Effects of Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, and Job Stress on Burnout of Nurse Preceptors

Effects of Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, and Job Stress on Burnout of Nurse Preceptors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, and Job Stress on Burnout of Nurse Preceptors Si Eun Kim, Kuem Sun Han, Soo Yeon Lee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7932394/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Purpose Nurse preceptors play a crucial role in training newly graduated nurses. However, they often face burnout due to dual responsibilities, nursing and teaching. This study aimed to examine the correlations among educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout, and to identify factors influencing burnout. Methods The data of this cross-sectional study were collected in hospitals affiliated with K University Medical Center in Seoul from December 20, 2023, to January 10, 2024. Data was analyzed using SPSS 29.0, including descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé’s test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results A total of 240 responses were analyzed. There was significant correlation between burnout and educational competency (r = –.505, p < .001), core competency (r = –.408, p < .001), as well as self-leadership (r = –.393, p < .001), and job stress (r = .504, p < .001). A stepwise multiple regression model explained 46% of the variance in burnout (R² = .460, F = 49.998, p < .001), with job stress, educational competency, self‐leadership, and preference for sustained role engagement emerging as significant predictors. Furthermore, this study found that burnout and competencies varied according to factors such as work department, educational level, job satisfaction, workload, sex, total clinical experience, and marital status. Conclusion These findings emphasize the need for targeted educational programs and support systems to reduce job stress and burnout, thereby enhancing nursing quality. Nurse Education Nursing Burnout Psychological I. INTRODUCTION Nurse preceptors are experienced professionals who train newly graduated nurses to enhance their competencies through structured preceptorship programs[1]. Accordingly, many hospitals have implemented preceptorship programs to teach new graduate nurses. These programs involve experienced nurses teaching nursing skills based on a theoretical foundation to enhance the work competencies of new graduate nurses[1, 2]. Typically, nurses working as preceptors experience a greater sense of responsibility[3]. During this period, nurse preceptors faced challenges owing to an increased workload in both patient care and the training of new graduate nurses[3, 4]. When preceptors are unable to cope with this burden, they may experience ‘ burnout ’ , marked by physical and mental exhaustion, which negatively impacts patient care and retention [3, 5]. Educational competency is defined as educators’ ability to achieve better educational outcomes [6]. This competency plays a crucial role to facility. It is often cited as a contributing factor to burnout[3, 6]. Nurse preceptors can feel anxious about the competencies required for their teaching role despite typically possessing substantial practical experience and clinical knowledge [7]. This anxiety can arise from a lack of professional knowledge of educational methods or materials [8]. Such anxiety can ultimately disturb the preceptors’ ability to perform their roles effectively, potentially leading to burnout. Previous studies in educational fields have examined the relationship between educational competency and burnout [9, 10]. However, few studies have specifically targeted nurse preceptors and related variables. Among these variables, the core competency for nurse preceptors is the ability to guide new graduate nurses effectively [11]. This is characterized by the educational capacity to lead team members and teach fundamental knowledge and skills for nursing practice [12]. It enables nurse preceptors to effectively teach new nurses appropriate nursing skills in complex clinical healthcare environments [11]. If nurse preceptors lack core competencies, their confidence may be reduced and they may struggle to perform their roles. Previous studies highlight that insufficient preparation and a lack of clear competency development for nurse preceptors can lead to decreased confidence and difficulties in fulfilling the preceptor role effectively [13]. They may also negatively affect new nurses’ self-esteem and learning through conflict [14]. Recent studiesemphasize proactive roles and creativity among organizational members in response to the evolving healthcare environment [15, 16]. Due to this trend, self-leadership is gaining prominence. Nurses with high self-leadership tend to exhibit excellent communication skills, clinical performance, and organizational commitment, thereby reducing job stress, burnout, and turnover intention [17, 18]. A previous study also reported a negative relationship between self-leadership and burnout [19]. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether self-leadership protects preceptors against burnout by enhancing role engagement. Job stress is defined as the multidimensional construct of physiological and psychological burden experienced when one’s capabilities or goals are not aligned with the job demands [20]. Nurse preceptors experience pressure from the combined demands of patient care and educating new nurses as well as from the responsibility for mistakes made by their preceptees and the expectations set by nurse managers and colleagues [21]. During the preceptorship period, nurse preceptors often receive insufficient recognition for their work, which can increase job stress and exacerbate burnout [22, 23]. Based on these, this study aimed to predict the impact of educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress on burnout among nurse preceptors and to provide fundamental data for developing intervention strategies to prevent burnout in this group. II. METHODS 1. Study design This cross-sectional study examined the effects of educational competencies, core competencies, self-leadership, and job stress on burnout among nurse preceptors. 2. Participants The participants were nurse preceptors working in hospitals affiliated with K University Medical Center in Seoul, who possessed at least 3 years of total clinical experience and served as nurse preceptors for new graduate nurses within the past year. The sample size was calculated to be 222 using the G*Power 3.1.9.4 program (stepwise multiple regression analysis at a significance level of .05, an effect size of 0.15, a statistical power of 0.95, and 20 independent variables). Considering the dropout rate, a total of 245 participants were targeted [24]. Finally, 240 were analyzed. 3. Measurements 1) General characteristics The general characteristics included gender, age, total clinical experience, current department experience, educational level, work department, religion, position, marital status, nurse preceptor educational experience, nurse preceptor activity experience, selection method for becoming a nurse preceptor, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role. 2) Burnout The Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used [25]. This instrument comprises 22 items across three subscales, measured on a 7-point Likert scale (0-6 points). At the time of development, the instrument’s Cronbach’s α was .76 [25]. In the present study, it was .88. 3) Educational competency The instrument was developed by Jung [26] and comprises 60 items across four subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5 points). It consists of 25 items, and its content validity was verified by experts at the time of development, and Cronbach’s α was .97 in this study. 4) Core competency for nurse preceptors This tool was initially developed by Kwon et al. [27]and later revised and supplemented by Kang [28]. It consists of 25 items and three subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5 points). Cronbach’s α was .96 [27], .94 [28], and .96 in this study. 5) Self-leadership This tool was developed by Manz [29]. It consists of 18 items and six subscales. It was measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The initial Cronbach’s α was .87 and .89 in this study. 6) Job stress This tool was developed by Kim and Gu [30], and revised and supplemented by Ahn [31]. It consists of 23 items across six subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5). At the time of development, the Cronbach’s α was .92, after .84, and .94 in this study[30, 31]. 4. Data collection Data were collected from December 20, 2023, to January 10, 2024, after obtaining approval from the IRB. Participants were provided with a study information sheet and a consent form was obtained before the survey. 5. Statistical methods Data were analyzed using SPSS 29.0. The specific methods are as follows: Descriptive statistics were employed to examine participants’ general characteristics, educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to explore the relationships between educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing nurse preceptors’ burnout. T-tests, ANOVA, and Scheffé’s test were conducted to analyze differences in educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout according to the participants’ general characteristics. 