Given the current nursing shortage and the need to support the education of nursing students in the clinical setting, Wisconsin’s nursing educational programs are embracing the value of partnering with health care institutions to provide nurse preceptors. This concept was first introduced in 2018 and remains an accepted practice. Nurse preceptors are employees of the health experienced professionals who mentor and train students or less experienced colleagues in fields such as healthcare, education, or other specialized professions—offer several benefits:
1. Incentivizes Participation
Encourages More Preceptors: Tax credits provide a financial incentive for professionals to take on preceptor roles, which can be time-consuming and often unpaid.
Addresses Shortages: In fields like healthcare, where there is a high demand for trained professionals, tax credits can help alleviate preceptor shortages by making the role more attractive.
2. Enhances Education and Training
Improves Training Quality: With more preceptors available, students can receive more personalized and comprehensive training, improving the quality of education.
Supports Workforce Development: By ensuring that students receive adequate training, tax credits for preceptors contribute to the development of a skilled workforce, particularly in high-need areas like healthcare.
3. Reduces Financial Burden
Compensates for Time and Resources: Precepting often requires significant time, effort, and resources. Tax credits help offset these costs, making it more feasible for professionals to participate. Eases the Strain on Employers: Employers, especially in smaller or rural settings, may struggle to provide sufficient compensation to preceptors. Tax credits can alleviate some of this financial strain.
4. Promotes Community and Professional Engagement
Strengthens Professional Networks: Preceptors often build strong relationships with their mentees, leading to professional networking opportunities that benefit both parties.
Encourages Community Involvement: Tax credits can motivate professionals to engage more with their communities by supporting local education and training programs.
5. Supports Retention of Experienced Professionals
Keeps Experienced Workers Engaged: Offering tax credits can encourage seasoned professionals to remain active in their fields longer by taking on mentorship roles, rather than retiring or reducing their workload.
6. Promotes Equity in Education
Expands Access to Training: In fields where there is a shortage of preceptors, students in less affluent or rural areas might struggle to find training opportunities. Tax credits can help distribute training resources more evenly.
Overall, tax credits for preceptors serve as a valuable tool to enhance professional training, support workforce development, and address shortages in critical fields.
What does tax credit mean?
A tax credit is an amount of money that taxpayers can subtract, dollar for dollar, from the income taxes they owe. 1. Tax credits are more favorable than tax deductions because they reduce the tax due, not just the amount of taxable income.
Preceptors are essential in assisting nursing students, novice nurses and experienced nurses to new areas of practice. Preceptors successfully transition the nursing student and novice from the classroom to the clinical setting. Their role as educator, evaluator, protector, and provider of guidance, support, and mentorship significantly contribute to nurses’ competencies, environmental awareness, professional growth, and success.
Nurse precepting is challenging. The schedule of a RN or APRN preceptor often occurs with no decrease in the number of patients they care, and without or minimal additional pay to compensate for training the new nurse.
Currently, 25 states have recognized the challenges of working as a preceptor and found it important to enact legislation that provides preceptor tax credits. Of the 25 only 5 states include RN eligibility for preceptor tax credits, 18 of the 25 allow for APRN eligibility, and all 25 include physician eligibility.
States have different ways for determining tax credit amounts which are based on per student, per semester, or per number of clinical hours. The dollar amount for RNs ranges from $5/hr. or $500/yr. to 10,000/yr. For APRNs the range is from $1,000/yr. to $10,000/yr.
WNA would like to see legislation adopted that provides tax credits for Wisconsin’s RN and APRNs.