Your EKU preceptor, found and ready before clinicals start.

Q: When should I start thinking about a preceptor?

Well before NSC 800, which runs alongside the first concentration course. EKU's handbook expects your preceptor information to be current before the clinical starts, and a good preceptor's calendar fills early. See NSC 800 for the timing.

Kentucky's rules make EKU responsible for securing its nurse practitioner students' preceptors, and they give you a say in the process. We help you use it. We find preceptors in your own community who fit your EKU course, and we prepare the details EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is strong, complete and ready to approve.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor options near you.

750direct patient care hours in EKU's MSN FNP, the last 300 for synthesis

8credits of NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role across the NP concentration courses

1,000clinical hours beyond the BSN for EKU's Doctor of Nursing Practice

EKU secures the placement. Your input shapes it.

Kentucky's Board of Nursing requires Kentucky nurse practitioner programs, EKU among them, to secure the preceptors their students need, and it says students may have input into how that happens. EKU's own handbooks show the input side in practice: MSN students keep a clinical contract and preceptor information form current, and DNP students submit a site approval request for each clinical course.

That input is where a working nurse gains the most. A preceptor in your own town, in the specialty your course calls for, on days that fit your shifts, turns NSC 800 and the internship into something you can sustain. We find that preceptor, check the fit against EKU's course and prepare the details, so the option you put forward is one EKU can act on quickly. The Kentucky rule page explains the regulation in full.

Approval is EKU's to give. Our part is a preceptor option so complete and well matched that approving it is straightforward.

From your EKU program to hours on the books

Built around EKU's own clinical sequence.

Your program and timing

Your concentration, your start term and when NSC 800 or your internship begins.

The search, near you

Preceptors in your community who fit the course: family primary care, psychiatric care or a DNP practice site.

Ready for EKU

Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information and review.

Hours on track

Clinical days that fit your schedule, and a replacement lined up if a preceptor steps away.

Pick your EKU program

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

750direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis (EKU program page)

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 876hours: see course page

Who precepts: A primary-care preceptor EKU approves, across family practice, adult, pediatric and women's health
Where: Primary care practices and rural clinics in your own community
Start looking: Before NSC 800 begins alongside FNP I; a synthesis preceptor for NSC 876 at the end

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

—EKU does not publish a PMHNP clinical-hour total: ask your faculty

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 886hours: see course page

Who precepts: A psychiatric-mental health preceptor (PMHNP or psychiatrist) EKU approves
Where: Outpatient psychiatry, community mental health and behavioral health programs near you
Start looking: Before NSC 800 begins alongside PMHNP I; an internship preceptor for NSC 886

Plan my MSN PMHNP placement MSN PMHNP guide

—EKU does not state the certificates' hour totals: confirm in your plan of study

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 876hours: see course page NSC 886hours: see course page

Who precepts: The same specialty preceptors as the matching MSN concentration
Where: Primary care (FNP) or psychiatric settings (PMHNP) in your community
Start looking: After the NSC 830, 832 and 834 prerequisites, before NSC 800

Plan my Post-MSN certificates placement Post-MSN certificates guide

60clinical clock hours over 8 weeks (EKU's most recent available handbook)

NSC 442C60 h

Who precepts: A nurse leader or clinical contact at a setting that fits the course
Where: A health system or community setting near you, sometimes your own employer
Start looking: Before the 8-week clinical course begins

Plan my RN to BSN placement RN to BSN guide

The EKU pieces you will work with

Named the way EKU names them, from the catalog, program pages and handbooks.

ProcessClinical placement processHow clinical placement works for EKU nurse practitioner students: Kentucky's preceptor rule, your input, EKU's approval, NSC 800 and the internship.Kentucky ruleKentucky preceptor ruleKentucky's 201 KAR 20:062 makes EKU secure preceptors for its NP students and lets students have input. The full rule text and what it means for you.Your inputYour input on preceptorsKentucky law lets EKU NP students have input on preceptors. Why students propose one, what makes a proposal strong, when to raise it and how we help.FormsPreceptor information formEKU's clinical contract and preceptor information form, Clinical Waiver, Telehealth Checklist, site documents and the DNP site approval request, explained.InsuranceProfessional liability insuranceEKU nursing students buy professional liability insurance through EKU for clinical courses. The coverage year, when to register, what it covers, why sites ask.StatesState authorizationWhich states EKU enrolls online FNP, PMHNP and certificate students from, the eight it does not, conditional states, Mississippi's 2026 change and clinicals.

All EKU clinical systems

Your EKU program, your clinical plan

Every EKU nursing program with clinical hours, and the preceptors each one needs.

