Clinical placement planner
Gather your school’s requirements, contact sites and track each lead to approval. Asked to precept? Settle these questions first. This is a planner, not a preceptor directory: it does not list or match preceptors.
For students
Your program sets the requirements, and both the school and the site must approve the arrangement. A clinician’s yes is a lead until those approvals and onboarding are complete.
1Get the written requirements from your school
Ask your clinical coordinator for these in writing before you contact sites. Check off what you have.
2Build a site list
Start with your school’s affiliations, faculty introductions and clinicians you know. Compare specialty, patient ages, travel and available days against the brief. A name on a list is a lead, not an opening.
| Setting | Start the inquiry with |
|---|---|
| Independent clinic | Owner, lead clinician or practice manager |
| Health system / large group | Clinical education office, APP leadership, practice manager or site manager |
| Urgent care | Regional APP lead, medical director or operations manager |
| Specialty office | Practice manager, lead NP/PA or physician owner |
| Academic / teaching site | Clinical education or student-placement coordinator |
Typical starting points. Your organization’s policy takes precedence. Some sites accept requests only through a formal placement system, and large systems can need long affiliation and onboarding lead times.
3Contact the right person
Lead with the rotation, dates, hours, patient mix and school requirements. Keep it short.
SubjectNP student [specialty] rotation · [dates]
Hello [name], I’m an NP student at [school] looking for a [specialty] rotation from [start] to [end], totaling [hours] clinical hours. My program requires [key preceptor credentials and patient population]. I’m available [days / times]. Would this fit your practice and teaching availability? I can send a one-page rotation brief and connect you with [school coordinator]. If someone else handles student requests, could you point me to them? Thank you, [your name] [contact information]
Replace every [bracketed detail]. Attach only what the recipient or school asks for, and use their process for sensitive documents.
4Track each lead
From first contact to confirmed placement.
Try it here. Leads stay in this tab’s session, including on refresh; they are not saved to an account.
Use professional contact details only. Do not enter patient information, health records, passwords or sensitive student documents.
Loading placement leads…
5Get school approval
Interested is not approved. Track each lead through these stages.
- Interested
- A clinician is willing to discuss the rotation. Employer permission, fit and school approval may still be unknown.
- Awaiting school approval
- Site, preceptor and rotation details are with your coordinator. Track missing documents and the decision deadline.
- Approved
- The school has accepted the site and preceptor. The agreement, site approvals, onboarding and schedule still need to be finished.
Do not begin clinical hours until the required school and site approvals are complete. The Multistate NP does not verify placements or openings.
6Complete onboarding
Ask who owns each step, where to send it and by when. Record completion in the lead’s onboarding checklist.
- Affiliation agreement
- Whether one exists, who signs and what remains.
- Credentials and malpractice
- Which credential and insurance documents the school and site require.
- Health and background
- Clearances and training, sent through the designated secure process.
- EHR and site paperwork
- Access, orientation, documentation permissions and site forms.
7Confirm in writing and prepare
Confirm the site, named preceptor, start and end dates, weekly schedule, required hours and rotation expectations in writing, and check that approvals and onboarding are complete.
Before day one
- Share your course objectives and two or three specific learning goals.
- Confirm arrival time, dress, parking, equipment and the day-one contact.
- Review how the school wants hours and encounters recorded. Keep patient information out of personal trackers.
- Ask how to present patients, document within your student role and receive feedback.
- Keep your coordinator’s contact handy in case the schedule or supervision changes.
For preceptors
You can be interested without agreeing yet. Clarify the teaching work, your site’s permission and the school’s support before committing to dates.
Before saying yes
- Which rotation, dates and total hours are requested? What is the weekly commitment?
- What teaching, supervision and evaluation work does the school expect?
- Does the site need an affiliation agreement, and who handles credentialing?
- What student malpractice coverage and documentation are required?
- Is compensation offered? Ask the school about any documented incentive or tax-related benefit; availability and eligibility vary.
Ask the school
- Am I eligible under your credential and experience requirements?
- What supervision and student documentation expectations apply?
- Which evaluations are due, how often, and through what system?
- Who coordinates onboarding and helps if there is a concern?
- What is the cancellation or replacement process?
Clarify with the student
- Agree on weekly days, hours and rotation goals.
- Discuss prior experience and what support the learner needs.
- Describe expected patient volume and how visits will be assigned.
- Set communication, lateness and call-off expectations.
- Agree on feedback check-ins and how concerns will be raised.
Confirm with your employer / site
- Does the organization allow students, and who authorizes the placement?
- Which institutional and malpractice requirements apply?
- Who arranges EHR access and approves student documentation?
- What patient consent process does the site require?
- How will teaching time, scheduling and site approvals be handled?
Before you say yes or no
Check what you can answer with confidence. Treat an unchecked item as a question to resolve before you decide. It is not automatically a reason to say no.
Confirm requirements with your own program and site. Suggest a resource or report a problem