Your USU preceptors, lined up six months ahead.

USU's catalog is plain about it: “Students are responsible for identifying clinical placements and preceptors.” We do that search for United States University students, and we help you put together what the Office of Field Experience and your Program Director review.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your USU program, your state and when your next practicum opens. A placement advisor replies with what a USU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.

540FNP clinical hours: four practicums of 135 hours each

6 mobefore each clinical course, USU wants 3 qualified preceptors named

16 wkbefore each course, every approval must be on file with the OFE

What USU gives you, and what it leaves to you

USU gives you the courses, the Office of Field Experience, a Clinical Placement Coordinator, Project Concert and Complio. The search is yours: three qualified preceptors per setting, six months before each practicum, each willing to sign Appendix H and work under a USU Affiliation Agreement.

That is where sessions slip. A new agreement can take four to six months, Program Director approval can take up to sixteen weeks, and hours logged before the OFE Approval Letter don't count. We work on the front of that chain: finding preceptors who meet USU's requirements and getting the PAC checklist complete early.

USU approves every preceptor, site and agreement. We do the search and the preparation; the approval is USU's.

From “I need preceptors” to hours in Project Concert

The same order USU's Office of Field Experience works in.

Your program and session

Program, course number, state and the session your next practicum opens.

The search

Preceptors who fit USU's rules: an NP or MD/DO for FNP, the right setting for each course.

OFE and Program Director

Appendix H, license, CV, agreement and Complio, then the OFE Approval Letter.

Hours in Project Concert

Start in week one, log within 48 hours, and we stay on call if a preceptor drops.

Pick your USU track

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From USU's own catalog and program pages.

540clinical hours

FNP592135 h FNP594135 h FNP596135 h FNP597135 h

Who precepts: A board-certified NP or an MD/DO with a year or more; at least 135 hours with an NP
Where: Primary care, family practice, pediatrics, women's health; never inpatient
Start looking: Name 3 preceptors 6 months before each practicum; approvals on file 16 weeks before

Plan my FNP placement FNP guide

100teaching residency hours

MSN578100 h

Who precepts: An MSN- or doctorate-prepared nurse with a year or more in the specialty
Where: A healthcare or academic setting
Start looking: Paperwork due 16 weeks before MSN578

Plan my Nurse Educator placement Nurse Educator guide

100leadership residency hours

MSN587100 h

Who precepts: A nurse leader who meets USU's residency rules
Where: A healthcare organization
Start looking: Paperwork due 16 weeks before MSN587

Plan my Health Care Leadership placement Health Care Leadership guide

1,000practice hours (post-baccalaureate)

DNP707135 h DNP708P45 h DNP710135 h DNP711135 h DNP71290 h

Who precepts: A Project Mentor approved through Appendix G
Where: Your immersion site; your employer is allowed for the DNP
Start looking: Start mentor search in the program's second course; documents 16 weeks before

Plan my DNP placement DNP guide

90community practicum hours

NUR37845 h NUR49945 h

Who precepts: An agency leader you find, at a community agency
Where: Agencies serving vulnerable community populations, open to the public
Start looking: Paperwork due 16 weeks before NUR378

Plan my RN-to-BSN placement RN-to-BSN guide

The USU pieces you will deal with

Named the way USU names them, from the catalog and the clinical handbooks.

ProcessClinical placement processHow a USU nursing student gets from preceptor leads to an OFE Approval Letter: Appendix G and H, Program Director approval, the agreement, Complio, week one.OfficeOffice of Field Experience (OFE)What United States University's Office of Field Experience does for nursing clinicals, who works there, and how to reach it by email or your CPC's Calendly.ChecklistPAC checklist (Appendix A)USU's PAC model (Preceptor, Agreement, Compliance) and every item on the Appendix A PAC for Clinicals checklist, explained in order for FNP students.RulesPreceptor requirementsWho can precept USU nursing students: FNP rules on NPs, MD/DOs, CNMs and PAs, the 135-hour NP minimum, the 1:2 ratio, plus NE, HCL, RN-BSN and DNP rules.SystemProject ConcertHow USU nursing students use Project Concert: login, hours and journal logs, evaluations, portfolio, compliance status and the 48-hour logging rule.HoursClinical hours by USU programEvery USU nursing program's clinical and practicum hours in one table, by course number, plus the rules USU uses to decide which FNP hours count.

