UNCW's nurse educator practicum: courses, hours and preceptor rules

How the 186 hours break down

UNCW's nurse educator preceptor page and both handbooks call for at least 168 practice hours across the two practicum courses, plus 18 hours accrued in NSG 510, for 186 in total. The preceptor page divides that total three ways:

• Direct care core: 32 hours
• Functional care core: 136 hours
• Additional practice: 18 hours, earned in NSG 510

There is a wrinkle for the new curriculum. The After-8/2026 handbook keeps the 18-hour NSG 510 line, yet the new curriculum's course list has no NSG 510. Until UNCW clarifies it, ask the Nurse Educator Programs Coordinator whether new-curriculum students reach 186 some other way or whether 168 is the figure for your cohort. Preceptors validate your hours in Typhon, where the Preceptor Review Form also sits.

The 5-week approval rule

UNCW's practicum page is direct about timing: every educational site must be approved by the program coordinator, with a signed agreement in place at least 5 weeks before the start of NSG 596. The After-8/2026 handbook applies the same 5-week line to NSG 588, including a fully executed affiliation agreement. Working back from that date:

1. Choose the site with faculty guidanceYou identify the educational site where your practicum project will be designed and carried out. The After-8/2026 handbook says the SON Clinical Placement Team and faculty guide this step, but the identifying is yours.
2. Identify the preceptor at that siteCheck the four requirements above, above all that the preceptor is employed at the site and licensed in its state.
3. Clear compliance through CertiphiThe handbook has Certiphi accounts opened roughly three months ahead of the practicum and warns that missing the published deadline means removal from NSG 588. The items run from immunizations and TB testing to a drug screen, background check, AHA BLS (Red Cross cards are not accepted), health insurance and liability coverage; the compliance guide covers each one.
4. Secure approval and a signed agreement 5 weeks outThe program coordinator approves the site and preceptor, and the agreement must be fully executed. A site new to UNCW needs its agreement drafted and signed first, so start early; our affiliation agreements guide explains the process.

The Nurse Educator certificate practicum

The 12-credit Nurse Educator Post-Graduate Certificate ends in one practicum, and UNCW's application details put the search on you: the applicant identifies their own practicum site and preceptor and must be available for the required hours on site. Fall 2026 cohorts take NSG 588 after NSG 518, NSG 538 and NSG 548, in session 4, and must complete it within 2 years of NSG 548. Current cohorts take NSG 594 Practicum for the Nurse Educator Role, which requires a UNCW-approved site and preceptor, the health and background requirements, and completion within 2 years of NSG 528.

Hours are less settled. UNCW's certificate preceptor page describes 150 hours over a 15-week semester, planned at roughly 10 hours weekly, with 60 direct and 90 indirect core hours. It names no course number and appears to describe the older NSG 594; UNCW has not published hours for NSG 588 in the certificate's 7-week format. The certificate guide has more, and the program coordinator can confirm your cohort's figure before you ask a preceptor to commit.