Washington State and Clarkson College NP clinicals
On Clarkson College's 2026-27 state workbook, Washington's Graduate Nursing answer is Meets Requirements. Washington then adds a gate of its own that a Clarkson student must clear before logging hours: its Board of Nursing, WABON, has to have approved the out-of-state program, and it clears those placements only for students who reside in Washington.
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Tell us your Clarkson program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Clarkson's workbook row for Washington
Clarkson adds no footnote for Washington. The licensing link in its workbook is a Department of Health nursing commission address, while the board's own site today is nursing.wa.gov under the WABON name. Your MyCC permanent address is what makes this row yours; the RN-BSN answer is a question for the program if bachelor's completion is the goal. The state authorization guide has the rest.
| Tab in Clarkson's workbook | Washington |
|---|---|
| Graduate Nursing: MSN tracks, certificates, DNP | Meets Requirements |
| CRNA | Meets Requirements |
| RN-BSN | Does Not Meet Requirements |
WABON's approval rule for distance programs
The governing rule is WAC 246-840-571. A nursing program from another state that teaches at a distance has to hold WABON approval first; only then may its students begin clinicals or practice experiences in the state. To earn approval, a program applies, shows its standards match Washington's, sends its own people to supervise and evaluate students there, keeps its national accreditation and files a yearly report.
WABON posts the approved programs as a PDF list, the current one dated Sept. 21, 2026, and it spans RN-BSN, MSN and NP tracks. Clarkson's public pages do not say whether its graduate program is listed, so check the list or ask your Graduate Nursing advisor before a Washington preceptor signs. WABON asks unlisted programs already placing students in the state to contact its education unit.
Residency is the other half. WABON ties approved placements to Washington residence, and a student living elsewhere needs WABON to grant an individual exception. The rules may also shift: a CR-101 WABON filed on Dec. 5, 2025 reopens the state's nursing education rules, sections 500 to 571 of chapter 246-840 WAC, with clinical placement barriers among the topics.
Who can precept an ARNP student in Washington
Washington's education rules describe the ARNP student's preceptor more tightly than Clarkson's sheets do. Only three license types appear, ARNP, MD and DO, each active and unencumbered, with other states' equivalents accepted, and the preceptor may not be a relative of yours nor a personal friend. Clarkson already bars family; the friendship bar is Washington's addition. PAs are absent from Washington's list, though Clarkson's November 2023 sheets accepted them outside four states, so plan on ARNPs and physicians and read Clarkson's own exclusions on the who cannot precept you page.
Faculty from other states who teach ARNP practice in Washington must hold its ARNP license under the same rule; that one is Clarkson's to meet. WABON's Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant supports experienced preceptors (a year or more; ARNP, RN or LPN), but WABON leaves students of out-of-state programs outside it even for hours worked in Washington, so your preceptor would not qualify through you.
Where Washington NP students look, and the Oregon trap
AANP places Washington among its full-practice states. PeaceHealth, MultiCare Health System and UW Medicine are examples of systems an NP student might contact, as are Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Providence, the Renton-based system that includes Providence Swedish. Each keeps its own student process.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is by far the largest market at about 4.16 million people in the 2025 Census estimates; Spokane-Spokane Valley counts about 608,000 people and Kennewick-Richland about 324,000, while some 545,000 Washington residents belong to the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro. That last group should mind the river: Portland lies in Oregon, which Clarkson's workbook marks Does Not Meet, so Vancouver-area rotations stay in Washington.
Licensing in Washington since the compact arrived
Washington's Nurse Licensure Compact membership took effect Jan. 31, 2024, so nurses whose multistate license comes from another compact state can now treat Washington patients. No APRN Compact law has passed in Washington, which keeps preceptors' ARNP licenses, and yours after graduation, Washington-issued. Clarkson's side of the question, a license effective where the clinical happens, is in the RN license guide.
Why Washington's Clarkson students choose us
Washington stacks several conditions on a single clinical, and we sort them in order: WABON's list and your residency first, then ARNP, MD or DO preceptors who clear Washington's rule and Clarkson's together, then sites in Seattle, Spokane, Kennewick-Richland or Vancouver that stay north of the Oregon line. What reaches your advisor through the site and preceptor agreement is complete and already checked.
Questions Clarkson students ask
Is Clarkson College approved for NP clinicals in Washington?
Two answers apply. Clarkson's 2026-27 workbook marks Washington Meets for Graduate Nursing. Washington's own board adds a second test, WABON approval of a distance program ahead of any Washington clinical, and whether Clarkson holds it is not stated on Clarkson's public pages. Check the list or ask your Graduate Nursing advisor before committing to a site.
I live in Oregon or Idaho; can I train at a Washington site?
Only with WABON's individual exception, because placements under an approved out-of-state program are meant for people living in Washington. Oregon residents face a second barrier: Clarkson's workbook marks Oregon Does Not Meet for graduate nursing, and the MyCC address sets which row applies. Idaho residents should plan Idaho sites; see the Idaho guide.
Can a physician assistant precept my Washington clinicals?
Plan on an ARNP, MD or DO. Washington's rule on preceptors for ARNP students names those licenses and leaves PAs out, even though Clarkson's November 2023 sheets allowed PAs in most states. Ask course faculty before counting on any other arrangement.
Does my multistate RN license cover Washington clinicals?
Since Jan. 31, 2024, it can: Washington now honors multistate licenses issued by other compact states, and a privilege effective in Washington satisfies Clarkson's license rule. Your preceptor is a separate matter, since Clarkson's sheets expect a Washington license on the provider who supervises you.
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
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