6. Ethical considerations This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea University (No: KUIRB-2023-0410-01) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The researchers explained the purpose and methods of the study to the headmaster of the nursing department and each ward manager to recruit the participants. To recruit participants, a recruitment announcement poster was used within the hospital and ward encouraging voluntary participation. Before starting the questionnaires, all participants were given an information sheet and explained the purpose of the study. All participants provided a written informed consent form prior to participation. Informed consent to participate was obtained from all participants, and they participated voluntarily and could withdraw at any time without penalty. To protect anonymity, the consent forms and questionnaires were submitted separately. III. RESULTS 1. General characteristics The mean age of 240 participants was 32.60±5.09, and the majority were female (93.8%). Their mean total clinical experience was 9.42±5.33 years, and their average experience years in their current department was 7.41±5.04 years. Most participants had a bachelor’s degree (71.3%), and the largest portion of the department was a general ward (55.8%). Regarding religion, the largest group reported no religious affiliation (69.6%). The most common working position was charge nurse or above (86.3%). A total of 144 participants (60.0%) were unmarried and 185 (77.1%) had received nurse preceptor education. The 97 participants (40.4%) had been nurse preceptors for at least 3 years. When asked how they had been selected as preceptors, 232 participants (96.7%) indicated that the head nurse recommended them. Regarding workload, 154 participants (64.1%) reported their nurse preceptor duties were “somewhat heavy,” while 49 (20.4%) described them as “very heavy.” Regarding whether they intended to continue in the nurse preceptor role, the most common response was, “I will continue only until the assigned period, even if I do not wish to remain in this role.” (52.5%). 2. Levels of educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout of Nurse preceptors The mean score for educational competency was 3.71±0.44, with leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and educational knowledge and skills emerging as the subdomains in descending order. For core competency, the mean was 3.75±0.49, and the subdomains were role model, educator, and social facilitator, in that order. Regarding self-leadership, the mean score was 3.68±0.52; the subdomains were self-reinforcement, self-expectation, rehearsal, self-criticism, constructive thinking, and goal setting. The mean job stress score was 3.60±0.67; the subdomains were work overload, lack of professional knowledge and skills, interpersonal problems, role conflict as a professional, inadequate treatment and compensation, and night shift in order. Finally, the mean burnout score was 2.71±0.81, with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment as the subdomains in that order. 3. Correlation among nurse preceptors’ educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and burnout Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among nurse preceptors’ educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout, which served as primary variables in this study (Table 1). The results showed that burnout was significantly correlated with educational competency (r = –.505, p = .001), core competency (r = –.408, p = .001), self-leadership (r = –.393, p = .001), and job stress (r = .504, p = .001). Table 1. Correlation among Nurse preceptors’ Educational competency, Core competency, Self-leadership, Job Stress, and burnout (N=240) Variables Educational competency Core competency Self-leadership Job stress burnout Educational competency 1.00 - - - - Core competency .87(.001 ** ) 1.00 - - - Self-leadership .72(.001 ** ) .73(.001 ** ) 1.00 - - Job stress -.16(.013 * ) -.09(.149) -.02(.818) 1.00 - burnout -.51(.001 ** ) -.41(.001 ** ) -.39(.001 ** ) .50(.001 ** ) 1.00 p <.05 : * , p <.01 : ** , p <.001 : *** 4. Factors influencing burnout among nurse preceptors A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors influencing nurse preceptors’ burnout. The analysis included educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and four general characteristics that significantly affect burnout. Variables were selected using a stepwise method. Multicollinearity was assessed. Tolerances were all above 0.1 (0.48 to 0.91) and VIFs were all below 10 (1.10 to 2.28). The Durbin-Watson statistic was 1.74, indicating the independence of residuals. The stepwise multiple regression model explained approximately 46.0% of the variance in burnout (R² = .46) and was statistically significant (F = 50.00, p < .001). Examination of the regression coefficients revealed that job stress (t = 8.52, p < .001), educational competency (t = –4.03, p < .001), self-leadership (t = –2.15, p = .033), and ‘I want to continue self-development’ (t = –2.08, p = .039) significantly affected burnout ( p < .050). Of these factors, job stress (β = .43) showed the most significant influence on burnout (Table 2). Table 2. Factors Influencing Burnout among Nurse preceptors (N=240) Variables B SE β t p Tolerance VIF (Constant) 3.74 .42 8.89 <.001 *** Intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role (continue for self-development) -0.20 .09 -.11 -2.08 .039 * .85 1.18 Educational competency -0.53 .13 -.29 -4.03 <.001 *** .44 2.28 Job stress 0.51 .06 .43 8.52 <.001 *** .91 1.10 Self-leadership -0.23 .11 -.15 -2.15 .033 * .47 2.13 R 2 = .46, Adj R 2 = .45, F = 50.00( p <.001 *** ), Durbin-Watson = 1.74 Intention to continue with the nurse preceptor role (ref. = ‘Even if I do not want to, I will serve only for the designated period’) p <.05 : * , p <.01 : ** , p <.001 : *** 5. Differences in burnout, educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress by general characteristics Table 3 presents the differences in burnout based on the general characteristics of the nurse preceptors. There were statistically significant differences in burnout according to the work department (F=3.36, p =.011), job satisfaction (F=19.73, p <.001), workload (F=3.63, p =.014), and intention to continue the nurse preceptor role (F=21.47, p <.001). IV. DISCUSSION 1. Nurse preceptors’ Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, Job Stress, and Burnout The mean burnout score among nurse preceptors, 2.71 ± 0.81, was supported by previous studies [32, 33]. However, a study involving clinical nurses yielded a lower score of 2.38 [34], indicating that burnout is higher among preceptors than among clinical nurses. Among the burnout subscales, emotional exhaustion was the highest at 3.29±1.13, followed by depersonalization at 2.78±1.22 and personal accomplishment at 2.01±0.94. These values confirmed that nurse preceptors experienced burnout, indicated by exceeding the diagnostic cutoffs of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (i.e., emotional exhaustion ≥3 and depersonalization ≥2.73). These results support previous findings on nurse preceptors and the result that emotional exhaustion was the most pronounced sub-dimension[32, 33]. Moreover, these findings support the idea that burnout among nurse preceptors is precipitated by conflicts with new nurses and responsibilities inherent to their roles [35]. The mean educational competency score of nurse preceptors was 3.71±0.44. In Jeong’s study the educational competency level was reported as 3.39±0.54 [26], which is lower than the score obtained in this study. This difference was due to variations in the education provided to the nurse preceptors, as the proportion of participants who received such training was higher in the current study. Among the subdomains of educational competency, leadership scored the highest at 3.83±0.52, while professionalism and educational knowledge and skills received the lowest scores. These results indicate the need for educational programs to enhance professionalism, educational knowledge, and skills to enable nurse preceptors to perform their roles as educators more effectively [26]. The mean core competency score among nurse preceptors was 3.75±0.49. Using the same tool, previous studies reported a mean score of 3.94±0.35 and 3.11±0.32[36, 37]. Within the core competency subdomains, the highest mean score was observed for the role model dimension (3.83±0.52), followed by educators (3.74±0.53) and social facilitators (3.67±0.54). This order is consistent with that of previous studies [36, 37]. These results suggest that nurse preceptors focus primarily on their roles as models and educators, highlighting the importance of providing evidence-based nursing education to enhance both professionalism and educational effectiveness. The mean self-leadership score was 3.68±0.52, supported by previous studies (3.66±0.39, 3.60±0.41)[36, 38]. In contrast, studies involving general hospital nurses reported slightly lower scores (3.35±0.49, 3.40±0.36)[39, 40]. These differences may be attributed to the impact of total clinical experience and educational attainment on self-leadership [41]; the participants in this study had higher averages in these areas compared to those in other studies. Among the subdomains of self-leadership, self-reinforcement scored the highest at 3.88±0.67 in which self-reinforcement emerged as the highest-rated subdomain which is consistent with previous one[38]. Self-reinforcement reflects the expectation of positive outcomes from one’s performance, suggesting that hospitals should provide appropriate rewards to nurse preceptors involved in new nursing education programs. In contrast, the relatively low score for goal setting indicates a lack of clearly defined objectives regarding the nurse preceptor training processes. This gap necessitates further investigation and the development of interventions that incorporate training in constructive thinking and goal-setting within self-leadership programs. The mean job stress score among nurse preceptors was 3.60±0.67. This finding indicates that these findings are comparable to or slightly higher than those reported previously [23, 42]. These differences in job stress are likely influenced by various factors including hospital type, work department, and situational variables during data collection[43, 44]. Work overload was the most common job stress subdomain in this study. This finding is consistent with previous study regarding preceptors[23]. The increased workload among nurse preceptors may be attributed to the findings of a previous study to manage their workloads and train graduate nurses[4]. These results suggest that nursing headmasters should implement appropriate measures to adjust work distribution and reduce the workload burden on preceptors. 