

Data sources: Major databases CINAHL, ProQuest, Nursing and Allied Health, Medline, Health Reference Centre, Joanna Briggs Institute, PsychInfo and Google Scholar were searched.

Review methods: The search strategy yielded a total of 166 papers. Screening for inclusion resulted in 28 papers for critical appraisal and review.

Results: Twenty-two individual tools were identified. Fourteen were named. Nine tools were new, study-specific and untitled. Eight tools were informed by previous research. A third of studies were appraised as being of good quality. A lack of consistency in measures, use of small convenience samples and reliance on self-reported outcomes limited the generalisability of findings.

Conclusions: Two tools were suitable measures of preceptors' perceptions of their role or an appropriate measure for preceptor effectiveness in students' learning in practice. These tools were tested on the nursing profession only. Ensuring quality in clinical education requires consideration of experiences of key stakeholders and standard measurement of perspectives, effectiveness and preparedness to achieve quality clinical learning outcomes for students.