Your Gonzaga preceptor, found where you live and ready for the site request.

Gonzaga asks its online NP students to start the search themselves: "students will proactively engage with their local providers to identify potential preceptors." That first step is exactly what we do. We find preceptors in your own state who fit your Gonzaga practicum course and prepare what your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, so faculty approval and the affiliation agreement can move early.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Share your Gonzaga track, where you live and the term your next practicum opens. Your placement advisor comes back with preceptors and sites matched to that course.

660clinical hours in Gonzaga's MSN FNP and PMHNP, counting NURS 601

10western states Gonzaga admits NP students from

2preceptors at most in a single Gonzaga semester

What Gonzaga handles, and where you come in

Gonzaga describes placement as a shared process. Its Clinical Placement Team helps secure sites and preceptors and handles the contracts, and the Department of Nursing holds affiliation agreements across the western U.S. The opening move belongs to you: reaching local providers who might precept, then naming them in a Practicum Site Placement Request for faculty to review.

That opening move is our specialty. We line up preceptors in your state who fit each practicum, from NURS 601 through the last FNP or PMHNP course, and assemble the credentials, license, board certification and site contact the request calls for. Faculty at Gonzaga decide; our job is a request that arrives whole and fits Gonzaga's rules on the first read.

No hour counts until the preceptor is approved, the affiliation agreement is active and you are clear in CPNW.

Four stops between a blank search and logged hours

Each stop mirrors a step in Gonzaga's own clinical sequence.

Track, course and state

Your Gonzaga track, the practicum ahead, the state on your license and how far you can drive.

Local providers found

Clinicians who suit the course: lifespan primary care, psychiatric care, or a DNP agency liaison.

Request assembled

Credentials, license, certification and site contact gathered for faculty review and the agreement.

Cleared and counting

Hours begin inside the semester once everything is approved, with a backup lined up should a preceptor leave.

Pick your Gonzaga program

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

660clinical hours: 60 in NURS 601 plus 600 in the FNP practicums (the catalog counts the 600)

NURS 60160 h NURS 662P120-180 h NURS 661P60-180 h NURS 663P180-240 h NURS 664P120-240 h NURS 683Phours: see course page

Who precepts: NPs, physicians or PAs with a year in the area and a license where you are precepted; at least half your hours with an NP
Where: Primary care across every age group, in the state where you are licensed (one of Gonzaga's ten western states)
Start looking: The semester before each practicum; hours count only after approval, the agreement and CPNW

Plan my FNP placement FNP guide

660clinical hours: 60 in NURS 601 plus 600 in the psychiatric practicums

NURS 60160 h NURS 661M60-180 h NURS 662M120-240 h NURS 663M60-240 h NURS 683M60-180 h

Who precepts: Psychiatric NPs, psychiatrists and other qualified mental health professionals Gonzaga approves
Where: Diagnosis, adult treatment, then child, adolescent and older-adult care, in your licensed state
Start looking: The first psychiatric practicum comes at the start of year 3; plan it during year 2

Plan my PMHNP placement PMHNP guide

660clinical hours: NURS 601 plus the 600-hour specialty practicum block

NURS 60160 h NURS 661P-664Phours: see course page NURS 661M-663Mhours: see course page

Who precepts: The same preceptors as the MSN track you add: NP, physician or PA for FNP; mental health professionals for PMHNP
Where: Your licensed state within the ten western states
Start looking: Your first clinical term follows NURS 523 and 524 on an individual plan

Plan my Second MSN placement Second MSN guide

1,000practicum hours counting your MSN hours, at least 340 of them inside the DNP

NURS 700hours: see course page NURS 701hours: see course page NURS 702hours: see course page NURS 703hours: see course page NURS 704hours: see course page

Who precepts: An agency liaison in your practice setting, not a friend, relative or direct supervisor
Where: A practice setting for your DNP project, established in your first semester
Start looking: NURS 700 in the first semester asks you to establish the practicum site

Plan my DNP placement DNP guide

800+clinical and simulation hours in the ABSN (the BSN catalog gives no hour count)

NURS 331hours: see course page NURS 431hours: see course page NURS 495hours: see course page

Who precepts: Department-arranged clinicals; a registered nurse preceptor for the final practicum
Where: Spokane-area health systems and community settings
Start looking: Junior fall or spring for the first clinical; the capstone in the last semester

Plan my BSN placement BSN guide

Gonzaga's clinical machinery, piece by piece

Each guide uses Gonzaga's own terms, taken from its catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and nursing pages.

ProcessClinical placement processHow a Gonzaga NP practicum comes together, in order: local preceptors, the site request, faculty approval, the agreement, CPNW, hours, site visit, evaluation.First stepIdentifying local preceptorsWhat Gonzaga means when it asks students to engage local providers first: who can precept each track, where to look, and what to bring to the first call.Site requestSite placement requestWhat Gonzaga's Practicum Site Placement Request covers, what to have ready before you submit, how faculty review it, and what has to follow approval.Ten statesThe ten-state ruleGonzaga admits MSN FNP and PMHNP students from ten western states only. The rule in Gonzaga's words, where clinicals happen, and what a move means.PreceptorsPreceptor requirementsWho can precept a Gonzaga nursing student: ARNP, MD, DO or PA, a year in the clinical area, a license in your state, plus the FNP, PMHNP and DNP rules.CPNWCPNW clearanceHow CPNW (Clinical Placements Northwest) clearance works for Gonzaga nursing students: the hour gate, partner health systems, lead times and CORE.

