The knowledge gained from this study will help nurses, nurse educators and nurse administrators in more effectively developing and implementing a preceptor model to better support student learning. The provision of quality healthcare in Ontario is an ongoing concern of both the government and the public. Changes in the healthcare system have led to changes in the clinical experiences for nursing students in baccalaureate programs. Although several previous studies focused on understanding learning outcomes and characteristics of effective teaching, there are limited descriptions of the process of learning in a preceptor model from a student perspective. This has contributed to the problem underlying this study: the limited documented understanding of nursing students' perceptions of learning in the clinical area in a preceptor model of clinical teaching. The purpose of this investigation was to broaden our understanding of students' perceptions, and to develop a substantive theory about nursing students' experiences with learning in a preceptor model from the student perspective. Symbolic interactionism provided the philosophical perspective for the research design. A qualitative method of inquiry was used to illuminate the phenomenon of learning, and gain an understanding of the nature of baccalaureate students' experiences of learning in a preceptor model. Three individual interviews with 8 participants from two educational institutions were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Five major themes regarding the participants' experiences with learning in a preceptor model were identified: learning to be a nurse; student strategies; preceptor strategies; positive factors influencing learning; and, negative factors influencing learning. Further analysis of the data and examination of the literature led to the emergence of the clinical learning matrix as the core theoretical framework, and the development of the students' perspectives on learning in preceptorship theory. While previous research suggests that the preceptor relationship is critical to learning, this study indicates that the students' perceptions are that the preceptor relationship is only one of many factors influencing learning, and that the preceptor knowing the learner and creating learning opportunities that are individualized and provide the greatest learning gain are key in facilitating learning.