By Alex (Sandy) MacQuarrie, PhD, Paramedic, Educator and Researcher

Lower Beechmont/Woonoongoora, Yugambeh Country

'It’s about being of service and using our lived experience to support and guide.'

Many reading this article may nod knowingly when the subject of preceptorship comes up. For me, my first precepted experience was in late 1992 when I walked into the crew room of a small private ambulance service in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

I was nervous and a little excited at the same time. My preceptor, Gerard Holland, was younger than me and very inquisitive about what I wanted to do and to learn. Our relationship solidified over the next months and it absolutely set the pattern for how I would interact with other preceptors and how I would precept myself.

Recently, I was reflecting on how a local paramedic, CCP Ricky Smythe of QAS, popped up on my Instagram feed and I was struck by how much he seemed to be enjoying (if that’s the right word) being a preceptor. It made me wonder what benefits (other than the professional responsibility to precept) a paramedic will accrue. From my experience as a Senior Lecturer in a paramedic program, I knew firsthand how much our students enjoyed being precepted by Ricky. This intrigued me.

I wanted to get behind the pictures on Instagram, behind the positive words of Ricky and explore how and why the experience of being a preceptor may actually be more than a professional responsibility. And I wanted to hear it directly from him.

We sat down and had a wide-ranging conversation that I hoped would yield some insight into the intrinsic value of being a preceptor. But first I asked Ricky to explain the difference between preceptor and mentor.

“I don’t really see a difference between preceptorship and mentorship,” he said. “To me, it’s about being of service and using our lived experience, wherever that might be, whether it's formal or informal, to support and guide and be a lifeline or lighthouse to other people so that they may be able to learn on their journey.”

This intrigued me, as many of us think of preceptorship as a clinical guide on the road for the novice paramedic. Ricky continued: “But I think that you know, when I think about the difference in where the world is these days with education, that the technical skills are taught on different levels, students, candidates and the soft skills. However, I come from the lived experience (of being a paramedic).”

Now, I took that to mean that there can be much more to offer as a preceptor than I had originally thought. It seemed that the offered role of preceptor by Ricky had much focus on the “being” a paramedic. He elaborated: “So working with someone (like myself) that's been around for a little while and they've had a chance to sort of have a bit of play with their soft skills and work out what can get them into trouble.”

Trouble? “You know, the things that are on the edges of the textbook but not in the textbook”, and “Yeah, in how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis, what our values are and you know we create culture”.

I was interested in getting to why I was sitting with Ricky. How does the experience help him grow, to be well and at the same time help others? I made the bold statement that it seems that being a preceptor was good for Ricky.

He paused for a moment before answering. “When I see the passion and dedication of the newer, younger people … a passion and a commitment to do amazing things with their lives lifts me up as well.”

Hearing this, I thought back to some of my own precepting experiences and could see elements of that. Of course, the opposite can also be true, but that may be another article.

I shared that in my pre-interview research, I could not find extensive literature that explored the wellbeing/wellness or accrued benefits of being a preceptor. That literature may exist (I hope so), but if not, I see opportunity to explore.

I challenged Ricky to qualify the value of being a preceptor (or mentor) for him. In particular, I wanted to explore the construct of resilience and if it increased in Ricky because of (or a result of) precepting.

Ricky’s take on resilience is this: “The ability to be able to and absorb sustain a variety of pressures, whether they be emotional, psychological, physical stresses, and be able to have a way of using those things that might deplete you that actually give you strength, and the ability to keep going through that.” I commented that what I saw was consistently positive interactions with people (including students) that to me suggested a resilient, capable paramedic.

What happens when the preceptor experience is not available? “If you remove the students from the equation, which does happen time to time where we don't see students for a period of time, I actually really missed them because I find that, and for me, they're part of me recharging my battery.”

I am starting to understand the person behind the persona. Ricky went on to explain more about why he precepts: “(the students) are so passionate and everyone is very keen on doing the job as a career of helping people. The goal for me is that we create people that have amazing careers themselves.”

The A-Ha! moment. This is that moment of realisation that something has changed in a person as a result of something. This can be from learning (I can start an IV now!) to that moment when you realise that you are a novice paramedic and are ready for the job.

I asked Ricky if he had an A-Ha moment to share about preceptorship: “When I see the honour, respect and grace that I try to show them and now see how they show others. The growth I see in students that goes beyond technical. I get a benefit from knowing that I helped in that process.”

We were winding down. I mentally compared what Ricky was saying with what I had in my own mental model. Was it the same? No. Was it similar? Yes. My hope from this article is to step sideways for a moment and look at how a preceptor feels about being a preceptor. To go beyond the “professional responsibility” and celebrate how a person can make a difference in someone’s career and, at the same time, take away much from the interaction.

About Ricky: Ricky is a Critical Care Paramedic with Queensland Ambulance Service with 35 years’ service. He came to QAS after 10 years in the Royal Australian Navy - Medical Branch, specialising in Health and Safety. Precepting started in 1995 with formal peer mentoring. Over the years, Ricky estimates he has precepted over 15 CCP’s, over 70 ACP’s, over 15 new grads and well over 120 students. Ricky’s Instagram can found here: https://www.instagram.com/ricky_smyth/.