Your NAU preceptor, arranged close to home.

NAU's FNP guidelines invite students to suggest their own preceptors, and the Green Form lets you bring NAU a preceptorship you have already arranged. Our placement desk does the arranging. We find clinicians near you who fit your NUR practicum and Arizona's preceptor rule, confirm the site's approval, and gather the CV, license and certification NAU reviews, well before the cutoff.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your NAU track, your town and your next practicum. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options that fit it.

780clinical hours in NAU's MS FNP and post-master's FNP certificate

3FNP practicums, summer, fall and spring

2 monthsbefore clinicals, when NAU wants every document on file

What NAU provides, and where you come in

NAU supplies the online courses, the FNP Program Coordinator who approves preceptors, the Clinical Placement Coordinator who handles site requests and affiliation agreements, and course faculty who stay in touch with each agency. It can also offer a placement, and its guidelines warn that one may involve travel and overnight stays.

That is why arranging your own preceptor pays off. Our desk finds a clinician near home who fits the course, checks the credentials NAU's rule asks for, and has the site's approval ready so your Green Form goes in complete.

From "I need a preceptor" to an approved Green Form

Our steps follow the order NAU's own process runs in.

Your track and practicum

Your NAU track, your next NUR practicum, your town, and the semester it starts.

The search

Clinicians near you who fit the course: family primary care for FNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP.

Green Form ready

Site approval confirmed and the preceptor's CV, license and certification in hand.

All three practicums

We carry each practicum through approval and keep the next semester's search moving alongside it.

Pick your NAU program

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

780clinical hours in the MS FNP, at least 500 faculty-supervised

NUR 661180 h NUR 663300 h NUR 665300 h

Who precepts: A licensed physician or APRN with a year of experience in a comparable population focus; nurse preceptors nationally certified
Where: Family primary care across the lifespan, with pediatric and women's health hours; near home keeps travel down
Start looking: Green Form by March 31, June 30 or October 31; documents on file two months before clinicals

Plan my MS FNP placement MS FNP guide

780clinical hours in the post-master's FNP certificate

NUR 661180 h NUR 663300 h NUR 665300 h

Who precepts: The same preceptor standard as the MS FNP, set by Arizona rule R4-19-502
Where: Family primary care sites that see every age group
Start looking: The three practicums run in sequence, summer, fall and spring

Plan my FNP certificate placement FNP certificate guide

13units of NUR 680 practicum in the MS PMHNP (NAU lists units, not hours)

NUR 680hours: see course page NUR 689hours: see course page

Who precepts: A psychiatric mental health preceptor who meets Arizona's rule; confirm specifics with your program coordinator
Where: Psychiatric settings with direct patient care; NUR 680 requires in-person engagement
Start looking: Ask early: NAU publishes no PMHNP hour total or deadline beyond the FNP Green Form dates

Plan my MS PMHNP placement MS PMHNP guide

9 or 13units of NUR 680, depending on your prior degree

NUR 680hours: see course page

Who precepts: A psychiatric mental health preceptor approved by NAU
Where: In-person psychiatric care settings
Start looking: Nine units of NUR 680 for NPs, thirteen for non-NP MSN graduates

Plan my PMHNP certificate placement PMHNP certificate guide

1,000hours in the DNP, at least 240 of them at NAU

NUR 703hours: see course page NUR 608hours: see course page

Who precepts: A mentor employed at the site who is not your supervisor, a relative or another DNP student
Where: An agency you choose, with an affiliation agreement
Start looking: The DNP is not accepting applications; current students confirm hours with the DNP Coordinator

Plan my DNP placement DNP guide

The NAU pieces you will work with

Named the way NAU names them in its catalog and guidelines.

ProcessClinical placement processHow a Northern Arizona University NP clinical gets approved: the preceptor, the Green Form, the site agreement, documents two months out, then the start notice.PreceptorsFinding your own preceptorNAU encourages NP students to suggest preceptors. How the shared model works, why a preceptor near home matters and how to line one up for the Green Form.FormThe Green FormWhat NAU's FNP Preceptor/Agency Green Form asks, its two boxes, where to find it, who files it, and the term cutoffs on both versions of the form.DeadlineDocuments two months aheadNAU wants every clinical document on file two months before your rotation. What that covers, what lateness costs, and a backward plan for 2027 terms.AgreementsAffiliation agreementsWhy every NAU clinical site needs an affiliation agreement, your own employer included, how long a new one can take, and who at the site signs it.ComplianceFingerprint clearance cardNAU NP students need an Arizona DPS IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card: why, when it must be on file, which category to pick, and where the out-of-state steps are.

All NAU clinical systems

Your track, your clinical hours

Every NAU nursing program with clinical time, and the preceptor it calls for.

