Sunday Word: Preceptor

[sallymn]

preceptor [pri-sep-ter, pree-sep- >]

noun:
1 a teacher, tutor
b the headmaster or principal of a school
2 an expert or specialist, such as a physician, who gives practical experience and training to a student, especially of medicine or nursing
3 the head of a preceptory of Knights Templars

Examples:

While most healthcare systems would agree that mentorship is an important factor in preparing new professionals, the overall fatigue, staffing shortages and continued ramifications of the pandemic have made it more challenging to identify qualified nurses to serve as preceptors, or nurses who support the next generation of nurses by providing practical, useful feedback and encouraging critical thinking. Preceptor relationships serve a crucial role in guiding new nurses and we must explore how we can continue to provide this valuable experience for the industry given current resources. (Alison Bell, With nurses exiting field at alarming rate, healthcare workers are in need of ‘rapid response’, Northern Kentucky TribuneDecember 2021)

But the impact he has on students never leaves him, and he recalled a student he was a preceptor for long before Binghamton University's pharmacy school was established. (Katie Ellis, Earle Reome: Patient care pharmacist and preceptor, BingUNews, March 2022)

You see, madame, how rightly I spoke when I said I required a preceptor to guide me in all my sayings and doings here. (Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo)

Down went the black legs and up came the gray head, as the preceptor said, with undisturbed dignity, "Good evening, Mr Bhaer." (Louisa May Alcott, Little Women)

Origin:

early 15c, preceptour, 'tutor, instructor, teacher' (the earliest reference might be to 'expert in the art of prose composition'), from Latin praeceptor 'teacher, instructor,' agent noun from praecipere. Medical sense of 'physician who gives students practical training' is attested by 1803. (Online Etymology Dictionary)