A UVA Health preceptor in labor and delivery teaches a nursing student.

Proud to Be a Preceptor

Why mentor UVA School of Nursing students?

There's a group of individuals at the core of nursing students' lives who have everything to do with how and what they learn, their confidence and skill, and the kind of nurses they ultimately choose to become: our more than 335 preceptors.

Preceptors, who mentor both pre-licensure (students in the BSN and CNL programs) and post-licensure students (graduate nursing students enrolled in APRN programs including the MSN, post-master's, and DNP programs), are the lifeblood of the School, and of students' practice.

They are role models, teachers, cheerleaders, explainers, and confidence-boosters all rolled up into a single human being. We depend on and appreciate them - you! - and acknowledge preceptors as a key member of the School of Nursing team.

The Preceptors Who Made the Difference
Preceptors are the School's lifeblood. Meet a few and see the heroic ways they came to students' and faculty members' aid during the darkest days of COVID.
5 Questions With Preceptor Craig Thomas
“Every time I precept,” says Thomas, “I learn something that I can apply to my own practice to improve it.”
5 Questions With Award-Winning Preceptor Pat Cobb
Cobb, a pediatric cancer nurse for nearly 44 years, received the Lifetime Outstanding Student Preceptor Award in 2018 for her more than 20 years as a mentor.

Why be a preceptor?

  • Paying it forward
    Preceptors feel immense satisfaction teaching and mentoring nurses who will become the practitioners of the future
  • Pride and affiliation
    Preceptors of UVA School of Nursing students and the health systems where they work earn a digital badge to use in their email signatures, LinkedIn profiles, and on institutional web sites
  • A bump in pay
    Virginia offers preceptors financial rewards; additionally, some health systems, including UVA Health, offer preceptors a separate stipend for mentoring students
  • Continuing education credit
    For advanced practice nurses and RNs, certifying bodies recognize precepting as part of satisfying educational requirements for nurses' licenses
  • Low- or no-cost access to the School of Nursing's Continuing Education opportunities
    As a preceptor, you're part of our community of faculty members, and earn benefits like free or reduced cost educational opportunities required for your license
  • Eligibility for awards
    Every year, School leaders receive nominations for the Outstanding Preceptor Award, which comes with a cash prize and public recognition