Your YSU preceptor, found near home and approved before your practicum.

YSU highly encourages its nurse practitioner students to secure their own preceptors, wants each preceptor's details two months before the practicum, and asks you to start the request at admission because a new site can take months. We find a preceptor near you who fits the exact NURS practicum, check YSU's rules, and keep the next term's preceptor lined up, so none of your five 7-week practicums waits on a search.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your YSU track, where you live and when your next practicum begins. A placement advisor answers with preceptor options near you.

5NP practicums at YSU, one per 7-week term

750clinical hours in YSU's online FNP and AGACNP (program pages)

2 monthsbefore each practicum, when YSU wants your preceptor's details

YSU approves the preceptor. Finding one, five times over, is the part we handle.

The Centofanti School of Nursing's clinical faculty approve every site and preceptor, and a Graduate Clinical Coordinator works with you through the program. What YSU asks of you is the search itself: a primary care preceptor for each FNP practicum or an acute care preceptor for each AGACNP practicum, outside your own unit and away from your supervisor, with the details submitted two months ahead and your Exxat compliance complete.

That is where we start. We look for NPs and physicians whose practices suit the practicum ahead of you, whether that is adult and pediatric primary care for NURS 7061 or an intensive care team for NURS 7073, confirm the fit with YSU's rules and hand you everything the request needs. The guide to finding your own preceptor sets out YSU's own words.

YSU's clinical faculty approve every preceptor and site. We make sure what reaches them is complete, well matched and early.

From your YSU track to practicum hours that count

Four steps, planned around YSU's two-month deadline and its back-to-back 7-week practicums.

Your track and term

FNP, AGACNP or Nursing Education, the practicum that comes next and the 7-week term it opens.

A preceptor near you

Primary care or acute care preceptors near home who fit that practicum and YSU's workplace rules.

Details in two months early

Everything the preceptor and site request asks for, ready before YSU's two-month deadline.

The next term covered

Exxat compliance in order and the following practicum's preceptor already in view.

Pick your YSU program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From the 2026-27 YSU catalog, graduate handbook and program pages.

750clinical hours in the MSN FNP on YSU's program page (the 2026-27 catalog still says 600)

NURS 7061150 h NURS 7062150 h NURS 7063150 h NURS 7064150 h NURS 7065150 h

Who precepts: Primary care NPs and physicians YSU approves: adult, pediatric and women's health
Where: Primary care practices near home, never your own unit
Start looking: At admission, with each preceptor's details in two months before the practicum

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

750clinical hours in the MSN AGACNP on YSU's program page (the catalog still says 540)

NURS 7071150 h NURS 7072150 h NURS 7073150 h NURS 7074150 h NURS 7075150 h

Who precepts: Acute care NPs and physicians (and PAs where the handbook allows)
Where: ICUs, hospital medicine, emergency and specialty units
Start looking: At admission; hospital onboarding adds weeks to the two-month deadline

Plan my MSN AGACNP placement MSN AGACNP guide

540-750clinical hours in the post-master's FNP or AGACNP certificate, by YSU source

NURS 7061-7065600-750 h NURS 7071-7075540-750 h

Who precepts: The same preceptors as the matching MSN track
Where: Primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP
Start looking: Before your first specialty practicum, two months ahead of each

Plan my NP certificates placement NP certificates guide

150practicum hours in NURS 7022 and NURS 7023 (Nursing Education)

NURS 702250 h NURS 7023100 h

Who precepts: Not published by YSU: confirm the supervisor's credentials with your advisor
Where: Education and health care settings, per the catalog
Start looking: Before the two practicums at the end of the program

Plan my Nursing Education placement Nursing Education guide

The YSU steps between you and your first practicum day

Named the way YSU names them, from the catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ.

Start herePlacement processThe YSU nurse practitioner placement route in order: your preceptor search, the two-month deadline, agreements, Exxat, faculty approval and each practicum.YSU systemFinding your own preceptorYSU's own words on securing your preceptor: the FAQ, the 90-day notice, starting at admission, the handbook's roles, and how our search does the finding.YSU systemApproval timelineCount back from a YSU practicum start: two months for preceptor details, 90 days for the coordinator notice, 30 days for Exxat and months for a new site.Clinical systemExxatWhat Exxat does for YSU nursing students: compliance uploads due 30 days before the first practicum, placement records, hour logs and the older Medatrax name.YSU systemAffiliation agreementsWhen a YSU clinical site needs an affiliation agreement: YSU's start-date warning, your handbook duty, the RN to BSN contract rule, and how to lower the risk.PreceptorsPracticums where you workYSU lets NP students log practicum hours at their employer, but never on their own unit, with their supervisor or on the clock. How to use your employer well.StatesPracticums outside OhioDoing YSU practicums in Pennsylvania, West Virginia or Michigan: the state list conflict, RN license rules, the relocation warning and RN to BSN agreements.YSU systemWho does whatEvery YSU role that touches your practicum, by title: the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, clinical faculty, the Program Director, the APG Committee and more.

