Q: What types of organizations with LTC residents are eligible for PREP LTC supports?
A: Long-term care homes that take on nursing and/or personal support worker (PSW) students for clinical placements are eligible for funding support to backfill preceptor training, education and time spent supervising students during their clinical placements. Hospitals with interim or ELDCAP beds or hospitals that are a part of a campus that includes a LTC home may be eligible for PREP LTC funding to access backfilling support as preceptors complete part of their placements supporting LTC residents.
For hospitals with interim and/or ELDCAP beds to be eligible for PREP LTC supports, they must not be receiving any alternative funding that supports nursing and PSWs preceptors. Hospital eligibility will be reviewed and confirmed to ensure organizations have fair and equal access to preceptor-based funding supports. For any questions regarding hospitals’ eligibility for preceptor funding supports, please email prepltc@the-ria.ca.
Q: Why should I enroll in PREP LTC?
A: By enrolling in PREP LTC, LTC homes will have access to:
• Support from our engagement team to help your home.
• Assessment of your needs and barriers.
• Support with placement coordination.
• Connections with post-secondary schools.
• Tools, resources and templates.
• Funding to backfill preceptor time or as honoraria for preceptors.
Q: By what date do LTC homes have to enroll in PREP LTC?
A: LTC homes should enroll in PREP LTC as soon as possible to gain access to all the resources including funding. Enrollment for Year 2 will close on March 21, 2023.
Q: Is my LTC home eligible for PREP LTC funding?
A: If your LTC home has or will have PSW or nursing (PN, BScN) students or internationally educated nurses (IEN) whose placements end between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, regardless of the start date, your home will be eligible for funding to backfill preceptor time or as honoraria for preceptors. The preceptor must be a team member from your LTC home who is supervising the students and provides dedicated time to support the students outside of their regular duties. The preceptor must be backfilled or replaced during the time they are providing dedicated time to students.
Q: How can I use backfill funds?
A: You can use the funds to:
• Hire staff, including agency staff, to backfill team members during the time they are providing dedicated preceptor time to students other than when they are being shadowed on rounds.
• Pay an honoraria to preceptors.
• Pay administrative staff to take on administrative tasks of the preceptor.
• Pay retired nurses to provide some dedicated time to students.
• Pay overtime to other team members to take on some preceptor responsibilities and/or to backfill preceptors.
Q: Why is the funding limited to covering backfill for precepting students?
A: The PREP LTC initiative supports preceptors in providing high-quality training to students. LTC homes must use this funding to backfill preceptors or honoraria so that they can provide dedicated time toward precepting and mentoring students under their supervision. Evidence shows that students are better prepared when preceptors have dedicated time to focus on training and mentorship.
Q: What if I did not have any student placements in my LTC home?
A: We encourage all LTC homes to enroll in PREP LTC. By enrolling, your home will have access to support from our engagement team, tools, resources and preceptor education. If you decide to place students in your home, you will also have access to backfill or honoraria funding for preceptors.
Q: By what date do students have to be registered in PREP LTC?
A: Once an LTC home has enrolled, it will receive a UNIQUE LTC HOME LINK FOR STUDENT REGISTRATION. If a home has or will backfill the team members who have or will mentor students, they must register their students by March 21, 2023.
Q: Is backfill funding for students who began their placements on or after April 1, 2022, or for those who complete their placements between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023?
A: Students who end their placements anytime between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, regardless of when their placements began, should register in PREP LTC for homes to be eligible for funding. For example, a placement that began on February 1, 2022, and ended on June 30, 2022, is eligible for backfill funding. However, a placement that began on January 5, 2023, and ended on May 30, 2023, would not be eligible for funding.
Q: Is funding available for all student placements or only for students in consolidation placements?
A: At this time, we are accepting student registrations for consolidation placements or those students supervised by a preceptor from a long-term care home. Student placements supervised by a clinical supervisor from their post-secondary institution or supervised in groups are not eligible.
Q: Is there a limit to how many students homes can register in PREP LTC?
A: The amount of funding each home receives will be based on the total number of applications from all LTC homes in Ontario to ensure a fair distribution of funds.
Q: When is the last date for LTC homes to enroll and for students to register in PREP LTC?
A: Enrollment will remain open until March 21, 2023. LTC homes that enroll in PREP LTC will have access to support from our engagement team, tools, resources, education and funding. Student placements registrations must be completed by March 21, 2023, for LTC homes to receive funds. PREP LTC funds must be spent by March 31, 2023.
