Nurse Preceptor Incentives Offered by Board of Nursing, Other Entities

• Nurse preceptor incentives are being offered across the United States.
• The incentives range from payment through a grant program in Washington State to preceptor tax credits in Hawaii.
• While there are arguments for and against paying preceptors, both sides acknowledge that the nurses who become preceptors should be rewarded for their contributions.

Practitioners who volunteer as a preceptor for student nurses can earn extra cash in Washington State. But the Pacific Northwest isn’t the only region incentivizing nurses to take on the role.

Hospital associations, organizations, and other entities across the U.S. have attached some variation of monetary benefit to preceptorships. 

The Role of a Nurse Preceptor

Nurse preceptors are a “lifeline for new nurses,” according to Dr. Brandy Hershberger, UPMC’s Chief Nursing Officer/Vice President, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers for Nursing Excellence and Academic Affairs. 

These educators provide guidance and mentorship; help new nurses manage interactions with patients, staff, and family members; and teach hospital protocols and nursing processes, Hershberger stated in a UPMC Health Beat blog. 

However, there aren’t enough “education institutions, nurse educators, and nurse preceptors available to meet the growing demand for new nurses,” and she said the preceptor shortage is “particularly challenging” in rural areas. 

Nurse Preceptor Incentives in Washington State

In April 2023, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a measure that established the Washington State Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant.  

The program offers “incentive pay” up to $1,000 for preceptors who oversee nursing candidates “with a focus on acute shortage areas, including those in rural and underserved communities and long-term care facilities,” according to the bill text.

Washington State Sen. Jeff Holy, the bill’s primary sponsor, stated in a news release that the lack of nurses in rural hospitals forces patients to drive long distances for treatment. 

“Rural communities in our state have especially been affected by the nursing shortage … This bill will help ensure there will be enough nurses in rural hospitals,” he said. 

Advanced registered nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses are eligible to serve as preceptors. However, the Washington State BON urges government employees to verify with their employer that the grant payment does not violate any ethics laws. 

Nurse preceptors must complete at least 80 hours of precepting per student. Additional details can be found on the Washington State BON website. 

Other Types of Nurse Preceptor Incentives

Compensation for nurse preceptors varies in form, by state, and by organization.  

Nurses in Texas who serve as clinical preceptors can receive partial exemption from tuition for themselves and their children, if they meet certain requirements. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Hospital Association offers a nurse preceptor incentive program with payments ranging from $1,500 to $3,500 based on the number of preceptorship hours. 

In Hawaii, APRNs are among the healthcare professionals who can qualify for a preceptor tax credit. Paid faculty members, however, can’t receive the credit. The tax credit program has been active since 2019. 

Should Nurse Preceptors be Compensated?

A point-counterpoint article in a 2019 issue of the “Journal for Nurse Practitioners” highlights arguments on both sides of the issue, specifically related to NPs. 

Robin Arends, DNP, FNP-BC, argued that increased workloads and demands for nurse practitioners make them less likely to accept volunteer positions as preceptors. 

“Providing compensation helps to alleviate the challenge of meeting productivity standards because the pay for precepting compensates for the loss of workload productivity payment by the health care organization,” said Arends, also a clinical assistant professor at South Dakota State University. 

On the flip side, Janet Selway, DNSc, AGNP-C, said that while preceptors “deserve reward for their work,” offering payment could result in bidding wars among educational institutions. 

“Larger well-financed schools might dominate smaller schools that may have fiscal or policy constraints that do not allow direct payment to preceptors,” said Selway, who also serves as director of the adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner program at the Catholic University of America Bill and Joanne Conway School of Nursing in Washington, DC. “Smaller schools that cannot pay could lose long-term preceptors to paying schools or companies.” 

The Bottom Line

The Washington State Board of Nursing offers financial incentive for nurses to serve as preceptors. Other organizations and institutions throughout the U.S. offer their own versions of compensation for preceptorships. Arguments for compensation come down to the fact that the workforce shortage puts additional strain on nurses and volunteering for these mentorship roles is less likely as a result. On the other hand, there’s a potential for bidding wars among education institutions that could put smaller schools at a disadvantage. 

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