How we place UNCW nursing students with North Carolina preceptors

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the UNCW Preceptor placement team

You tell us your UNCW program, your practicum course and how far you can travel. We search North Carolina for a preceptor who fits that course, gather every detail UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, and stay with you through approval and the rotation itself. Here is each step in the order it happens.

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Get your placement plan

Tell us your UNCW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UNCW course.

8weeks before the semester: the minimum lead time in UNCW's handbook text for placement information

4preceptors at most in a single UNCW clinical course

Numbered steps. Step by step: intake to an approved placement: 1 Intake: program, course and travel range; 2 A North Carolina search built around the course; 3 Options that fit, and your choice; 4 The submission package; 5 Support through approval and the agreement. — Step by step: intake to an approved placement: 1 Intake: program, course and travel range; 2 A North Carolina search built around the course; 3 Options that fit, and your choice; 4 The submission package; 5 Support through approval and the agreement.

What you get, from first message to last clinical day

UNCW expects its FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP students to locate and secure their own clinical sites and preceptors, and its Clinical Placement Team supports that search rather than running it for you. Our service takes the slowest parts of that job off your desk: outreach to practices across North Carolina, matching each clinician to your practicum course, and collecting the preceptor details UNCW asks for.

What you end up with is a named North Carolina preceptor who suits your course, submission details with no gaps, and a placement advisor who stays reachable until your hours are done. Nurse educator students get the same care for the educator practicum, with a nurse educator preceptor in the state where they hold their license.

Step by step: intake to an approved placement

Intake: program, course and travel rangeWe start with the facts that decide the search: your UNCW program, the practicum course you need covered (such as NSGL 651 or NSGL 647), the term, and which course sequence you follow. Since Fall 2025 two sequences run side by side, and your cohort's handbook tells you which is yours; the curriculum transition guide lays them out. We also ask where in North Carolina you can drive or stay.
A North Carolina search built around the courseYour advisor contacts clinicians whose patients match the course and whose credentials match UNCW's list: the right license type, NC Approval to Practice and board certification for NPs, and at least a year as a provider. FNP searches weigh pediatric and women's health exposure, AGPCNP searches look for adolescents through frail elderly adults, and PMHNP searches stay inside psychiatry.
Options that fit, and your choiceYou see preceptors who have agreed to your course and term, with the site address, the likely schedule and any site requirements spelled out. You pick the one that fits your life.
The submission packageWe collect and check every preceptor and agency detail UNCW's packet asks for, then hand it to you ready to enter in your Clinical Placement Packet form well ahead of the deadline.
Support through approval and the agreementWhile UNCW reviews your packet and routes signatures, your advisor answers the preceptor's questions and keeps the office informed if an affiliation agreement is needed.
On call through the rotationIf a preceptor steps away, your advisor reopens the search for the same course right away and prepares fresh details for the new clinician.

What goes into the submission package

UNCW's placement packet combines cover pages, a Partner Site Acknowledgement Form, a Student Placement Acknowledgement Form and the preceptor's CV. Behind those forms sits a short list of preceptor and site facts, and one missing item can stall the whole review. We gather each of these:

A current CV showing experience dates, with your clinical site listed under professional experience, which UNCW ties to CCNE accreditation and preceptor approval
The preceptor's full name, credentials, and RN or medical license number
The email the preceptor prefers, since UNCW sends evaluation links there
The agency's full name, street address and county
A contact at the agency for agreement questions, with name and title
Early flags for anything extra: a request for an affiliation agreement, a site honorarium, or items such as HIPAA or OSHA training, a digital photo or a recent physical exam

Each field is explained on the preceptor information page.

Timing the submission

UNCW's handbook text asks for placement information at least 8 weeks before the semester, while the process chart in the same handbook says 90 days before the course starts. We plan to the earlier date, which leaves room for a site that wants an affiliation agreement, something UNCW says can take six weeks or longer. The 8-week deadline page covers the rule in full.

The best moment to reach us is as soon as you know your next practicum term; UNCW's own chart puts the start of the search 6 to 12 months before the course. If the line is already close, send your details anyway, and need a preceptor fast explains what a compressed search looks like.