2. Factors affecting nurse preceptors’ burnout Educational competency was identified as the most significant factor [9, 10, 45]. Educational competency may vary depending on whether nurse preceptors have received training. Without such education, students may not adequately grasp teaching methods and content, leading to a deficiency in educational competency. As a result, preceptors may experience anxiety [7, 8], which, in turn, can contribute to burnout. Moreover, a lack of competency in nurse preceptors can negatively affect new graduate nurses’ learning experiences, clinical skills, and organizational adaptation [46], making it a critical issue in new nursing education. In this study, approximately 23% of the nurse preceptors did not receive nurse preceptor education. Therefore, it is critical to implement concrete actions to enhance nurse preceptors’ competencies as educators and to reduce burnout. Hospitals and governments should actively provide educational opportunities for nurse preceptors and develop training programs that enhance their educational competencies. Nurse preceptors’ self-leadership has a significant impact on reducing burnout[18, 47]. These results suggest that efforts are required to enhance nurses’ self-leadership. Nurse preceptors require objective self-awareness in order to foster self-leadership. Afterward, nurse preceptors must use a nurse preceptor training checklist for goal management and prioritization to facilitate systematic work performance and self-rewording if they achieve set goals. Nurse preceptors can gain confidence and motivation in various clinical situations using this process, thereby contributing to improved self-leadership. Moreover, developing programmes to enhance nurses’ self-leadership can reduce burnout, improve the quality of nursing services and increase self-efficacy [41]. Ultimately, these can drive positive changes and performance within nursing organizations. In this study, job stress among nurse preceptors influenced burnout [23]. Job stress can decrease work efficiency; if nurses repeatedly experience high levels of stress, it may lead to burnout [48]. Furthermore, burnout tends to be contagious and potentially negatively affects preceptors and newly graduated nurses[49]. Given that job stress can adversely affect preceptors’ mental and physical health, attitudes, and performance, it is essential to identify the primary causes. Measures, such as providing adequate equipment and work environments, reducing the dual workload of nurse preceptors, adjusting work schedules to allow them to focus on their roles as educators, and establishing a compensation system in hospitals, are necessary. Support measures such as counseling programs are also required to manage job stress. Through these interventions, job stress can be minimized, thereby improving the overall work environment of nurse preceptors. Conversely, preceptors who intended to continue their roles exhibited lower burnout levels. This finding supports the idea that intention to continue a preceptor role influences burnout [50, 51]. According to Kim, job satisfaction and the intention to continue the role interact with one another[50]. Therefore, to increase the intention to continue the nurse preceptor role, it is necessary to increase job satisfaction. Hospitals should provide appropriate rewards and incentives to recognize and enhance the value of nurses’ preceptor roles. Additionally, to reduce the workload, it is essential to improve the work environment and offer programs to enhance competencies such as current nursing knowledge and leadership skills. Furthermore, research has shown that nurses who voluntarily assume the preceptor role report higher job satisfaction than those who do so upon recommendations [52], indicating that fostering voluntary participation is crucial. Developing motivation-related programmes and offering additional incentives to nurse preceptors to participate voluntarily may prove effective. 3. Correlation among Nurse preceptors’ education competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress and burnout The results indicated positive correlations between educational competency and core competency, as well as between educational competency and self-leadership. This occurs because self-leadership positively influences educators' behaviors and attitudes and is considered necessary to enhance educational competency [53]. However, educational competency is negatively correlated with job stress [54]. A lack of educational competency may reflect difficulties in educational preparation or applying appropriate teaching methods, which may cause educators to feel anxious about their roles and, in turn, increase job stress. Furthermore, the positive correlation between core competencies and self-leadership implies that higher self-leadership among nurse preceptors solidifies role identity and enhances both job satisfaction and engagement, contributing to improved core competencies [36]. Additionally, a negative correlation between educational competency and burnout aligns with previous studies [9, 10, 45]. These results suggest that when nurses perceive failures due to a lack of educational competency, they may lose confidence in themselves and develop negative feelings toward their work [55]. This loss of confidence and negative attitude contributed to burnout. Burnout is also negatively correlated with nurse preceptors' core competencies and self-leadership, while it is positively correlated with job stress [18, 23, 24, 38, 39, 56]. Thus, if nurse preceptors lack core competencies, the effectiveness of their education decreases, and they experience negative personal impacts that increase the burden on their roles [35]. Moreover, if job stress becomes severe and accumulates, nurses may ultimately be unable to cope, resulting in burnout. 4. Differences in educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout by nurse preceptors’ general characteristics Analysis of burnout differences according to general characteristics revealed that the work department, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects. First, burnout was higher among nurses working in hospital wards than among those working in outpatient departments, and the level of burnout increased with workload. In addition, higher job satisfaction and greater intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role were associated with lower burnout, corroborating previous research [23]. Nurse preceptors bear the dual burden of providing both new nursing education and routine nursing care [4]. In this study, 84.6% of the respondents reported a high workload, which suggests that an increased workload lowers job satisfaction and the intention to continue the role, while raising burnout. When nurse preceptors voluntarily join a preceptor, they report higher job satisfaction and a stronger intention to maintain their roles [50]. Such voluntary participation implies that nurse preceptors seriously assume their educational responsibilities and devote significant effort to enhancing their expertise, a factor associated with educational competency [57]. Educational attainment significantly influences nurses’ competencies. The analysis of core competencies according to general characteristics revealed differences that align with a previous [58], based on educational attainment, work department, job satisfaction, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role. However, previous studies have identified gender, training participation, and age as factors affecting core competency differences, which calls for further research [37, 59]. The analysis of self-leadership indicated that educational attainment, job satisfaction, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects. These results support previous findings[18, 41, 60] and suggest that higher academic achievement increases proficiency and expands individual autonomy through increased opportunities for independent decision making, thereby enhancing self-leadership. Self-leadership, which relies on one’s own abilities rather than external influences, serves as an important factor that increases job satisfaction and appears to exert a positive effect on both role satisfaction and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role. Finally, the differences in job stress showed that gender, clinical experience, marital status, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects [24, 61, 62]. Especially, experienced nurses assume more critical roles because of their higher nursing proficiency, which likely increases their job stress. Furthermore, excessive workload is a major factor that increases job stress. These results indicate that nursing organizations must consider appropriate work distribution and implement measures to manage job stress among preceptors. V. CONCLUSIONS This study focused on nurse preceptors’ educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress, and examined the interrelationships among these factors to identify those that influence burnout. