Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the basic psychosocial process of undergraduate nursing student moral development in clinical preceptorship.
Method: A grounded theory approach was used to explore the process within the context of clinical practice and the student-preceptor-faculty member relationship.
Results: Socializing for authentic caring engagement in nursing practice emerged from the data as the basic psychosocial process of nursing student moral development in preceptorship. This process included four key categories: (a) distinguishing nursing and moral identity in practice, (b) learning to recognize the patient's experience, (c) identifying moral issues in practice and creating meaning of practice encounters, and (d) becoming an advocate and reconciling moral issues in practice.
Conclusion: Findings emerging from this study illustrate the processes of how nursing students work through moral issues and the role of faculty and preceptors in engaging students with moral encounters in the context of preceptorship.
Keywords: Nursing education; grounded theory; moral development; preceptorship; qualitative research; undergraduate nursing students.