All USU clinical systems

Your program, your practicum

Every USU program with practicum hours, and who you need for it.

FNPMSN Family Nurse PractitionerFinding preceptors for USU's online MSN FNP: four 135-hour practicums, who can precept, the 6-month and 16-week deadlines, and states where it isn't offered.Nurse EducatorMSN Nurse EducatorUSU's online MSN Nurse Educator: 30 credits, one 100-hour teaching residency, who can precept it, when to line them up, and where the program isn't offered.LeadershipMSN Health Care LeadershipUSU's online MSN in Health Care Leadership: 30 credits, the 100-hour MSN587 residency with a nurse leader, how to time it, and the states it isn't open to.DNPDoctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)USU's online post-master's DNP: 1,000 practice hours, the Project Mentor you find, when to start, where it isn't offered, and its CCNE status stated plainly.RN-to-BSNOnline RN-to-BSNUSU's online RN-to-BSN: 120 credits in about a year, a 90-hour community practicum across NUR378 and NUR499, the license you'll need, and where it isn't open.RN-to-MSNRN-to-MSN (non-FNP)USU lists an RN-to-MSN bridge in five non-FNP specializations but publishes no curriculum. What its records show, likely practicum hours, and what to ask USU.

All USU programs

When the plan breaks

For the weeks when a practicum is at risk.

Placement helpCan't find a preceptorWhy USU preceptor searches stall, a plan for this week, what the Office of Field Experience can and can't do for you, and where outside search help fits.Placement helpNeed a preceptor fastUSU's 16-week and 6-month rules, the approval letter and the week-one start decide what's possible when your clinical course is close. The honest options.Placement helpPreceptor dropped outWhat to do when your USU preceptor withdraws: telling OFE, what every reasonable attempt means, the withdraw-and-retake risk and replacing them quickly.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in a USU clinical course? The 48-hour logging rule, hour caps, the 81-hour Incomplete line, and when to talk to your course faculty.Placement helpPreceptor not approvedWhy USU may not approve a preceptor or site, from license type and board certification to setting, conflicts and state rules, and how to fix each one.StatesOut-of-state clinicals and excluded statesWhich states USU won't enroll by nursing program, why it wants clinicals in your home state, license rules, the telehealth state rule and California's 1486.

Before you start

Does USU place FNP students with preceptors?

USU's catalog says students are responsible for identifying clinical placements and preceptors. The Office of Field Experience partners with you and may offer a placement if your own leads fall through, but there is no guarantee. See OFE placement support.

What exactly do you do?

We look for preceptors and sites that fit your USU course and USU's preceptor rules, and help you prepare what the OFE and Program Director review, including Appendix H. If a preceptor drops, we look again. How it works walks through each step.

Will USU accept a preceptor you find?

USU decides. The Program Director approves preceptors, the OFE handles the Affiliation Agreement and compliance, and you can't log hours before the OFE Approval Letter. We match against USU's published rules, but approval is never ours to give.

How much does it cost?

It depends on your program, the hours you need, your state, how soon the practicum opens and whether any part is virtual. You get a written quote before you commit. See what shapes the cost.

Is USU the same as Utah State University?

No. United States University (usuniversity.edu) is a separate school owned by Aspen Group, with its main campus now in Sandy Springs, Georgia. This site covers United States University only.

Six months out is USU's rule. We start now.

Tell us your USU program, your state and when your next practicum opens. We look for preceptors who meet USU's rules and help you build the packet the Office of Field Experience and Program Director review.

Preceptors matched to the course: family practice, pediatrics, women's health, urgent care within USU's caps
Appendix H, license, CV and board certification gathered the way OFE asks
In person near you; telehealth only inside USU's 40-hour limit

Start your placement plan

A placement advisor replies with what a USU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.