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends developing an educational program to enhance both educational competency and self-leadership, and evaluates its effectiveness. Furthermore, strategies that promote voluntary nurse preceptorship participation among nurses to increase their commitment to their roles, and measures such as reducing workload during the nurse preceptorship period to ensure high-quality education and prevent burnout are necessary. Declarations Data availability The datasets used and/or analyzed during this study are available from the first author upon reasonable request. - Acknowledgements: N/A - Author contribution Si Eun Kim conducted the research and wrote the main manuscript. Kuem Sun Han, and Soo Yeon Lee contributed to the review and editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript. - Funding There was no Funding for this article. - Ethical approval This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea University (No: KUIRB-2023-0410-01) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The researchers explained the purpose and methods of the study to the headmaster of the nursing department and each ward manager to recruit the participants. To recruit participants, a recruitment announcement poster was used within the hospital and ward encouraging voluntary participation. 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The effect of nurse's job stress on health practice behavior. Seoul: Yeosei University; 2003. Hyun SJ. Moderating of job satisfaction of preceptor and preceptee nurses regarding job stress, nursing professionalism and burn out : The actor-partner interdependence model: Kyung Hee University; 2017. Kim KA. Effect of servant leadership of head nurse perceived by preceptor nurses on teaching efficacy and burnout of preceptor nurses: Hanyang University; 2021. Ryu JL, Ju jS, Kim SH. The convergence factors of nurses’ character on the burnout: Focused on the mediating effects of resilience. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society. 2021;22(1):354-362. doi:10.5762/KAIS.2021.22.1.354 Cho YS, Sohn SK, Han MY, Kim MS, Bang BK, Lee KM. Nurses’ lived experience of preceptorship for newly graduated nurses in hospital. Journal of East-West Nursing Research. 2014;20(1):37-47. http://doi.org/10.14370/jewnr.2014.20.1.37 Kang YM, Eun Y. The effects of self-efficacy, critical thinking disposition, self-leadership, and communication competency on the core competencies of the preceptor in advanced general hospitals. The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education. 2018;24(3). doi:10.5977/jkasne.2018.24.3.279 Jang NS. Influence of preceptee’s incivility, preceptor’s core competence, and job stress on preceptor burnout. Seoul: Ewha Womans University; 2020. Im M, Sung Y-H, Jung J. Relationship among types of nursing organizational culture, self-leadership, and burnout as perceived by perioperative nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration. 2017;23(2):170-180. http://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2017.23.2.170 Kim YN. Relationship of emotional intelligence, self-leadership, and professional quality of life on nurses. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society. 2019;20(C8):531-538. doi:10.5762/KAIS.2019.20.8.531 Jung MR. Influence of vitality on effects of self-leadership, professional self-concept, clinical competence, and burnout among clinical nurses. Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction. 2016;16(12):559-573. http://doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2016.16.12.559 Kim HJ, Cho GY. The influences of preceptor nurse's self-leadership on self-efficacy and job embeddedness. The Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Educations. 2018;30(3):873-884. doi:10.13000/JFMSE.2018.06.30.3.873 Hong M, Kim Y. Effects of job stress and empathy on burnout in nurses who take care of cancer patients. Journal of The Korean Data Analysis Society. 2016;18(1):461-474. Lee EM. Comparison of factors affecting job stress and satisfaction of medical staff in university hospital and general hospital: Focus on incheon area: Gachon University; 2017. Park SM, Ha YJ. Effects of job stress, social support, and resilience on burnout of nurses in the national infectious disease hospital. Journal of Korea Society for Wellness. 2022;17(4):75-81. doi:10.21097/ksw.2022.11.17.4.75 Shin H-J, Park J-S. Child care teachers’ teacher efficacy and the influence of teacher competency on psychological burnout. Journal of Early Childhood Education & Educare Welfare. 2019;23(1):37-60. doi:10.22590/ecee.2019.23.1.37 Li A-T, Su Y-W. Exploring the relationship between personality features and teaching self-efficacy in clinical nursing preceptors. Journal of Nursing Research. 2014;22(3). Im M, Sung YH, Jung J. Relationship among types of nursing organizational culture, self-leadership and burnout as perceived by perioperative nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration. 2017;23(2):170-180. doi:10.11111/jkana.2017.23.2.170 Young KH, Young-Ran K. Effects of nurse-parent partnership and job stress on the job satisfaction in pediatric nurses. Health Communication. 2019;14(1):25-34. doi:10.15715/kjhcom.2019.14.1.25 Joseph HB, Issac A, George AG, Gautam G, Jiji M, Mondal S. Transitional challenges and role of preceptor among new nursing graduates. Journal of Caring Sciences. 2022;11(2):56-63. doi:10.34172/jcs.2022.16 Kim SK. Relationshipsbetweenpreceptornurses'burnout, social support and empowerment. Gyonggi: Ajou University; 2017. Yom YH, Yang IS, Han JH. Effects of workplace bullying, job stress, self-esteem, and burnout on the intention of university hospital nurses to keep nursing job. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration. 2017;23(3):259-269. doi:10.11111/jkana.2017.23.3.259 Gholizadeh L, Shahbazi S, Valizadeh S, Mohammadzad M, Ghahramanian A, Shohani M. Nurse preceptors' perceptions of benefits, rewards, support, and commitment to the preceptor role in a new preceptorship program. BMC Medical Education. 2022;22(1):472. doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03534-0 Min S, Kim O. The influences of teachers' self-leadership and principals' leadership on teachers' efficacy. Journal of Korean Child Care and Eduaction. 2012;8(5):111-127. Al-Anazi HSJ. Work stress and its relationship to the teaching competencies from the physical education teachers’ standpoint in the state of kuwait Journal of Education and Practice. 2020;11(4):71-80. doi:10.7176/JEP/11-4-08 Lim S-t, Eo S-m, Lee Y-m, Kim N-y. The relations of parents’ support for education to their psychological burnout with teacher efficacy as a mediator. The Journal of Korean Teacher Education. 2012;29(2):149-173. doi:10.24211/tjkte.2012.29.2.149 Young JS, Park HS, Ju YH. Teacher competency for prevention of adolescent risk behavior and burnout: The mediating effect of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Korean Journal of Child Studies. 2017;38(4):91-101. doi:10.5723/kjcs.2017.38.4.91 Chen YL, Hsu LL, Hsieh SI. Clinical nurse preceptor teaching competencies: Relationship to locus of control and self-directed learning. The Journal Of Nursing Research. 2012;20(2):142-151. doi:10.1097/jnr.0b013e318254ea72 Kim E-A, Yang J-C, Lee J-H, Jung S-W, Cho K-J. A study on preceptor’s core competencies for junior 119 paramedics in prehospital field. The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services. 2021;25(3):17-35. doi:10.14408/KJEMS.2021.25.3.017 Kim EJ, Park B. The effect of preceptor nurses' conflict management type on preceptor role recognition and core competency. Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research 2023;29(3):337-347. doi:10.22650/JKCNR.2023.29.3.337 An JI, Kim JA. Impact of clinical nurse teamwork, communication, and self-leadership on organizational immersion. Health & Nursing. 2022;34(2):23-31. doi:10.29402/HN34.2.3 Kakemam E, Raeissi P, Raoofi S, Soltani A, Sokhanvar M, Visentin D, et al. Occupational stress and associated risk factors among nurses: A cross-sectional study. Contemporary Nurse. 2019;55(2-3):237-249. doi:10.1080/10376178.2019.1647791 Park J-S, Park S-J. Communication type, emotional labor, and job stress of nurses in small and medium-sized hospitals. Journal of Digital Convergence. 2022;20(1):335-341. doi:10.14400/JDC.2022.20.1.335 Table Table 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 14 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 31 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 07 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 07 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 07 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eNurse preceptors are experienced professionals who train newly graduated nurses to enhance their competencies through structured preceptorship programs[1]. Accordingly, many hospitals have implemented preceptorship programs to teach new graduate nurses. These programs involve experienced nurses teaching nursing skills based on a theoretical foundation to enhance the work competencies of new graduate nurses[1, 2].\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTypically, nurses working as preceptors experience a greater sense of responsibility[3]. \u0026nbsp;During this period, nurse preceptors faced challenges owing to an increased workload in both patient care and the training of new graduate nurses[3, 4]. When preceptors are unable to cope with this burden, they may experience\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e‘\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eburnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e’\u003c/strong\u003e, marked by physical and mental exhaustion, which negatively impacts patient care and retention\u0026nbsp;[3, 5].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEducational competency\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eis defined as educators’ ability to achieve better educational outcomes [6]. This competency plays a crucial role to facility. It is often cited as a contributing factor to burnout[3, 6]. Nurse preceptors can feel anxious about the competencies required for their teaching role despite typically possessing substantial practical experience and clinical knowledge [7]. This anxiety can arise from a lack of professional knowledge of educational methods or materials [8]. Such anxiety can ultimately disturb the preceptors’ ability to perform their roles effectively, potentially leading to burnout. Previous studies in educational fields have examined the relationship between educational competency and burnout [9, 10].\u0026nbsp;However,\u0026nbsp;few studies have specifically targeted nurse preceptors and\u0026nbsp;related variables.