Request a preceptor for your next YSU practicum

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the YSU Preceptor placement team

Use the form on this page to start a preceptor search for your next Youngstown State University practicum. Four details let your placement advisor begin: your track, the NURS practicum coming next and its 7-week term, your city and state, and the date it starts. A reply comes promptly, and the chat and message buttons work just as well if you would rather talk first.

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Send your placement request

Your track, next practicum, city and start date. A placement advisor replies promptly.

Numbered steps. What happens after you send it: 1 A prompt reply; 2 A short planning conversation; 3 A written quote; 4 The search; 5 Your request details. — What happens after you send it: 1 A prompt reply; 2 A short planning conversation; 3 A written quote; 4 The search; 5 Your request details.

What to include

The form asks for your program, when your clinical starts and your city and state, with a message box for everything else. These four details shape the whole search:

Your track. MSN FNP, MSN AGACNP, a post-master's FNP or AGACNP certificate (say if you are on the advanced placement option), Nursing Education or RN to BSN. Pick it in the Program list; "Not sure yet" works too.
The next NURS practicum and its 7-week term. For example, NURS 7062 in the first 7-week term of spring 2027, or NURS 7071 in a summer term. Type the course number in the message box.
Your city and state. Where you live now, plus how far you can drive on clinical days.
The start date. The first day of that practicum, from your curriculum plan, rather than the day you hope to have a preceptor.

Useful extras for the message box: the state of your RN license, where you work and on which unit, which practicums already have a preceptor, and any practice that has already shown interest in taking you.

Finding your dates

Your curriculum plan lives on Blackboard, in the Graduate Nursing Orientation Module under Getting Started, and shows which term each practicum falls in. YSU's accelerated calendar supplies the term dates: the second fall 7-week term opens October 19, 2026, the spring terms January 4 and March 8, 2027, and the summer terms May 10 and June 28, 2027 (academic calendar). Count two months back from your start to see when YSU wants preceptor details.

Unsure which practicum comes next? Send what you know. Your YSU advisor can confirm the sequence, and the search can start on the facts you have while you check. Practicums run one per 7-week term in strict order, so once one date is fixed, the rest of the run follows from it.

What happens after you send it

A prompt replyA placement advisor answers by email, text or a call to confirm your details and ask what the form left open, such as your license state or your unit.
A short planning conversationYou talk through the practicums ahead, the setting each needs and any hours that are hard to find, such as pediatric or women's health hours for FNP students.
A written quoteBuilt on the plan you choose, from one practicum to the full run (what shapes the cost).
The searchCandidates are checked against YSU's setting, credential, workplace and state rules before you hear a name.
Your request detailsWhen a preceptor agrees, you receive what the Student Preceptor Agreement and Clinical Site Request ask for, ready to submit through YSU's process before the two-month deadline. YSU's clinical faculty then review and approve.
The next practicumIts search opens while you work through the current one. How it works covers each stage in more depth.

Prefer to chat or message?

Every page offers three other ways in. The chat window, opened with the Chat now button or the Chat with us button in the lower right corner, reaches the placement desk in your browser. The WhatsApp and text buttons in the lower left corner open a message to the placement desk on your phone, with a short greeting already filled in.

Use whichever fits around your shifts. Include the same four details (track, next practicum and term, city and state, start date) and the reply picks up from there. A conversation that starts in chat can move to text or a call whenever that suits you better. If you have already sent the form, mention it in the chat so both threads join up.

If your practicum is close

Put it at the top of your message: the practicum, its start date and whether anyone has said yes. YSU asks students still without a preceptor to tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator at least 90 days before the practicum, and preceptor details are due two months ahead, so do both on the same day: send your request here and write to the coordinator. Check too that your Exxat items are current, because approval of a late preceptor still depends on your own compliance being complete.

A late search begins with the options most likely to clear in time, such as practices where the preceptor can sign for the site and sites that need no fresh agreement with YSU. No preceptor yet lays out the full plan for this week.

Preceptors and general questions

Clinicians who would like to precept YSU nurse practitioner students can use this form as well: pick "I'm a preceptor (not a student)" from the Program menu and describe your specialty, your setting and the terms you could offer. The guide for preceptors explains what YSU asks of a preceptor, from the agreement to evaluations. Students whose prospective preceptor has questions can share that guide or ask the preceptor to write to us here.

For general questions, the FAQ gathers short answers with links to the full guides, and your own search or ours compares the two routes fairly. Everything you send reaches the placement desk, and the privacy policy explains how your details are handled.

Questions YSU students ask

How soon will I hear back after sending a placement request?

Promptly. A placement advisor replies by email, text or a call, using the contact details you gave, to confirm your track and practicum and to ask anything the form left open. If your practicum is close, say so at the top of the message so the reply starts with the most urgent steps.

Do I need my NURS course number before I write?

It helps, but it is not required. Your track, city and start date are enough to begin, and "Not sure yet" is an option in the Program list. The course number and term come from your curriculum plan on Blackboard, and your YSU advisor can confirm them while the search gets underway.

Can I send a request before my first practicum is scheduled?

Yes, and earlier is better. YSU's FAQ says the site and preceptor request should begin when you are admitted and can take many months. An early request lets the plan cover all five practicums, secure scarce pediatric or women's health hours first and leave time for any facility agreement.

What if my practicum start date changes after I send the request?

Tell your placement advisor as soon as your curriculum plan changes, whether the start moves earlier or later. The search dates, YSU's two-month deadline and any health system windows all count back from the practicum start, so the plan is reset around the new date.

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.Placement helpCostWhat decides the cost of preceptor help for a YSU nursing student: practicum type, scarce specialties, where you live, timing and how many practicums you need.Placement helpFAQShort answers to what YSU nursing students ask about our preceptor search and YSU's clinical process, each linked to the page that covers the topic in full.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 helpFor preceptorsFor NPs, physicians and PAs asked to precept a YSU nurse practitioner student: the practicums, hours per 7-week term, paperwork, approval and evaluations.YSU systemAcademic calendarYSU's 2026-27 accelerated calendar: 7-week term dates, the four online starts, graduation deadlines, a Spring 2 date conflict and how practicums map on.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.

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.