Clinical Education

When preceptors have questions, feel overwhelmed, or struggle to fit a student into their schedule, who can they turn to? Cleveland Clinic has built a network of colleagues and school partners to help them work through those challenges and feel supported in their teaching role. Jennifer Docherty and Leighanne Hustak are co-chairs of Cleveland Clinic’s Preceptor Council, which connects clinical placement staff with preceptors to improve the precepting experience. Docherty serves as Program Coordinator IV in the Office of Advanced Practice, and Hustak is Manager APRN & PA at the Primary Care Institute. Alongside council members and school partners, they’ve worked to simplify placements, offer teaching guidance, and recognize preceptors’ contributions.

Collecting meaningful feedback from nursing students is essential for maintaining high-quality clinical education experiences. However, many nursing programs face a common challenge: low evaluation participation rates and time-consuming administrative processes. A recently published quality improvement initiative from Auburn University College of Nursing demonstrates how integrating clinical evaluations into existing clinical education workflows can help address these challenges.