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong\u0026nbsp;these variables, the\u003cstrong\u003ecore competency for nurse preceptors\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eis the ability to guide new graduate nurses effectively [11]. This is characterized by the educational capacity to lead team members and teach fundamental knowledge and skills for nursing practice [12]. It enables nurse preceptors to effectively teach new nurses appropriate nursing skills in complex clinical healthcare environments [11]. If nurse preceptors lack core competencies, their confidence may be reduced and they may struggle to perform\u0026nbsp;their roles. Previous studies highlight that insufficient preparation and a lack of clear competency development for nurse preceptors can lead to decreased confidence and difficulties in fulfilling the preceptor role effectively\u0026nbsp;[13].\u0026nbsp;They may also negatively affect new nurses’ self-esteem and learning through conflict\u0026nbsp;[14].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecent studiesemphasize proactive roles and creativity among organizational members in response to the evolving healthcare environment [15, 16]. Due to this trend, self-leadership is gaining prominence. Nurses with high self-leadership tend to exhibit excellent communication skills, clinical performance, and organizational commitment, thereby reducing job stress, burnout, and turnover intention [17, 18]. A previous study also\u0026nbsp;reported a negative relationship between self-leadership and burnout\u0026nbsp;[19].\u0026nbsp;Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether self-leadership protects\u0026nbsp;preceptors against burnout by enhancing role engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJob stress\u003c/strong\u003eis defined as the multidimensional construct of physiological and psychological burden experienced when one’s capabilities or goals are not aligned with the job demands [20]. Nurse preceptors experience pressure from the combined demands of patient care and educating new nurses as well as from the responsibility for mistakes made by their preceptees and the expectations set by nurse managers and colleagues [21]. During the preceptorship period, nurse preceptors often receive insufficient recognition for their work, which can increase job stress and exacerbate burnout [22, 23].\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on these, this study aimed to predict the impact of educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress on burnout among nurse preceptors and to provide fundamental data for developing intervention strategies to prevent burnout in this group.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"II. METHODS","content":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. Study design\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis cross-sectional study examined the effects of educational competencies, core competencies, self-leadership, and job stress on burnout among nurse preceptors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Participants\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe participants were nurse preceptors working in hospitals affiliated with K University Medical Center in Seoul, who possessed at least 3 years of total clinical experience and served as nurse preceptors for new graduate nurses within the past year.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sample size was calculated to be 222\u0026nbsp;using the G*Power 3.1.9.4 program (stepwise multiple regression analysis at a significance level of .05, an effect size of 0.15, a statistical power of 0.95, and 20 independent variables). Considering the dropout rate, a total of 245 participants were targeted [24]. Finally, 240 were analyzed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. Measurements\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1) General characteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe general characteristics included gender, age, total clinical experience, current department experience, educational level, work department, religion, position, marital status, nurse preceptor educational experience, nurse preceptor activity experience, selection method for becoming a nurse preceptor, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2) Burnout\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used [25]. This instrument comprises 22 items across three subscales, measured on a 7-point Likert scale (0-6 points). At the time of development, the instrument’s Cronbach’s α was .76 [25]. In the present study, it was .88.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3) Educational competency\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe instrument was developed by Jung [26] and comprises 60 items across four subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5 points). It consists of 25 items, and its content validity was verified by experts at the time of development, and Cronbach’s α was .97 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4) Core competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;for nurse preceptors\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tool was initially developed by Kwon et al. [27]and later revised and supplemented by Kang [28]. It consists of 25 items and three subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5 points). Cronbach’s α was .96 [27], .94 [28], and .96 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5) Self-leadership\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tool was developed by Manz [29]. \u0026nbsp;It consists of 18 items and six subscales. It was measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The initial Cronbach’s α was .87 \u0026nbsp;and .89 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e6) Job stress\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tool was developed by Kim and Gu [30], and revised and supplemented by Ahn \u0026nbsp;[31]. It consists of 23 items across six subscales measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5). At the time of development, the Cronbach’s α was .92, after .84, and .94 in this study[30, 31].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4. Data collection\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData were collected from December 20, 2023, to January 10, 2024, after obtaining approval from the IRB. Participants were provided with a study information sheet and a consent form was obtained before the survey.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5. Statistical methods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData were analyzed using SPSS 29.0. The specific methods are as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col start=\"1\" type=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eDescriptive statistics were employed to examine participants’ general characteristics, educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to explore the relationships between educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eStepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing nurse preceptors’ burnout.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eT-tests, ANOVA, and Scheffé’s test were conducted to analyze differences in educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout according to the participants’ general characteristics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e6. Ethical considerations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea University (No: KUIRB-2023-0410-01) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The researchers explained the purpose and methods of the study to the headmaster of the nursing department and each ward manager to recruit the participants. To recruit participants, a recruitment announcement poster was used within the hospital and ward encouraging voluntary participation. Before starting the questionnaires, all participants were given an information sheet and explained the purpose of the study. All participants provided a written informed consent form prior to participation. Informed consent to participate was obtained from all participants, and they participated voluntarily and could withdraw at any time without penalty. To protect anonymity, the consent forms and questionnaires were submitted separately.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"III. RESULTS","content":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. General characteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;The mean age of 240 participants was 32.60\u0026plusmn;5.09, and the majority were female (93.8%). Their mean total clinical experience was 9.42\u0026plusmn;5.33 years, and their average experience years in their current department was 7.41\u0026plusmn;5.04 years. Most participants had a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree (71.3%), and the largest portion of the department was a general ward (55.8%). Regarding religion, the largest group reported no religious affiliation (69.6%). The most common working position was charge nurse or above (86.3%). A total of 144 participants (60.0%) were unmarried and 185 (77.1%) had received nurse preceptor education. The 97 participants (40.4%) had been nurse preceptors for at least 3 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen asked how they had been selected as preceptors, 232 participants (96.7%) indicated that the head nurse recommended them. Regarding workload, 154 participants (64.1%) reported their nurse preceptor duties were \u0026ldquo;somewhat heavy,\u0026rdquo; while 49 (20.4%) described them as \u0026ldquo;very heavy.\u0026rdquo; Regarding whether they intended to continue in the nurse preceptor role, the most common response was, \u0026ldquo;I will continue only until the assigned period, even if I do not wish to remain in this role.\u0026rdquo; (52.5%).