FNPMS Advanced Practice, FNP emphasisNorthern Arizona University's online MS Advanced Practice, FNP emphasis: 48 units, three family practicums, 780 clinical hours and how preceptors are approved.PMHNPMS Advanced Practice, PMHNP emphasisNorthern Arizona University's MS Advanced Practice, PMHNP emphasis: 51 units, the 13-unit in-person NUR 680 practicum, the rural NUR 689 project and preceptors.CertificatePost-master's FNP certificateNorthern Arizona University's post-master's FNP certificate: 39 or 38 units, the same 780-hour practicum sequence as the MS, and what MSN nurses plan for.CertificatePMHNP graduate certificateNorthern Arizona University's PMHNP graduate certificate: the 23-unit NP track, the 36-unit MSN track, in-person NUR 680 and the Kansas licensure-table answer.CompareFNP vs PMHNP at NAUFNP or PMHNP at Northern Arizona University: units, clinical courses, published and unpublished hours, in-person time and the preceptors each track needs.DNPDoctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)Northern Arizona University's post-master's DNP: 74 units, 1,000 practice hours with 240 at NAU, a mentor you arrange, and its closed admissions status.

All NAU programs

The practicum courses

What each NUR practicum asks of a preceptor and a site.

FNPNUR 661: Practicum INUR 661, Northern Arizona University's first FNP practicum: 180 summer clinical hours, its prerequisites, the spring paperwork dates and choosing a preceptor.FNPNUR 663: Practicum IINUR 663 at Northern Arizona University: the 300-hour fall FNP practicum, the June paperwork you file during NUR 661, the weekly math and the gate to NUR 665.FNPNUR 665: Practicum IIINUR 665, the last Northern Arizona University FNP practicum: 300 spring hours, the October paperwork, the spring break math and closing out all 780 hours.FNPFNP hour mix and visit countsHow Northern Arizona University's FNP guidelines split 780 clinical hours: 100 pediatric, 450 adult, 100 women's health, 75-150 specialty, and visit minimums.PMHNPNUR 680: PMHNP practicumNUR 680, Northern Arizona University's PMHNP clinical practicum: in-person engagement, 13 or 9 units, what NAU publishes about hours, and planning preceptors.PMHNPNUR 689: rural PMHNP projectNUR 689 in Northern Arizona University's MS PMHNP: a 4-unit, pass-fail capstone on a health need in a rural community, what NAU publishes and how to plan it.

When a practicum is at risk

Fast help for the weeks that matter most.

Deadline closeNeed a preceptor fastA Green Form cutoff or NAU's two-month document rule is close. The dates by term, what takes longest, and how to get a complete preceptor request in on time.StuckCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for NUR 661, 663, 665 or NUR 680? How NAU's shared placement model works, the Green Form's two boxes, and a plan to get moving this term.Mid-termPreceptor dropped outYour preceptor left partway through an NAU practicum. Who to tell, why patient care pauses, how a replacement gets approved, and how to protect your hours.HoursBehind on clinical hoursShort on hours in NUR 661, 663 or 665? Catch-up math for NAU's 180- and 300-hour practicums, the category gaps that trip students up, and ways to recover.GraduationDelayed graduationHow one missed NAU practicum can push graduation back a year: the practicum sequence, conferral dates, time limits, and how to plan your way back on track.Placement helpPlacement options comparedFour routes to an NAU preceptor compared: arrange one yourself, ask NAU for help, use your workplace, or hand the search to a placement service like ours.

Before you start

Does NAU find preceptors for NP students?

NAU uses a shared model. Its FNP guidelines encourage students to suggest preceptors, the Clinical Placement Coordinator can request placements, and the FNP Program Coordinator makes the final decision. Our desk finds a preceptor near you so the Green Form arrives with the site already on board.

When is the Green Form due?

The 2022-23 form lists March 31 for summer, June 30 for fall and October 31 for spring, and NAU wants every clinical document on file two months before the rotation. Confirm the current dates with your program coordinator.

How many clinical hours are in NAU's FNP program?

780 for the MS FNP and the post-master's FNP certificate: 180 in NUR 661, then 300 each in NUR 663 and NUR 665, with at least 500 faculty-supervised hours in the family population focus.

Who can precept an NAU nurse practitioner student?

NAU follows Arizona Board of Nursing rule R4-19-502: a licensed physician or advanced practice nurse with at least a year of experience in a comparable population focus, and, for nurse preceptors, national certification in the role and population.

Do you help NAU students outside Arizona?

Yes. We search wherever you live, and we check your plan against NAU's licensure table and the license rules for clinicals in your state before we approach any site.

NAU welcomes a preceptor you arrange. We arrange one close to home.

Tell us your NAU track, your town and your next practicum. We line up preceptors who fit the course and Arizona's preceptor rule, confirm the site's approval, and gather the CV, license and certification the Green Form needs, well before NAU's cutoff.

Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages family primary care for FNP, psychiatric settings for PMHNP
License, experience and certification checked against the rule NAU applies, before the Green Form goes in
All three FNP practicums planned together, near home instead of a long drive away

Start your placement plan

Track, town and next practicum is all we need to begin.