Community Partners & Preceptors

Longwood University is committed to the community in which the University resides, and to developing citizen leaders. These commitments are reflected in the design of Longwood's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program as a rural-focused, community-facing program. We want to assure that our nursing graduates understand the health problems and challenges of a rural population, and gain beginning competence in practicing nursing in a rural community.

Excellent, well-planned clinical learning experiences are crucial to our BSN program. These learning experiences take place in hospitals, schools, physicians' offices, public health settings, community mental health clinics, and home health agencies. These organizations collaborate with us as valued Community Partners, hosting our students and our faculty in their agencies and allowing their RN staff to work with our students as clinical preceptors.

We define a preceptor as an experienced Registered Nurse (RN) within a Community Partners agency who works with nursing students as a host, sponsor, teacher, and role model during a clinical learning experience. Clinically experienced preceptors are very important in the clinical education of nursing students, as they assist students to learn by modeling nursing practice in their own agencies, with their own patients or clients. Precepting a student nurse involves sharing knowledge, teaching, and mentoring. Working with the designated Longwood BSN faculty, the preceptor orients the students to the agency, helps to select client or patient experiences to meet learning objectives, and facilitates critical thinking, care planning, and care provision by the student.

Longwood University has two (2) levels of preceptors, Practice-Based Preceptors and External Clinical Faculty. We welcome Registered Nurses (RNs) who are interested in precepting Longwood University BSN students to review the information about preceptors on this website.

We thank our Community Partners and the professional nurses in the community who contribute so much to the education of the next generation of nurses. We are committed to assuring that the partnerships forged with our Community Partners and our preceptors are mutually beneficial.