Dietitians of Canada

Mentoring and Preceptoring

MENTORING and PRECEPTORING are essential aspects of the professional role of the dietitian.

How is mentoring different from preceptoring?

The terms mentoring and preceptoring are often used interchangeably although, in fact, they differ in meaning. Throughout a professional career, relationships can change. A preceptor may become a mentor; a mentee can develop into a mentor.

Preceptoring refers to teaching and conveying information, usually related to the learner’s completion of a formal training program. For instance, dietetic internships involve preceptoring.
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Mentoring is a peer to peer relationship that typically begins where training leaves off. Usually, it involves an established professional who counsels, guides development and models successful strategies, goals and learning for a more junior person in a work or career context.
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