We’re in a tough spot.  

New nurses are struggling with confidence, preceptorships are challenging to fill, and we're having a hard time competing with bigger cities when it comes to salaries. It's no wonder we're seeing a serious nursing shortage in the state of Arizona and here in our own backyard. 
 
But here's the thing – we've got great minds already doing great work at their individual hospitals, but we haven’t brought them all together for some straight talk. Late last year, Kaitlyn Shinaberry from Banner Health asked if your Tucson Metro Chamber could convene the major hospitals to better coordinate scheduling of their preceptorships. Currently, there is a bit of a bottleneck that is preventing the local hospitals from filling their preceptorships. For those not in the know, a preceptorship is a “period of structured transition to guide and support newly qualified nursing practitioners from students to autonomous professionals.”  On August 20, after two initial meetings, we got several major hospitals in the room and were finally in a place to tackle preceptorships head on! 

FYI, we've got some serious challenges. Turnover is through the roof, with nurses leaving acute care in droves. Some units are operating with 20% new grads. And current preceptor incentives just haven’t been working.  

Everyone had something to say. Steve Marks from Northwest Medical Center made a great point: preceptorships are a necessary "function” of the operation, not just a role. And get this – we often have young preceptors leading young nursing students. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

Leading with the desire to make this work for everyone involved, the big idea was to develop a Preceptorship Plan for 2025. Sounds fancy, right? But it's actually pretty straightforward. 
 
The plan would be about baking preceptor competencies right into the curriculum and even looking at how we can engage with our rural communities. And there was real push for standardized preceptorships across all hospitals. We're talking certifications, folks. 
 
All this being said, one thing became crystal clear during our chat – we need educators at the table. The Chamber will ensure we get representation from Pima Community College, the University of Arizona, Grand Canyon, Arizona State University, and other relevant educational partners to our next meeting. After all, they're the ones designing the curriculum. We need their input! 
 
So, what's next? Well, we've got some big questions to tackle: 

 
1. What's the scope for creating a standardized preceptorship plan? 
2. How do we ensure it's foundational and consistent across the board? 
3. Then how can we effectively coordinate preceptorship scheduling among hospitals? 
 
Our next Healthcare and Health Science Workforce Collaborative will be October 22, 2024. We NEED nursing program representatives from our education partners at the table to keep this ball rolling! We NEED their insight and input! You are the curriculum experts! 

And for those not directly connected to healthcare, but have an interest in moving the needle, please come! Let’s break down these silos and work together. 
 
Look, we know we've got our work cut out for us. But seeing everyone come together, sharing ideas, and really grappling with these issues... it gives me chills because we're not just talking about the problems – we're actively working on solutions! 
 
So, if you’re interested in supporting this collaborative, register here!  Join us as we turn this ship around to create a healthcare system that works for our entire Tucson community!