Q: How were the funding amounts determined?
A: The PREP LTC team assessed the development of student placement programs within the LTC sector. It was determined that preceptors need to spend about one day a week dedicated to teaching, mentoring, providing feedback or evaluating students under their supervision and a few days at the beginning of a placement to execute orientation activities. The funding amounts are based on our findings and the average hours a student, by role, spends in a home. We recognize that these times may vary depending on the academic and placement programs the students are participating in.
Q: Is there a minimum and maximum amount of funding a home can receive?
A: If an LTC home enrolls in the PREP LTC initiative and registers one PSW student, the minimum a home can receive is $2,000. Homes can receive $40,000 or more in funding depending on the total number of student placements registered in Ontario. By registering all student placements, homes have the potential to receive additional funds (above $40,000) once registration closes on March 21, 2023.
Q: Does the length of time of the student placement determine the amount of funding an LTC home receives?
A: No, the length of time of the placement is not a factor in the funding received.
Q: Can homes provide funding to preceptors?
A: Funding provided to LTC homes enables backfilling a team member who spends dedicated time precepting and mentoring PSW or nursing students under their supervision outside of their regular duties or an honorarium for a team member’s work.
Q: Is the preceptor 1:1, or can the backfilled preceptor have more than one student?
A: Funding is on a 1:1 student-to-preceptor ratio.
Q: Can the preceptor be an existing team member?
A: The preceptor can be an existing team member, but they will need to be backfilled by additional staff when they spend dedicated time with students outside of their regular duties.
Q: Our home has had many students so far in 2022; however, we would like to use the funding for purposes other than backfilling preceptors. Could you clarify what the provided funding would be for?
A: The PREP LTC initiative is designed to support preceptors in providing a quality student placement experience. Backfilling a preceptor allows the preceptor time to provide appropriate levels of clinical supervision to students and ensures that residents continue receiving quality care. Our needs assessment indicated that preceptors would spend a few days at the beginning of student placement for orientation and then one day a week of dedicated time with a student for the duration of the placement teaching skills, mentoring, providing feedback or evaluating a student outside of their regular duties. Thus, PREP LTC funds are provided to backfill preceptors for the dedicated time they spend with students or as honoraria for team members.
Q: Not all homes have the resources to set up the infrastructure for student placements; how are fair access and equality ensured in the distribution of funds and resources?
A: The PREP LTC engagement team is engaging with LTC homes to understand their needs and support them in building partnerships and providing tools and resources to build the infrastructure to support student placements. Using funding for backfill or honoraria will support preceptors in providing a high-quality placement experience to students.
Q: Do we need to spend these funds within a specified time?
A: Yes, LTC homes must spend the funds by March 31, 2023.
Q: Can we use the funds for any student placements? NPs, Food Services, etc.?
A: No, funds are for students in personal support worker (PSW) and nursing (PN, BScN) programs, as well as internationally educated nurses (IEN) in Ontario.
Q: Can homes use the funds to bring in and give guidance to high school co-op students?
A: Currently, secondary school co-op placements are not eligible. However, please see our Experiential Learning in Long-Term Care Guidebook and other resources for LTC homes offering placements for secondary school students on the Ontario CLRI website.
Q: How will PREP LTC help reduce the stigma of working in LTC and encourage school boards and colleges to facilitate placements in LTC?
A: The PREP LTC engagement team will be reaching out to colleges and universities to engage them in placing their students in LTC. They will provide information, resources and support to facilitate this and help break down stigma as well as support LTC homes in applying for funds and implementing a high-quality student placement program.
Q: Are there credentials needed to be a preceptor?
A: At this time, funds are to backfill any team member who supervised a PSW or nursing student in a clinical placement. We encourage preceptors and students to take our preceptor education modules, which will be available in the fall.
Q: What if I made an error in the enrollment or registration forms submitted?
A: Please email us at prepltc@the-ria.ca, and we will address the error.
Q: If I had an internationally educated nurse (IEN) placement, can I apply for this funding?
A: Yes, if you hosted an IEN student, you may apply for funding to backfill preceptors who spent dedicated time supervising them.
Q: Once my home enrolls in PREP LTC, am I eligible for funding?
A: Once an LTC home enrolls in PREP LTC, it will receive an email with a copy of its responses and a UNIQUE LTC HOME LINK FOR STUDENT REGISTRATION. Homes must register their students by March 21, 2023, at 5 p.m. to be eligible for funding.