Through approval, and the parts that stay with you

After you submit, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews the packet, DocuSign carries the Partner Site Acknowledgement to the preceptor for signature, and the Clinical Placement Team handles any contract the site requests. UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator gives the final approval; we make sure what reaches that desk is complete and fits UNCW's rules the first time.

A few tasks belong to you by UNCW's design: signing your placement forms, attending course orientation, and logging encounters in Typhon within five days. You also keep your immunizations, background check and drug test current in Certiphi or Castle Branch, since UNCW reviews them before it clears you to start; the compliance page lists each item. Everything that makes a search slow, from cold outreach to chasing a CV with the right dates, is ours.

If a preceptor steps away

Practices get sold, clinicians change jobs, and family life intrudes mid-semester. UNCW's handbook names these risks itself. When a preceptor withdraws, your advisor restarts the North Carolina search for the same course, confirms the new clinician against UNCW's rules, and prepares a new set of details, because UNCW wants a separate packet for each preceptor.

UNCW allows up to four preceptors in one clinical course, so hours can be split between a replacement and whatever the first site can still offer. Every hour still has to land before the last day of classes, which is why speed matters here. The preceptor dropped out guide walks through the rest.

To begin, send your program, practicum course, term and home city through the form below, or open the chat. Your placement advisor replies with the next step and a quote built on your details.

Tell your placement advisor the week a preceptor starts to waver, not the day they leave: an early warning keeps a replacement inside the semester.

Questions UNCW students ask

How long does a UNCW placement search take?

It depends on the track, the region and the term. A primary care search near Wilmington with a flexible schedule usually moves faster than a psychiatric rotation in a rural county or a search that starts inside UNCW's submission window. Starting as early as you can gives your advisor room to wait for the best fit rather than the first yes.

Can you place me with a preceptor outside North Carolina?

Not for nurse practitioner clinicals: UNCW's DNP Student Handbook limits FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP practicum hours to North Carolina, so every NP search we run stays in the state. Nurse educator practicums follow a different rule, with the preceptor licensed in the state where the practicum takes place, so those searches follow your license.

Do I still submit the Clinical Placement Packet myself?

Yes. UNCW's process runs through the student, so you enter the details in your designated packet form and sign where UNCW asks. What changes is how ready you are when you open it: every preceptor and agency detail is already collected, checked and waiting for you.

I already found a preceptor. Can you still help?

Yes. We confirm the clinician meets UNCW's requirements for your track, gather the CV, license and agency details the packet needs, and flag site extras such as an affiliation agreement. Remember that UNCW does not accept family members or friends as preceptors, even when their practice suits the course.

What if the Clinical Placement Team offers me a site?

Tell your placement advisor at once. UNCW expects students to accept a site its team provides, and declining can lead to withdrawal from the course. Knowing about an offer early keeps two placements from colliding and lets your advisor redirect the search to your next course instead.

Start hereThe UNCW clinical placement processHow a UNCW NP clinical placement runs, from a search 6 to 12 months out through GCC approval, agreements, compliance, orientation and Typhon logs.PreceptorsPreceptor requirementsUNCW's preceptor rules by track: NC licensure, Approval to Practice, board certification, a year as a provider, and the FNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP extras.QuotesCostWhat goes into a quote for a UNCW preceptor placement: your track and course, the hours, the specialty, your region of North Carolina, timing and practica.ChecklistChoosing a placement serviceWhat the best placement service for UNCW nursing students does: North Carolina searches, course matching, a complete packet, UNCW's site-fee rule and backup.Get in touchContactTell us your UNCW program, practicum course, term, city and travel range. What to send, what happens next, and how to reach us by chat, WhatsApp or text.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against UNCW's catalog, handbooks and School of Nursing pages. Your course, your cohort's handbook and UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

UNCW asks you to find your own North Carolina preceptor. Let us run that search.

Tell us your UNCW program, your practicum course and where in North Carolina you can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and agency details UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator reviews, well before the deadline.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care, pediatrics and women's health for NSGL 650 to NSGL 653, adult and older-adult care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP
Preceptor CV with dates and site, license number and agency details ready for your submission
In Wilmington, the Cape Fear region or wherever in North Carolina your clinicals can happen

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