AARC Clinical Preceptor Training Course
Welcome and thank you for participating in the AARC Preceptor Training Course. This program will be of great benefit to respiratory care instructors and preceptors.
Newly developed CoARC guidelines specify that RT programs must develop and implement processes that ensure consistency and reduce variability among individuals who perform clinical evaluations. This requirement has created a need for innovative and creative approaches to assure the attainment of inter-rater reliability within the pre-clinical and clinical components of RT programs.
This interactive course will begin with an overview of a Clinical PEP (Practices of Effective Preceptors) Program and will take you step-by-step through the development and implementation of the program. You’ll leave with the background, knowledge and skills to help you be more objective when evaluating and giving feedback to RT students.
Our ultimate goal for providing this course is to create more consistency in the education and evaluation of our students. In the very near future, this will be a requirement from CoARC (agency that accredits RT programs) that all preceptors taking students will have to complete courses like this to show evidence in inter-rater reliability.
Course Requirements to Receive 2 CRCE Credits
Instructions: Please Read All Requirements Carefully Prior to Starting Course!
- Sign-in to the AARC Preceptor Training Course . The access code for preceptors is: 525014
- Review Modules 1-5 carefully with included videos. The modules are organized in sequence so you will only need to press the NEXT button to progress to the next section of the course. You will be asked to evaluate and make notes in the program workbook provided below. Please print the Clinical PEP workbook, make notes and keep for your records in the event of a CRCE audit from the AARC, NBRC, or VBRC.
- Complete the AARC Preceptor Course Post-test with a score of 70% or better.
- Upon completion of these requirements, you will be issued 2.0 CRCE credits from the AARC within 10 to 14 days.
Clinical Instructors’ Evaluation of Students
Clinical instructors are required to complete evaluations at the end of each clinical rotation. These evaluation instruments are the primary sources used to provide students and program faculty feedback of the students’ clinical practice performance and calculate final clinical course averages. Clinical instructors must document the students’ strengths and weaknesses and discuss them with the student when appropriate.
A clinical instructor who feels a student is performing unsatisfactory clinical practice should immediately report the activity to the program faculty. The program faculty will immediately take appropriate action and will ask for the clinical instructor’s assistance in completing a “Performance Improvement Plan”.
The Role of the Student in Clinical Practice Education
All students perform their clinical practice assignments for educational purposes only and not with any intent or purpose to reduce the workload or increase the productivity of the clinical instructors or clinical facilities’ respiratory care departments. Students are not considered employees of the clinical facilities for any reason.
Although some independence on the part of the students should be encouraged, especially in the category of repeat procedures, the clinical instructor should be readily available for questions or to intervene as needed or requested.
It is important to remember that students tend to progress through the clinical practice assignments at a slower pace than do seasoned respiratory therapists. A clinical instructor should avoid completing the assignment for the students. However, if a student is not completing the assignment within a reasonable amount of time or a situation arises in which a student cannot respond, the clinical instructor should intervene.
The clinical instructor retains responsibility for patient care. Please contact program faculty with any concerns.
Claim up to 3 Additional CRCE Credits for Precepting Students
Effective January 2015 the North Carolina Respiratory Care Board approved CRCE credits for preceptors routinely working with respiratory therapy students. The Director of Clinical Education at Rockingham Community College (RCC) may issue a certificate for up to 5 CRCE credits for preceptors that have:
- Completed the AARC Preceptor Training Course within the past 12 months.
- Regularly taken students. These 3 CRCE credits are in addition to the 2 credits for completing the AARC Preceptor Training Course.
RCC has determined the CRCE awarded per contact hour is as described below:
- 1 CRCE credit = 12 hours
- 2 CRCE credit = 24 hours
- 3 CRCE credit = 36 hours
The preceptor must request the certificate from the DCE and include when they worked with students and signed the student daily log/eval combo sheet. Please sign your name legibly so we can verify the time you were precepting students.
(These guidelines are subject to change pending clarification from the NCRCB.)
