Your UC preceptor, secured before the packet deadline.
UC graduate nursing students find their own preceptors, and UC's Clinical Site Coordinators vet every one. We run the search for you: a preceptor and site that fit your track's rules, with the Preceptor Application details ready before UC's packet deadline.
Get your UC placement plan
Your track, your state and your next practicum term. A placement advisor replies with what a UC-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
672clinical hours in UC's FNP and WHNP tracks
Week 2of the term: UC's cutoff for having your site secured
6+ wksfor UC's standard affiliation agreement to clear
20%of NP-track hours must be with a nurse practitioner
From first message to first clinical day
The same order UC works in, with the search done for you.
1Your track and term
Tell us your UC program, your state and the term your next practicum starts.
2The search
We look for a preceptor and site that meet your track's rules, where you live.
3The packet
You complete the student section; we help your preceptor with theirs and the agreement contact.
4Cleared and logging
UC's welcome email arrives, the preceptor appears in eMedley, and your hours count.
Why UC placements run on UC's calendar, not the term's
Your preceptor's packet is due months before your practicum starts: the last Friday in May for fall, the first Friday in October for spring and the first Friday in February for summer. After that, UC vets the preceptor, the site signs an Educational Affiliation Agreement that can take six weeks or much longer, and the site runs its own onboarding. If none of that clears by the end of week 2 of the term, you're looking at the drop date.
So the real deadline for finding a preceptor is the packet deadline, and a preceptor who says yes in April for a fall practicum still has paperwork ahead. The placement process page walks through every step in order.
What UC asks of a preceptor
A master's degree or higher, national certification, at least a year in the role and an unencumbered license in the state where you train. NP students need at least a fifth of their hours with a nurse practitioner in their population focus; midwifery students need half with a CNM or CM. Physician assistants can precept only in the 14 states UC lists, and never a relative.
Each track adds its own rules. FNP students need at least three preceptors, AGPCNP students can't train at their employer, and PMHNP students start with a psychotherapy provider before moving to prescribers. The preceptor requirements page has the full list.
A willing clinician who doesn't meet your track's rules costs you the weeks before the packet deadline. Check the rules before you ask.
Why UC students choose Cincinnati Preceptor
We're the independent placement service built around UC's own clinical process, and specialists in its forms, deadlines and track rules. We look for a preceptor and site near you that fit your track, your state and UC's requirements, and screen every candidate before you hear the name.
Then we help your preceptor complete their half of the Preceptor Application, gather the site contact UC needs for the agreement, and have it all ready before the packet Friday. If a preceptor drops out, we're on call to search again. Your CSC gives the final approval, and we make sure the file that reaches them is complete. See how it works.
Pick your UC track
Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From UC's own catalog and program pages.
672clinical hours
- Who precepts
- An NP, CNM, WHNP, or a primary-care MD or DO; at least three preceptors across the program
- Where
- Outpatient only: women's health, pediatric and adult primary care hours
- Start looking
- Preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
504clinical hours
- Who precepts
- An NP, MD or DO; at least 100 hours with an NP; never at your employer
- Where
- Outpatient adult and older-adult primary care
- Start looking
- Preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
504clinical hours
- Who precepts
- An NP (preferred), MD or DO; at least 100 of the 504 hours with an NP
- Where
- Acute and critical care; open to Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana residents
- Start looking
- Fall start only; preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
504clinical hours
- Who precepts
- Internship I: a licensed psychotherapy provider. Internships II and III: a prescriber such as a PMHNP or psychiatrist
- Where
- At least 100 hours each with children, adults and older adults
- Start looking
- Preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
784clinical hours
- Who precepts
- A CNM or CM for at least half the hours; midwifery preceptors send a CV
- Where
- Births, prenatal, gynecologic, postpartum and newborn care; at least 35 births
- Start looking
- Preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
672clinical hours
- Who precepts
- A WHNP, CNM, OB/GYN MD or DO, or an OB/GYN FNP
- Where
- Women's health and OB/GYN practices
- Start looking
- Preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
616clinical hours
- Who precepts
- A PNP, MD or DO, or a pediatric-focused FNP
- Where
- Pediatric primary care hours first, then acute care
- Start looking
- Fall start for the DNP; preceptor packet due the last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer)
500DNP practicum hours
- Who precepts
- Your DNP project chair and team; no NP preceptor search
- Where
- A setting for your DNP project, often your own workplace
- Start looking
- Fall start; the practicum follows your project plan
The UC pieces you'll deal with
Named the way UC names them, with what UC publishes and what to confirm with your coordinator.
