Preceptorship for Newly Qualified Nurses and Midwives in Ireland

This guide covers Ireland. For the UK equivalent, see our guide: Clinical Supervision Requirements for Newly Qualified Healthcare Staff.

Preceptorship is the structured support given to a newly qualified nurse or midwife during the move from student to registered practitioner. Employers in Dublin and elsewhere often ask whether there is a national rulebook for it. Based on the official pages we could read, the honest answer is that we could not identify a single national preceptorship standard for newly qualified staff published by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) or the HSE. This guide sets out what the NMBI documents do say, where they stop, and how employers can build something sensible on top. For the regulator itself, see our overview of NMBI.

What we could and could not confirm

This is a workforce and compliance guide, not clinical guidance. Before relying on any of it, note the limits of the official material we read.

• We could not identify an NMBI or HSE document that sets a national preceptorship standard for newly registered nurses and midwives. A local or HSE-area document may exist that is not publicly posted, so employers should ask their HSE area or hospital group nursing and midwifery office what local policy applies.
• The NMBI documents we opened use the word "preceptor" mainly for the person who supports students on placement.
• Several documents we opened are undated or carry an older edition date, and we say so below.

What NMBI says about preceptors

Student placements: the National Quality Clinical Learning Environment guidance

NMBI's National Quality Clinical Learning Environment professional guidance (published April 2021, although the title page reads 2020) calls the preceptor role important within pre-registration education. It describes a preceptor as a registered nurse or midwife who has undertaken preparation for the role. Each student should have a named preceptor for each placement, and the preceptor assesses progress towards competence. The guidance also advises that preceptors will have attended the teaching and assessing course before taking up the role, and says preceptors must undertake a refresher course every two years.

The same document does not address newly registered staff or an induction programme for them. It does note that poor preceptorship can leave students feeling unprepared for the transition to registered practice, which is a useful reminder of why the first months after registration matter.

The registration programme standards

NMBI's Nurse Registration Programmes Standards and Requirements (fourth edition, effective 2016, preface dated November 2015) refers to a 36-week internship in the context of clinical and theoretical instruction, and uses "preceptor" in the student context. It does not set out a preceptorship programme for newly registered nurses. Because this edition is several years old, check NMBI's site for the current version.

What the Code says about supporting colleagues

The NMBI Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics (stated to take effect on 14 February 2025) contains the one reference to preceptoring colleagues that we found in the Code. Principle 6 refers to supporting, preceptoring, mentoring and teaching colleagues. The Code does not define the preceptor role. Other points in the Code are relevant to anyone starting out:

• Practitioners should practise only in areas where they have relevant knowledge, skills, competence and experience.
• Where a competence deficit is identified, the Code says it should be addressed with the support of the employer.
• If a practitioner is unsure whether they are competent to carry out an activity, the decision framework points them to stop and discuss it with a line manager.
• Delegation should be to someone with the right skills, or someone who is appropriately supervised, and the Code's explanatory notes describe several kinds of supervision of students, including direct, indirect, remote, peer, reflective and simulation-based.
• The Code's explanatory notes say employers and managers must support practitioners in delegation and supervision of students or regulated and unregulated staff, through organisational policy and resources.

Taken together, these statements are consistent with employers making support for new registrants visible, even though they do not prescribe a programme.

The first year on the Register and professional competence

NMBI's guidelines for its Professional Competence Scheme (labelled a 2025 pilot scheme, with no issue date shown) include an FAQ on nurses and midwives who have been on the Register for less than 12 months. As the guidelines state, they are expected to complete pro rata activity, and the document gives a minimum of 10 hours of CPD for the first year. The guidelines also note that the competence provisions of the Act were yet to be enacted at the time of the document, and quote the Act as saying an employer shall facilitate the maintenance of a nurse's or midwife's professional competence. The guidelines do not mention preceptors.

Because this is a pilot document, treat the hours as something to confirm on NMBI's site rather than a settled figure (NMBI's scheme page says a finalised scheme is expected in November 2026). Our article on NMBI CPD requirements for nurses and midwives covers the scheme in more detail.

A practical approach for employers

The following are our suggestions, not legal requirements. A ward, unit or practice can use them to turn the Code's expectations into something staff can see.

• Name a preceptor in advance. Our suggestion: tell the new registrant who their preceptor is before day one, and make sure that person has protected time to do the role.
• Write down what the preceptor is for. A short role description (supporting reflection, helping the new nurse identify gaps, escalating concerns) avoids the role meaning different things to different people.
• Link it to scope of practice. A practical approach is to record the tasks a new registrant is signed off to do independently and those that still need supervision, and review the list at agreed points.
• Plan the first-year CPD. Agree learning activities early so the first-year expectation is not left to the last weeks.
• Make speaking up easy. The Code points practitioners to line managers when they are unsure. Managers can reinforce this by saying so explicitly in induction.
• Keep evidence. Notes of meetings and learning activities help the registrant and the employer. Where a service is HSE-funded or part of a hospital group, follow any local policy first.
• Prepare the preceptors. Even though the student guidance is about students, its idea of preparation and a refresher every two years is a sensible model to borrow.

Midwives, nurses and different settings

The Code applies to both professions, and the documents we read do not distinguish between nursing and midwifery for the points above. Nursing homes, primary care, disability services and acute hospitals will differ in who is available to preceptor and in how supernumerary time can be arranged. Smaller employers may not have a dedicated clinical practice development team, so it helps to agree support arrangements with a larger partner or the relevant HSE area. For how NMBI's expectations sit alongside those of other regulators, see our comparison of CPD requirements across NMBI, the Medical Council, CORU and the PSI.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is preceptorship for newly qualified nurses and midwives a legal requirement in Ireland?

We could not identify an official NMBI or HSE standard that makes a specific preceptorship programme mandatory. The Code expects employers to support practitioners, and the competence provisions quoted in NMBI's guidelines refer to employers facilitating competence, but neither document prescribes a preceptorship model. Check with your HSE area or hospital group for local policy.

What is a preceptor according to NMBI?

In NMBI's student placement guidance, a preceptor is a registered nurse or midwife who has undertaken preparation for the role and who supports and assesses students on placement. The Code also mentions preceptoring colleagues without defining it.

Do newly registered staff have CPD to complete?

NMBI's pilot competence guidelines include an FAQ for those on the Register for less than 12 months, with a minimum number of hours for the first year. Because the document is a pilot with no issue date, confirm the current position on the NMBI website.

Who should an employer ask about local preceptorship arrangements?

Start with the nursing and midwifery management or practice development team in your hospital group or HSE area, and with NMBI for questions about registration and the Code.

In short, there is regulatory support for supervising and supporting new registrants, but the detail of preceptorship is largely left to employers, so write your approach down and review it regularly.