Nurse Preceptor Certificate Program
2026 is the final year of the WU-FAR9 grant. With generous support from HRSA and funding ending on September 30, 2026, we strongly encourage you to sign up early while space is still available. Don’t miss out on this valuable, no-cost opportunity!
Western University of Health Sciences along with the Benner Institute at HealthImpact, and San Antonio Regional Hospital have received a HRSA grant to invite clinical faculty, clinical educators, and a select number of preceptors to participate in the Benner Institute Nurse Preceptor Certificate Program for FREE across Public Health Region 9.
Who is eligible to attend?
The Nurse Preceptor Certificate Program utilizes research on teaching and learning, skill acquisition, and clinical reasoning. The implications for teaching and learning for the Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, and Proficient levels in the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition will be presented. The program applies universal apprenticeships for any practice discipline—the Cognitive Apprenticeship, the Practice Apprenticeship, and the Ethical Comportment and Formation Apprenticeship, to organize the course content. A distinction is made between the mere application of technical knowledge and the productive use of knowledge in actual clinical practice (a higher-order form of situated thinking). Preceptor pedagogies for success include situated coaching, clinical scenarios, and debriefing skills. Canvas™ houses the virtual learning classroom, and course content is divided into (4) modules, each with a corresponding synchronous Zoom workshop.
The Nurse Preceptor Certificate Program will be offered approximately 6 times per year.
Enrollment in the program is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seats are limited.
In order for a pre-licensure RN program to register, the pre-licensure program must have all four (4) attendees be able to attend the same cohort.
Enrollment in the program is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Yes, the Nurse Preceptor course is approved for 20 continuing education hours.
The Nurse Preceptor Certificate Program contains four modules:
- MODULE 1: Intentional Nurse Preceptor
- MODULE 2: Developing a Practice: Understanding the Foundations of Clinical Reasoning & Learning Sciences
- MODULE 3: Situated Coaching, Clinical Imagination & Forethought
- MODULE 4: Forming Clinical & Moral Leadership
Participants in the program will receive 20 CEU’s.
Curriculum Schedule
Each offering is a cohort of 20 individuals representing nursing programs within Region 9.
Cohort Dates through August 2026:
VIRTUAL
| Cohort | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Day of Week | Time (PST) |
| 25 | 5/4/26 | 5/18/26 | 6/1/26 | 6/8/26 | Monday | 3pm – 7pm |
| 26 | 6/29/26 | 7/6/26 | 7/13/26 | 7/20/26 | Monday | 3pm – 7pm |
| 27 | 8/3/26 | 8/10/26 | 8/17/26 | 8/24/26 | Monday | 3pm – 7pm |
IN-PERSON INTENSIVE
| Cohort | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Day of Week | Time (PST) | Location |
| 28 | 6/11/26 | 6/11/26 | 6/12/26 | 6/12/26 | Thurs, Fri | 8am – 5pm | San Francisco General Hospital |