UC clinical placement processThe UC College of Nursing placement path in order: you find the preceptor, your CSC vets it, then the packet, agreement, onboarding and the week-2 cutoff.UC Preceptor ApplicationHow UC's Preceptor Application works: your student section first, what the preceptor fills in, when a CV is required, and which address the packet goes to.UC preceptor packet deadlinesUC's preceptor packet deadlines: last Friday in May (fall), first Friday in October (spring), first Friday in February (summer), and what a late packet risks.UC affiliation agreementHow UC's Educational Affiliation Agreement works: UC's standard form or a site's own contract, the 6-week and 6-month timelines, who handles what, and fees.eMedley (hours, logs, evaluations)How UC College of Nursing students use eMedley for clinical hours, case logs, portfolio and evaluations, and what preceptors do in eClas and eValuate.CastleBranch and Critical RequirementsUC College of Nursing Critical Requirements in CastleBranch: every item, order and document deadlines by term, and what the current purchase hold means.
Your program
What each UC track needs from a preceptor and a site.
FNP (online MSN and DNP)Planning preceptors for UC's online FNP: three practicums, 672 outpatient hours across women's, pediatric and adult care, and UC's packet deadlines.AGPCNP (online MSN)How to plan UC's AGPCNP clinicals: outpatient adult and older-adult preceptors, 80 hours with each, no employer sites, and 504 hours over three practicums.PMHNP (DNP and certificate)UC's PMHNP DNP and certificate need a psychotherapy preceptor first, then prescribers, with 100 hours in each age group. How to plan all three internships.Nurse-midwifery (online MSN)UC's online nurse-midwifery MSN: 784 clinical hours, half with a CNM or CM, at least 35 births, a CV from every preceptor, and UC's packet deadlines.WHNP (online MSN)Finding preceptors for UC's online WHNP: WHNPs, CNMs and OB/GYN clinicians across four 168-hour practicums, gynecologic then obstetric, on UC's deadlines.Post-master's NP certificatesUC's post-master's NP certificates: individualized FNP internships, OH/KY/IN residency for AGPCNP, AGACNP and PNP-AC, and the PMHNP virtual intensive.
When the search goes wrong
For the weeks before a deadline, and the ones after a preceptor backs out.
Can't find a preceptorYour UC preceptor search has stalled. Why searches fail against UC's rules, a plan for this week, and what your Clinical Site Coordinator can offer next.Need a preceptor fastUC's packet deadline or the week-2 cutoff is close and you have no preceptor. How to triage by time left, what takes longest and when to move terms.Preceptor dropped outYour UC preceptor canceled before or during your practicum. How to protect logged hours, what to tell your CSC, and how to replace them before the cutoff.Preceptor not approvedUC turned down your preceptor or site. The rules that most often sink a UC approval, track by track, and how to repair or replace before the next deadline.Behind on clinical hoursBehind on hours partway through a UC practicum? What semester dates and weekly limits mean, how to add a preceptor, and why to talk to faculty early.Moving during UC clinicalsRelocating during your UC nursing program? Check state authorization, your RN license, CastleBranch and new preceptors before you move, not after.
Before you start
Is this site part of the University of Cincinnati?
Cincinnati Preceptor is an independent placement service built around UC's clinical process for UC nursing students. UC's Clinical Site Coordinators give the final approval on every preceptor, site and affiliation agreement, and we make sure what reaches them is ready.
When should I start looking for a UC preceptor?
Work back from the packet deadline, not the term. For a fall practicum the preceptor packet is due the last Friday in May, so the search belongs in the winter or early spring before it.
Can you help if my term has already started?
Yes, as long as the calendar allows. UC needs your site secured by the end of week 2, and a new preceptor still needs vetting and an agreement. Tell us your course and dates, and we'll give you a straight read on the time left and move fast on the leads that can clear.
Do you work with students outside Ohio?
Yes, in the states where UC allows clinicals. UC can't place graduate clinicals in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island or Tennessee, and its DNP programs also exclude Washington.
Hand us the search. Keep your packet deadline.
Tell us your UC track, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit UC's rules for your track, and help you get the Preceptor Application and agreement details right.
- Matched to your track's population, setting and hour rules
- Checked against UC's preceptor requirements before your CSC sees it
- Aimed at UC's packet deadline, not just the first day of term
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a UC-ready preceptor and site look like for you.