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Levels of educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout of Nurse preceptors\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;The mean score for educational competency was 3.71\u0026plusmn;0.44, with leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and educational knowledge and skills emerging as the subdomains in descending order. For core competency, the mean was 3.75\u0026plusmn;0.49, and the subdomains were role model, educator, and social facilitator, in that order. Regarding self-leadership, the mean score was 3.68\u0026plusmn;0.52; the subdomains were self-reinforcement, self-expectation, rehearsal, self-criticism, constructive thinking, and goal setting. The mean job stress score was 3.60\u0026plusmn;0.67; the subdomains were work overload, lack of professional knowledge and skills, interpersonal problems, role conflict as a professional, inadequate treatment and compensation, and night shift in order. Finally, the mean burnout score was 2.71\u0026plusmn;0.81, with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment as the subdomains in that order.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. Correlation among nurse preceptors\u0026rsquo; educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and burnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePearson\u0026rsquo;s correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among nurse preceptors\u0026rsquo; educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout, which served as primary variables in this study (Table 1). The results showed that burnout was significantly correlated with educational competency (r = \u0026ndash;.505, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = .001), core competency (r = \u0026ndash;.408, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= .001), self-leadership (r = \u0026ndash;.393, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = .001), and job stress (r = .504, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = .001).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1. Correlation among Nurse preceptors\u0026rsquo; Educational competency, Core competency, Self-leadership, Job Stress, and burnout (N=240)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVariables\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEducational competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCore competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-leadership\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJob stress\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eburnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEducational competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCore competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.87(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-leadership\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.72(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.73(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJob stress\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.16(.013\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.09(.149)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.02(.818)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eburnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.51(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.41(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.39(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 106px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.50(.001\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 70px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.05 : * , \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.01 : ** , \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.001 : ***\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4. Factors influencing burnout among nurse preceptors\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors influencing nurse preceptors\u0026rsquo; burnout. The analysis included educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and four general characteristics that significantly affect burnout. \u0026nbsp;Variables were selected using a stepwise method.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMulticollinearity was assessed. Tolerances were all above 0.1 (0.48 to 0.91) and VIFs were all below 10 (1.10 to 2.28). The Durbin-Watson statistic was 1.74, indicating the independence of residuals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stepwise multiple regression model explained approximately 46.0% of the variance in burnout (R\u0026sup2; = .46) and was statistically significant (F = 50.00, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .001). Examination of the regression coefficients revealed that job stress (t = 8.52, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .001), educational competency (t = \u0026ndash;4.03, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .001), self-leadership (t = \u0026ndash;2.15, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e= .033), and \u0026lsquo;I want to continue self-development\u0026rsquo; (t = \u0026ndash;2.08, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e= .039) significantly affected burnout (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .050). Of these factors, job stress (\u0026beta; = .43) showed the most significant influence on burnout (Table 2).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactors Influencing Burnout among Nurse preceptors\u003c/strong\u003e (N=240)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n \u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVariables\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eB\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026beta;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003et\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTolerance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVIF\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Constant)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.89\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntention to continue in the nurse preceptor role\u0026nbsp;\u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;(continue for self-development)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-2.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.039\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.85\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.18\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEducational competency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-4.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJob stress\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.52\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.91\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 117px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-leadership\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-2.15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.033\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"8\" style=\"width: 602px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/em\u003e= .46, Adj R\u003cem\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/em\u003e= .45, F = 50.00(\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.001\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e), Durbin-Watson = 1.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntention to continue with the nurse preceptor role (ref. = \u0026lsquo;Even if I do not want to, I will serve only for the designated period\u0026rsquo;)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.05 : * , \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.01 : ** , \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.001 : ***\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5. Differences in burnout, educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress by general characteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 3 presents the differences in burnout based on the general characteristics of the nurse preceptors. There were statistically significant differences in burnout according to the work department (F=3.36, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e=.011), job satisfaction (F=19.73, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.001), workload (F=3.63, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e=.014), and intention to continue the nurse preceptor role (F=21.47, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;.001).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"IV. DISCUSSION","content":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. Nurse preceptors’ Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, Job Stress, and Burnout\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mean burnout score among nurse preceptors, 2.71 ± 0.81, was supported by previous studies \u0026nbsp;[32, 33]. However, a study involving clinical nurses yielded a lower score of 2.38 [34], indicating that burnout is higher among preceptors than among clinical nurses. Among the burnout subscales, emotional exhaustion was the highest at 3.29±1.13, followed by depersonalization at 2.78±1.22 and personal accomplishment at 2.01±0.94. These values confirmed that nurse preceptors experienced burnout, indicated by exceeding the diagnostic cutoffs of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (i.e., emotional exhaustion ≥3 and depersonalization ≥2.73). These results support previous findings on nurse preceptors and the result that emotional exhaustion was the most pronounced sub-dimension[32, 33]. Moreover, these findings support the idea that burnout among nurse preceptors is precipitated by conflicts with new nurses and responsibilities inherent to their roles [35].