Our mission to support people to lead fulfilled, healthy lives in the place and community in which they live. As well as continuing to improve the lives of the communities we serve, one of our biggest priorities is to shape and support the development of our dedicated staff whose actions embody our values of being generous, curious, inspiring, committed, authentic and respectful.
Preceptorship has been defined as ‘a period of structured support and development during periods of transition, during which the allied health professional (AHP) will receive support to help them grow in confidence as an autonomous and accountable practitioner’ (NHS England, formerly HEE). It is not intended to be an extension of university learning but a means to support occupational therapists into the world of adult social care.
Preceptorship is open and available to all newly registered, return to practice and new to adult social care occupational therapists. As directed within the preceptorship policy, you should have a minimum of 2 weeks of supernumerary time at the start of your employment. This helps facilitate your introduction and orientation to the team, as well as enable you to meet other teams and services that link, will help you start building a professional network.
We facilitate preceptorship for the first year of registration. However, preceptorship is designed to be flexible, and the actual duration will vary according to individual need, i.e. return to practice. It is, however, recommended that preceptorship is no less than 6 months.
The below video gives the account of a former occupational therapy apprentice who is starting their preceptorship year.