Online, 47 creditsMSN Family Nurse PractitionerEKU's online MSN FNP as a clinical plan: 47 credits, NSC 800 with FNP I to III, the NSC 876 internship, 750 patient care hours and when to plan your input.Online, 49 creditsMSN Psychiatric Mental Health NPEKU's online MSN PMHNP: 49 credits, NSC 800 beside PMHNP I to III, the NSC 886 internship, psychiatric clinical settings and what EKU says about hours.Online, 32 creditsPost-MSN FNP certificateEKU's post-MSN FNP certificate: 32 credits with 9 prerequisite credits, NSC 800 beside FNP I to III, the NSC 876 internship, and what EKU decides case by case.Online, 34 creditsPost-MSN PMHNP certificateEKU's post-MSN PMHNP certificate: 34 credits with prerequisites, an October to March 15 application window, NSC 800 with PMHNP I to III and NSC 886.DNPPost-master's DNPEKU's post-master's DNP in Organizational Leadership: 30 to 34 catalog credits, 7-week terms, four starts, the 1,000-hour rule, site approval and state limits.RN to BSNOnline RN to BSNEKU's online RN to BSN: 25 EKU nursing credits inside a 120-credit BSN, 7-week terms, a 12-month accelerated path, one clinical course and state limits.

All EKU programs

The clinical sequence, course by course

What each EKU clinical course asks of a preceptor and a site.

NSC 800NSC 800 Advanced Practice RoleEKU's NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role: 1 to 9 credits per enrollment, 8 in total, paired with FNP I-III or PMHNP I-III, plus the preceptor each stage needs.FNP internshipNSC 876 FNP InternshipEKU's NSC 876 FNP Internship: 6 credits, a concentrated rural primary care practicum, the final 300 synthesis hours, prerequisites and planning your preceptor.PMHNP internshipNSC 886 PMHNP InternshipEKU's NSC 886 PMHNP Internship: 5 credits after PMHNP III and NSC 800, the prerequisite lines that conflict, psychiatric settings and preceptor timing.FNPFNP 750 hours explainedEKU's MSN FNP asks for 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis. How they likely split across NSC 800 and NSC 876, and how to plan your weeks.DNPDNP clinical hoursEKU's DNP requires 1,000 clinical hours beyond the BSN. How the hours owed at EKU are set at admission, the site approval form, the log and project courses.RuralEKU's rural health focusWhy EKU markets a Rural Health FNP and a Rural PMHNP, what the rural primary care internship asks, and which rural clinics and preceptors suit EKU clinicals.

When a clinical course is close

Fast help for the weeks that matter most.

Placement helpNo preceptor yet, course closeYour EKU clinical course is close and no placement is settled. A plan for this week: talk to faculty, put a strong option forward, widen the search, get help.Placement helpYour input vs waitingAn honest comparison for EKU NP students: putting your own preceptor option forward versus leaving the search to EKU, and who each approach suits best.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in NSC 800 or an EKU internship? EKU's attendance rules, making time up, In Progress and Incomplete grades, and what to raise with faculty.WorkplaceClinicals where you workCan EKU NP students do clinicals at their own workplace? What EKU has said, what makes a workplace site work, and what to confirm with faculty first.Home stateKentuckyEKU's home state: Kentucky APRN law and CAPA prescribing, the preceptor rule in practice, what Kentucky health systems ask of NP students, and rural sites.Placement helpFor preceptorsFor preceptors considering an EKU nurse practitioner student: the clinical courses, the 750 FNP hours, Kentucky's rules, the student's compliance and our role.

Before you start

Does EKU find preceptors for nurse practitioner students?

Kentucky's regulation 201 KAR 20:062 makes Kentucky APRN programs, including EKU, responsible for securing their students' preceptors, and gives students input into the process. Many students use that input to propose a preceptor close to home. See your input on preceptors.

What exactly do you do?

We find preceptors in your community who fit your EKU clinical course, prepare the preceptor, license and site details EKU reviews, and line up a replacement if a preceptor steps away. How it works walks through each step, and the cost page explains what shapes a quote.

Who approves the preceptor you find?

EKU does. Under Kentucky's rules the program secures and approves its students' clinical placements; we make sure the option you put forward is complete and fits the course so EKU can review it quickly. The placement process shows where approval fits.

I live outside Kentucky. Can you help?

Yes, in the states where EKU enrolls online students and you hold a valid RN license. EKU does not enroll online MSN students from eight states, so start with your state guide and EKU's state authorization rules.

When should I start thinking about a preceptor?

Well before NSC 800, which runs alongside the first concentration course. EKU's handbook expects your preceptor information to be current before the clinical starts, and a good preceptor's calendar fills early. See NSC 800 for the timing.

EKU secures your preceptor. Your input decides how well it fits your life.

Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.

Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for NSC 800 and NSC 876, psychiatric care for NSC 886
Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.