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mean educational competency score of nurse preceptors was 3.71±0.44. In Jeong’s study the educational competency level was reported as 3.39±0.54 [26], which is lower than the score obtained in this study. This difference was due to variations in the education provided to the nurse preceptors, as the proportion of participants who received such training was higher in the current study. Among the subdomains of educational competency, leadership scored the highest at 3.83±0.52, while professionalism and educational knowledge and skills received the lowest scores. These results indicate the need for educational programs to enhance professionalism, educational knowledge, and skills to enable nurse preceptors to perform their roles as educators more effectively [26].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mean core competency score among nurse preceptors was 3.75±0.49. Using the same tool, previous studies reported a mean score of 3.94±0.35 and \u0026nbsp;3.11±0.32[36, 37]. Within the core competency subdomains, the highest mean score was observed for the role model dimension (3.83±0.52), followed by educators (3.74±0.53) and social facilitators (3.67±0.54). This order is consistent with that of previous studies [36, 37]. These results suggest that nurse preceptors focus primarily on their roles as models and educators, highlighting the importance of providing evidence-based nursing education to enhance both professionalism and educational effectiveness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mean self-leadership score was 3.68±0.52, supported by previous studies (3.66±0.39, 3.60±0.41)[36, 38]. In contrast, studies involving general hospital nurses reported slightly lower scores (3.35±0.49, 3.40±0.36)[39, 40]. These differences may be attributed to the impact of total clinical experience and educational attainment on self-leadership [41]; the participants in this study had higher averages in these areas compared to those in other studies. Among the subdomains of self-leadership, self-reinforcement scored the highest at 3.88±0.67 in which self-reinforcement emerged as the highest-rated subdomain which\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;consistent with\u0026nbsp;previous one[38]. Self-reinforcement reflects the expectation of positive outcomes from one’s performance, suggesting that hospitals should provide appropriate rewards to nurse preceptors involved in new nursing education programs. In contrast, the relatively low score for goal setting indicates a lack of clearly defined objectives regarding the nurse preceptor training processes. This gap necessitates further investigation and the development of interventions that incorporate training in constructive thinking and goal-setting within self-leadership programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mean job stress score among nurse preceptors was 3.60±0.67. This finding indicates that these findings are comparable to or slightly higher than those reported previously [23, 42]. These differences in job stress are likely influenced by various factors including hospital type, work department, and situational variables during data collection[43, 44].\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWork overload was the most common job stress subdomain in this study. This finding is consistent with previous study regarding preceptors[23]. The increased workload among nurse preceptors may be attributed to the findings of a previous study to manage their workloads and train graduate nurses[4]. These results suggest that nursing headmasters should implement appropriate measures to adjust work distribution and reduce the workload burden on preceptors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Factors affecting nurse preceptors’ burnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEducational competency was identified as the most significant factor [9, 10, 45]. Educational competency may vary depending on whether nurse preceptors have received training. Without such education, students may not adequately grasp teaching methods and content, leading to a deficiency in educational competency. As a result, preceptors may experience anxiety [7, 8], which, in turn, can contribute to burnout. Moreover, a lack of competency in nurse preceptors can negatively affect new graduate nurses’ learning experiences, clinical skills, and organizational adaptation [46], making it a critical issue in new nursing education. In this study, approximately 23% of the nurse preceptors did not receive nurse preceptor education. Therefore, it is critical to implement concrete actions to enhance nurse preceptors’ competencies as educators and to reduce burnout. Hospitals and governments should actively provide educational opportunities for nurse preceptors and develop training programs that enhance their educational competencies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNurse preceptors’ self-leadership has a significant impact on reducing burnout[18, 47]. \u0026nbsp;These results suggest that efforts are required to enhance nurses’ self-leadership. Nurse preceptors require objective self-awareness in order to foster self-leadership. Afterward, nurse preceptors must use a nurse preceptor training checklist for goal management and prioritization to facilitate systematic work performance and self-rewording if they achieve set goals. Nurse preceptors can gain confidence and motivation in various clinical situations using this process, thereby contributing to improved self-leadership. Moreover, developing programmes to enhance nurses’ self-leadership can reduce burnout, improve the quality of nursing services and increase self-efficacy [41]. Ultimately, these can drive positive changes and performance within nursing organizations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this study, job stress among nurse preceptors influenced burnout [23]. Job stress can decrease work efficiency; if nurses repeatedly experience high levels of stress, it may lead to burnout [48]. Furthermore, burnout tends to be contagious and potentially negatively affects preceptors and newly graduated nurses[49]. \u0026nbsp;Given that job stress can adversely affect preceptors’ mental and physical health, attitudes, and performance, it is essential to identify the primary causes. Measures, such as providing adequate equipment and work environments, reducing the dual workload of nurse preceptors, adjusting work schedules to allow them to focus on their roles as educators, and establishing a compensation system in hospitals, are necessary. Support measures such as counseling programs are also required to manage job stress. Through these interventions, job stress can be minimized, thereby improving the overall work environment of nurse preceptors.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConversely, preceptors who intended to continue their roles exhibited lower burnout levels. This finding supports the idea that intention to continue a preceptor role influences burnout [50, 51]. According to Kim, job satisfaction and the intention to continue the role interact with one another[50]. Therefore, to increase the intention to continue the nurse preceptor role, it is necessary to increase job satisfaction. Hospitals should provide appropriate rewards and incentives to recognize and enhance the value of nurses’ preceptor roles. Additionally, to reduce the workload, it is essential to improve the work environment and offer programs to enhance competencies such as current nursing knowledge and leadership skills. Furthermore, research has shown that nurses who voluntarily assume the preceptor role report higher job satisfaction than those who do so upon recommendations [52], indicating that fostering voluntary participation is crucial. Developing motivation-related programmes and offering additional incentives to nurse preceptors to participate voluntarily may prove effective.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. Correlation among Nurse preceptors’ education competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress and burnout\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results indicated positive correlations between educational competency and core competency, as well as between educational competency and self-leadership. This occurs because self-leadership positively influences educators' behaviors and attitudes and is considered necessary to enhance educational competency [53]. However, educational competency is negatively correlated with job stress [54]. A lack of educational competency may reflect difficulties in educational preparation or applying appropriate teaching methods, which may cause educators to feel anxious about their roles and, in turn, increase job stress. \u0026nbsp;Furthermore, the positive correlation between core competencies and self-leadership implies that higher self-leadership among nurse preceptors solidifies role identity and enhances both job satisfaction and engagement, contributing to improved core competencies [36].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, a negative correlation between educational competency and burnout aligns with previous studies [9, 10, 45]. These results suggest that when nurses perceive failures due to a lack of educational competency, they may lose confidence in themselves and develop negative feelings toward their work [55]. This loss of confidence and negative attitude contributed to burnout.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBurnout is also negatively correlated with nurse preceptors' core competencies and self-leadership, while it is positively correlated with job stress [18, 23, 24, 38, 39, 56]. Thus, if nurse preceptors lack core competencies, the effectiveness of their education decreases, and they experience negative personal impacts that increase the burden on their roles [35]. Moreover, if job stress becomes severe and accumulates, nurses may ultimately be unable to cope, resulting in burnout.