All Gonzaga clinical systems

Guides by Gonzaga program

Every Gonzaga track that carries practicum hours, with the preceptor profile it asks for.

FNPMSN Family Nurse PractitionerGonzaga's online MSN Family Nurse Practitioner track: 47 credits, 660 clinical hours, six Spokane immersions, nine semesters and the ten-state rule.PMHNPMSN Psychiatric-Mental Health NPThe Gonzaga online MSN in Psychiatric-Mental Health NP: 47 credits, 660 hours, five Spokane immersions and the psychiatric practicums that need preceptors.Second MSNSecond MSN: Family Nurse PractitionerGonzaga's Second MSN in Family Nurse Practitioner for nurses who already hold a nursing master's: 32-35 credits, the full FNP practicums, six immersions.Second MSNSecond MSN: Psychiatric-Mental Health NPGonzaga's Second MSN in Psychiatric-Mental Health NP: the full psychiatric practicum sequence without the MSN core, 32-35 credits and five Spokane immersions.DNPPost-Master's DNPGonzaga's online Post-Master's DNP: 1,000 practicum hours counting your MSN, project work with an agency liaison, virtual immersions and a new concentration.DNPBSN-to-DNP FNP (current students)For current Gonzaga Post-Baccalaureate DNP FNP students: 78 credits, 1,000 practicum hours, eight immersions and the preceptors each phase calls for.

All Gonzaga programs

Practicum courses and immersions

Hour ranges, clinical settings and preceptor types course by course, plus the Spokane immersions that sit alongside them.

NURS 601NURS 600 and 601: health assessmentHow Gonzaga's NURS 600 and NURS 601 work: 60 precepted primary care hours, two Spokane immersions, who can supervise, and how to plan the load.FNPFNP practicum coursesGonzaga's FNP practicums, NURS 661P through 664P and the NURS 683P extension: hours by course, primary care settings, every age group, and preceptors.PMHNPPMHNP practicum coursesGonzaga's PMHNP practicums, NURS 661M to 663M and the NURS 683M extension: populations by course, who can precept, hour ranges and the observation cap.ImmersionsSpokane immersionsGonzaga's on-campus nursing immersions in Spokane: six for FNP, five for PMHNP, OSCEs, when they start, and how to plan travel around your practicums.DNPDNP practicum coursesGonzaga's Post-Master's DNP practicums, NURS 700 to 704 with the NURS 760 to 763 seminars: establishing a practicum site, the proposal and 1,000 hours.NURS 683Practicum extension coursesGonzaga's NURS 683P and NURS 683M practicum extensions: finishing FNP or PMHNP hours after the didactic courses, repeatable credits and progression plans.

When the semester is almost here

Start here if a practicum opens soon and nothing is confirmed yet.

StuckCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for your Gonzaga practicum? Why the search stalls, what Gonzaga expects of you first, and how we find a fit in your own state.UrgentNeed a preceptor fastTerm starting soon and no Gonzaga preceptor? The approval steps speed cannot skip, health system lead times, and the quickest route to a first countable hour.ReplacementPreceptor dropped outYour Gonzaga preceptor quit before or during the practicum. Who to tell first, how the two-preceptor rule shapes a replacement, and how to protect your hours.HoursBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours at Gonzaga? Work out your weekly pace, the rules that limit catching up, and how a second preceptor or extension term closes the gap.Placement helpSpokane preceptorsWhere Gonzaga NP students find preceptors in Spokane and the Inland Northwest: Providence, MultiCare, CHAS Health, VA Spokane, Kootenai and rural hospitals.Placement helpWashington preceptorsFinding NP preceptors across Washington for Gonzaga practicums: Puget Sound, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, and what Washington health systems ask of students.

Before you start

Does Gonzaga find preceptors for online NP students?

Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team helps secure sites and finalizes placements, but its FAQ asks students to take the first step and approach local providers who could precept. We handle that first step with you. See finding local preceptors.

Can I do Gonzaga clinicals outside the ten western states?

Gonzaga admits MSN FNP and PMHNP students only from Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, and practicums happen where you are licensed. The ten-state rule explains it, including what moving mid-program means.

When should I start looking?

Well before the semester. Gonzaga publishes no request deadline outside its student handbook, but no hour counts until faculty approve the site, the affiliation agreement is active and you are clear in CPNW. Our placement process page lays out the order.

What does your service include?

A search for preceptors and sites in your state that suit your Gonzaga course, the credentials, license and site details your request needs, and a backup preceptor if yours has to leave. The steps are on how it works.

Who signs off on a preceptor you find for me?

Gonzaga. Faculty review each clinical site request and give final approval, and the Clinical Placement Team finishes the agreement and clearance. A complete request keeps that review short. See the site placement request.

Gonzaga asks you to find local preceptors first. Let us run that search.

Tell us your Gonzaga program, your practicum course and where you live and can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, certification and site details your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, early in the semester before.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care across the lifespan for NURS 661P to NURS 664P, psychiatric care for NURS 661M to NURS 663M, an agency liaison for the DNP
Credentials, license, board certification and site contact ready for your site request
In Spokane, across Washington or wherever in the ten western states you are licensed

Start your placement plan

Your program, city and next practicum term is all we need to begin.