All YSU clinical systems

Your YSU track, your clinical plan

Every YSU graduate track with practicum hours, and the preceptors each one calls for.

Online MSNMSN FNPYSU's online MSN FNP: 46 credits in 7-week terms, five primary care practicums, 750 hours (catalog 600), admission, the state rule and finding preceptors.Online MSNMSN AGACNPYSU's online MSN AGACNP: 46 credits, a year of critical care, ACLS, five acute care practicums, 750 hours (catalog 540) and how to find acute care preceptors.CertificatePost-master's FNP certificateYSU's online post-master's FNP certificate: the 37-credit route, the 19-credit advanced placement option for NPs, five primary care practicums and 600 hours.CertificatePost-master's AGACNP certificateYSU's online post-master's AGACNP certificate: 37 credits or an advanced placement option (18 or 19), ACLS, five acute care practicums and 540 hours.MSN or certificateNursing EducationYSU's online MSN in Nursing Education (33 credits) and 15-credit certificate: the CNE exam, NURS 7022 and NURS 7023, 150 practicum hours and the settings.OnlineRN to BSNYSU's online RN to BSN practicum: 60 hours in NURS 4852 and NURS 4854L, choosing a leadership preceptor, the Preceptor Information Form and the contract.

All YSU programs

Each practicum, and the preceptor it needs

What every YSU FNP and AGACNP practicum asks of a preceptor and a site.

YSU systemNURS 7061 Practicum 1NURS 7061 is YSU's first FNP practicum: 2 credits, 150 hours in YSU's FAQ, a B in NURS 7047 first, and a first preceptor who must be approved before day one.YSU systemNURS 7062 Practicum 2YSU's NURS 7062 moves FNP students from managing to diagnosing: 2 credits, 150 FAQ hours, a B in NURS 7061 first, and a preceptor due early in Practicum 1.YSU systemNURS 7063 Practicum 3NURS 7063, YSU's third FNP practicum: diagnostic reasoning, current evidence and patient outcomes, 2 credits, 150 FAQ hours and a midpoint hour-mix check.YSU systemNURS 7064 Practicum 4NURS 7064 is YSU's fourth FNP practicum: leadership, critical thinking and care across the lifespan, 2 credits, 150 FAQ hours, and a B in NURS 7063 to enroll.YSU systemNURS 7065 Practicum 5NURS 7065, YSU's last FNP practicum: clinical mastery, autonomy and certification readiness, how it pairs with the NURS 7005 Capstone, and graduation dates.AGACNPAGACNP practicumsThe five YSU AGACNP practicums, NURS 7071 to NURS 7075: catalog focus, the B rule, which acute care preceptors fit each stage and hospital onboarding windows.

When the next term is close

Quick help for the weeks that decide whether a practicum starts on time.

Placement helpNo preceptor yetYour YSU practicum is close and no preceptor has said yes. Tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, count YSU's 90-day and two-month marks, widen the search.Placement helpBehind on hoursBehind on clinical hours in a 7-week YSU practicum? Talk to clinical faculty early, know the B rule and the sequence, and add hours only with YSU's approval.Placement helpYour own search or oursA fair comparison for YSU FNP and AGACNP students: running your own preceptor search versus having a placement service search, across five practicums.Placement helpHow it worksStep by step, how we find a YSU FNP or AGACNP preceptor near you, check it against YSU's rules, beat the two-month deadline and line up your next practicum.

Before you start

Does YSU find preceptors for nurse practitioner students?

YSU's online FAQ highly encourages NP students to secure their own preceptors. Students who cannot find one tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator 90 days ahead, and YSU says it cannot guarantee a site close to home. We do the finding for you.

What exactly do you do for a YSU student?

We find preceptors near you who fit your YSU practicum, check them against YSU's primary care, acute care and workplace rules, and prepare what the preceptor request needs two months ahead. If a preceptor steps away, a replacement search starts right away.

Who approves the preceptor you find?

YSU does. Clinical faculty approve every site and preceptor, preceptors must be approved before clinicals begin, and your Exxat compliance must be complete. An early, complete request keeps each 7-week practicum on schedule.

Can I do YSU practicums outside Ohio?

Yes, in the other states YSU accepts for online nursing students: Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and a fourth state YSU's own pages disagree on (Michigan or Indiana). See the clinicals outside Ohio guide.

When should I start looking for a preceptor?

At admission. YSU's FAQ says the site and preceptor request should begin when you are admitted and can take many months, and each preceptor's details are due two months before the practicum. With five practicums in a row, the next search starts before the current one ends.

YSU asks you to secure your preceptor. We find one near you.

Tell us your YSU track, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the practicum, check YSU's rules and hand you what the preceptor request needs, two months ahead, with the next term's preceptor already in view.

Primary care preceptors for FNP practicums NURS 7061 to NURS 7065, acute care for AGACNP NURS 7071 to NURS 7075
Outside your own unit and away from your supervisor, in a state YSU accepts
Across Ohio, from the Mahoning Valley to Cincinnati, and in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.