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4. Differences in\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eeducational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout by nurse preceptors’ general characteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnalysis of burnout differences according to general characteristics revealed that the work department, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects. First, burnout was higher among nurses working in hospital wards than among those working in outpatient departments, and the level of burnout increased with workload. In addition, higher job satisfaction and greater intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role were associated with lower burnout, corroborating previous research [23]. Nurse preceptors bear the dual burden of providing both new nursing education and routine nursing care [4]. In this study, 84.6% of the respondents reported a high workload, which suggests that an increased workload lowers job satisfaction and the intention to continue the role, while raising burnout.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen nurse preceptors voluntarily join a preceptor, they report higher job satisfaction and a stronger intention to maintain their roles [50]. Such voluntary participation implies that nurse preceptors seriously assume their educational responsibilities and devote significant effort to enhancing their expertise, a factor associated with educational competency [57]. Educational attainment significantly influences nurses’ competencies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis of core competencies according to general characteristics revealed differences that align with a previous [58], based on educational attainment, work department, job satisfaction, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role. However, previous studies have identified gender, training participation, and age as factors affecting core competency differences, which calls for further research [37, 59].\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis of self-leadership indicated that educational attainment, job satisfaction, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects. These results support previous findings[18, 41, 60]\u0026nbsp; and suggest that higher academic achievement increases proficiency and expands individual autonomy through increased opportunities for independent decision making, thereby enhancing self-leadership. Self-leadership, which relies on one’s own abilities rather than external influences, serves as an important factor that increases job satisfaction and appears to exert a positive effect on both role satisfaction and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, the differences in job stress showed that gender, clinical experience, marital status, job satisfaction, workload, and intention to continue in the nurse preceptor role exerted significant effects [24, 61, 62]. Especially, experienced nurses assume more critical roles because of their higher nursing proficiency, which likely increases their job stress. Furthermore, excessive workload is a major factor that increases job stress. These results indicate that nursing organizations must consider appropriate work distribution and implement measures to manage job stress among preceptors.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"V. CONCLUSIONS","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study focused on nurse preceptors\u0026rsquo; educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, and job stress, and examined the interrelationships among these factors to identify those that influence burnout. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends developing an educational program to enhance both educational competency and self-leadership, and evaluates its effectiveness. Furthermore, strategies that promote voluntary nurse preceptorship participation among nurses to increase their commitment to their roles, and measures such as reducing workload during the nurse preceptorship period to ensure high-quality education and prevent burnout are necessary.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analyzed during this study are available from the first author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Acknowledgements:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eN/A\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Author contribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSi Eun Kim conducted the research and wrote the main manuscript. Kuem Sun Han, and Soo Yeon Lee contributed to the review and editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Funding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was no Funding for this article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Ethical approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea University (No: KUIRB-2023-0410-01) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The researchers explained the purpose and methods of the study to the headmaster of the nursing department and each ward manager to recruit the participants. To recruit participants, a recruitment announcement poster was used within the hospital and ward encouraging voluntary participation.\u0026nbsp;To protect anonymity, the consent forms and questionnaires were submitted separately.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Consent of publication:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eN/A\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Competing Interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declared no conflicts of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e- Data availability: available\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analyzed during this study are available from the first author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoakye DS, Amoah VMK, Boateng EA, Antwi J, Yeboah J, Owusu J. 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Journal of Digital Convergence. 2022;20(1):335-341. doi:10.14400/JDC.2022.20.1.335\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Table","content":"\u003cp\u003eTable 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section.\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Nurse, Education, Nursing, Burnout, Psychological","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7932394/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7932394/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003ePurpose\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurse preceptors play a crucial role in training newly graduated nurses. However, they often face burnout due to dual responsibilities, nursing and teaching. This study aimed to examine the correlations among educational competency, core competency, self-leadership, job stress, and burnout, and to identify factors influencing burnout.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data of this cross-sectional study were collected in hospitals affiliated with K University Medical Center in Seoul from December 20, 2023, to January 10, 2024. Data was analyzed using SPSS 29.0, including descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheff\u0026eacute;\u0026rsquo;s test, Pearson\u0026rsquo;s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 240 responses were analyzed. There was significant correlation between burnout and educational competency (r = \u0026ndash;.505, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), core competency (r = \u0026ndash;.408, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), as well as self-leadership (r = \u0026ndash;.393, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), and job stress (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.504, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001). A stepwise multiple regression model explained 46% of the variance in burnout (R\u0026sup2; = .460, F\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;49.998, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), with job stress, educational competency, self‐leadership, and preference for sustained role engagement emerging as significant predictors. Furthermore, this study found that burnout and competencies varied according to factors such as work department, educational level, job satisfaction, workload, sex, total clinical experience, and marital status.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese findings emphasize the need for targeted educational programs and support systems to reduce job stress and burnout, thereby enhancing nursing quality.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effects of Educational Competency, Core Competency, Self-Leadership, and Job Stress on Burnout of Nurse Preceptors","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-19 18:15:30","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7932394/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"330112010694205714066099926377951536113","date":"2026-05-14T20:25:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-31T07:02:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"172527204093292106411158054567368934306","date":"2026-01-31T04:58:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T19:31:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-16T07:57:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-07T10:28:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-07T08:17:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Nursing","date":"2025-11-07T08:12:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"860c9000-68f0-4677-926b-efab90e0140a","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 19th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"330112010694205714066099926377951536113","date":"2026-05-14T20:25:52+00:00","index":91,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-19T18:15:30+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-19 18:15:30","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7932394","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7932394","identity":"rs-7932394","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}