How we find and prepare your Clarkson preceptor
Share your Clarkson College track, the clinical course that comes next and your home area. We track down preceptors who suit that exact course, vet each one against the rules Clarkson has published, and give you every detail the site and preceptor agreement calls for, so it can go in well before the due date. Approval stays with Clarkson's advising, Compliance and faculty teams, and the packet they receive is complete.
Start your Clarkson placement
Share your track, your next clinical course and your state.
Clarkson's model, and the part we carry
Clarkson's graduate handbook assigns the job of identifying preceptors and clinical or practicum sites to each student rather than to the College or its Graduate Nursing program. The 2026-27 catalog then attaches an approval requirement to every clinical course, to be met before you can register. It is a clear model, and it asks a great deal of RNs who are working full shifts.
That search is our work. Clarkson students get the most thorough placement support available, organized around Clarkson's own steps: we find, screen and confirm preceptors for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students, whether they are in the MSN, a certificate or the BSN to DNP, and for the Nursing Education and Healthcare Administration practicums. You keep control of your Clarkson paperwork, and it becomes simple to complete.
Step by step
- Share your planYour track, the next clinical course and its term, your town and the drive you will accept, the days you can give to clinic, and your employer's unit, so any clinical at your workplace lands in a different department as Clarkson requires.
- We confirm your stateClarkson's 2026-27 state workbook marks Graduate Nursing as meeting requirements in 38 states. We check that you live in one of them and that you hold an RN license valid where the clinical will happen.
- We search by course, not just by specialtyAll-ages outpatient primary care for FNP, acute care units and acute-care-certified NPs for AGACNP, psychiatrists and PMHNPs plus a licensed therapist for PMHNP, and MSN-prepared educators or administrators for
NRS 894andNRS 898. - We vet every preceptorLicensed in the clinical state, two or more years in practice, no family ties, practice matched to the course, and Clarkson's track limits, including the four states (Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona, Maryland) where a PA cannot precept.
- We assemble the agreement detailsThe site's registered legal name, the preceptor's credentials and contact information, and each clinician you will see patients with, ready to enter on the site and preceptor agreement.
- We raise the contract question on day oneWhen a site has no Clarkson affiliation agreement, you hear it immediately, since Clarkson allows itself up to two months for that contract work.
- You file, Clarkson decidesYou send the agreement in ahead of Clarkson's last published dates (Nov. 1 for spring terms, March 1 for summer, June 1 for fall), and your advisor, Compliance and course faculty handle approval.
- We remain on callShould your preceptor leave during the term, the search for a replacement begins the day you let us know.
All your clinical courses, planned together
Clarkson's NP tracks allow one clinical course at a time, in order, so a gap in one term pushes back everything after it. We plan the whole run at intake. For an FNP student that means a general primary care preceptor for NRS 830 and NRS 832, a pediatric primary care provider who can cover at least 110 hours in NRS 840, a women's health clinician able to give you 120 or more hours in NRS 842, and a primary care practice that sees complex patients of all ages for NRS 844.
AGACNP plans move from short-stay and med-surg units to step-down units, urgent care, ICUs or emergency departments across NRS 861 to NRS 864. PMHNP plans add the 50 therapist hours in NRS 856 and the adult, youth and older-adult minimums. The clinical hours guide gives the totals for each track, 750 in the MSN and 975 in the BSN to DNP.
What you get from us
- A preceptor committed to a specific course and term, vetted against Clarkson's rules for that course.
- The site and preceptor details the agreement form asks for, collected and double-checked.
- A clear, early read on whether Compliance will confirm an existing contract or start a new one.
- Any extra onboarding the site requires, listed before your first day.
- A mapped plan for every clinical course left in your program.
- A placement advisor who picks up when something changes mid-term.
Quotes depend on your course, location and timing; the cost page walks through those factors. For the standard we hold ourselves to, read choosing a placement service.
When to reach us
Early is best. Clarkson's most recent published schedule wants the agreement in by Nov. 1 (spring), March 1 (summer) or June 1 (fall), and some health systems close a month or more before that. Coming to us a full term ahead leaves room for a first-choice preceptor and for any new contract the site requires; the clinical deadlines calendar has every date.
Short on time? We handle urgent searches every term, and our need a preceptor fast page describes how we compress one. When a preceptor pulls out in the middle of a course, Clarkson's handbook asks you to tell course faculty and find a replacement promptly; the preceptor dropped out page covers that situation.
Questions Clarkson students ask
How early should I contact you?
A full term before your next clinical course is ideal, and earlier if you are hoping for a health-system placement or your site may need a new Clarkson affiliation agreement. Students closer to a deadline still get a complete search; we run it on a tighter schedule and prioritize sites that can be approved in time.
Do you place post-graduate certificate and BSN to DNP students?
Yes. Both follow the MSN's NRS clinical sequence, so the preceptor rules match. BSN to DNP students who entered in Spring 2024 or later log more hours in each course, 975 in all, and we factor that into how many clinical days each preceptor needs to offer.
Will Clarkson approve the preceptor you find?
Approval is Clarkson's decision, shared among Graduate Nursing advising, the Compliance office, the Graduate Nursing program and your course faculty. We check every preceptor against the rules Clarkson has published for your course, so what you submit meets them from the start.
Do I still fill in the agreement form myself?
Yes. Clarkson's 2023 clinical sheets have the student start the site and preceptor agreement. We supply the information behind each field, including the site's registered legal name and the preceptor's credentials and email, so completing it is quick and accurate.
Where do you place Clarkson students?
Anywhere in the 38 states where Clarkson's 2026-27 workbook marks Graduate Nursing as meeting requirements. If you live in, or plan to move to, one of the 12 states marked Does Not Meet, talk to your program director first; the state authorization page lists them.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Clarkson College's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and Graduate Nursing advisor have the final word.
Clarkson asks you to find your preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather the details the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages primary care for FNP, acute care units for AGACNP, psychiatric providers for PMHNP
- License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules before the agreement is filed
- Every clinical course planned in sequence, close to home in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
Start your placement plan
Track, city and next clinical course is all we need to begin.