Finding your own preceptor at YSU: the exact words, and what they ask of you
Youngstown State University's online FAQ asks nurse practitioner students to secure their own preceptors, and its graduate handbook explains how clinical faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator work around that search. This guide quotes both in full, reads them together fairly, and then shows how we take the finding off your plate.
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Tell us your YSU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your YSU course.
YSU's answer, word for word
The FAQ asks the question students ask, "Are preceptors assigned by the university, or do I find my own preceptor?", and answers it in one sentence: "Youngstown State University highly encourages students to secure their own preceptors (to best accommodate schedule and location)."
A second answer, to a question about whether the university has affiliations with clinical sites, comes back to the same point: "Students are highly encouraged to explore clinical opportunities in their own geographic location. All clinical site and preceptor information will be verified as students submit their information for approval." On how to look, the FAQ says: "Helpful tips on securing a preceptor can be found on the Graduate Nursing Program BB site." That is the graduate nursing Blackboard site, open to enrolled students.
The reason in parentheses is worth taking seriously. A preceptor you choose can suit your shifts and your town, which is what makes a 7-week practicum workable while you keep working as a nurse.
If you cannot find one: help, the 90-day notice and a possible commute
YSU offers a fallback, and the FAQ is candid about its limits. Asked "What happens if a student cannot locate a preceptor?", it begins: "If students need assistance with clinical placement, Youngstown State University cannot guarantee," and the thing it cannot promise is location: "a clinical placement within your immediate vicinity." It continues: "Students may be required to commute outside of their local area for clinical placement."
Then comes the instruction with a date attached: "Notify Graduate Clinical Coordinator ... if unable to locate a preceptor at least 90 days in advance." The FAQ prints a person's name and address in that gap; the role is what matters, and YSU's Blackboard site is the place to confirm who holds it now.
Read fairly, this is a real safety net with an honest caveat. YSU will work with a student who asks for help, and it says up front that the site may be a drive away. For a working nurse fitting a full practicum into seven weeks, that distance is the part to plan around.
Start at admission, submit two months ahead
The FAQ sets the pace in three sentences: "The student will begin the clinical site request and preceptor request via Medatrax. This process needs to begin when the student is admitted to the program. This process may take many months." The 2026-27 handbook now names Exxat as the school's placement and documentation system, so read Medatrax as the older name for where the request lives (how YSU uses Exxat).
The deadline for each practicum appears twice. "Preceptor information must be submitted to the university two months prior to the clinical start date for approval." And: "The earlier students can secure a preceptor, the better. Students should submit preceptor information no later than two months prior to the start of each clinical rotation to be sure they are approved and avoid any delays." One more sentence closes the loop: "Preceptors must be approved prior to the start of clinicals." The approval timeline turns these into calendar dates.
What the handbook adds about YSU's side
The 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook describes the same process from the school's side: "Clinical placements are arranged in collaboration with the Program Director, clinical faculty, and approved clinical agencies." Among the duties of clinical faculty it lists "Approving clinical sites and preceptors that meet program and accreditation requirements." The FAQ adds: "A Graduate Clinical Coordinator will be assigned to work with students throughout the program."
The handbook also names the student's share: "Ensuring that all clinical compliance requirements, affiliation agreements, and preceptor approvals are completed before participating in clinical experiences." Read side by side, the documents fit together. You bring the preceptor and the paperwork, YSU's clinical faculty judge whether the site and preceptor meet the program's standards, and the coordinator works alongside you from admission to the final practicum.
What securing a preceptor involves in practice
"Highly encourages" is a short phrase for a long job. Every preceptor you approach has to clear each of these before the request is worth submitting.
- A setting that matches the track: for FNP, primary care, whether adult, gerontology, pediatric or women's health; for AGACNP, acute care.
- Credentials that meet the 2026-27 handbook, keeping in mind the FAQ's older and stricter line on physician assistants (preceptor requirements).
- A site off your own unit, a preceptor who is not your supervisor, and practicum hours kept apart from paid shifts.
- A facility willing to sign what YSU needs, including an affiliation agreement if it requires one.
- A location in a state YSU accepts for online students, where you hold a current RN license (clinicals outside Ohio).
- Room in the preceptor's schedule for a whole 7-week practicum and, for FNP students, a path toward YSU's recommended adult, pediatric and women's health hours.
- The same search again for each of five practicums, each due two months ahead.
How we do the finding
This is the work we take on. Your placement advisor learns your track, the practicum ahead, where you live and when you can train, then searches practices and units near you for a preceptor who fits that exact course: primary care practices for the FNP sequence, NURS 7061 through NURS 7065, or acute care teams for NURS 7071 through NURS 7075.
Every candidate is checked against YSU's rules before you hear the name: setting, credentials, workplace limits, state and the facility's contract needs. You receive the preceptor's details, gathered for the site and preceptor request, early enough to clear the two-month deadline with room to spare. During each practicum, the search for your next preceptor is already under way, and if a preceptor steps away, we find the replacement.
Every preceptor and site still goes to YSU's clinical faculty for approval. What we add is a search that is thorough, early and matched to YSU's own process, so your request is ready the first time. Tell us about your next practicum.
Questions YSU students ask
Does YSU give NP students a list of preceptors or affiliated sites?
YSU publishes no such list. Asked whether it has affiliations with clinical sites, the FAQ answers by encouraging students to explore opportunities where they live and says site and preceptor information is verified on submission. Its tips for finding a preceptor are posted inside Blackboard, where enrolled graduate nursing students can read them.
Does my preceptor have to be in my hometown?
No YSU rule requires it. YSU favors a local search so the preceptor suits your schedule and location, but the site has to be in a state YSU accepts for online students, where your RN license is current. If YSU helps with placement, its FAQ says you may need to commute.
When should I tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator I have no preceptor?
At least 90 days before the practicum starts, according to the FAQ. That is roughly a month before the two-month submission deadline, so treat the notice as an early warning while options remain. Tell the coordinator about any later preceptor change as soon as it happens, too.
Can hours in one practicum be split between two preceptors?
Yes. YSU's FAQ lets hours be split among multiple approved preceptors and says the NP program sets no defined number of them. Each preceptor still needs approval before you train with them, so adding a second preceptor means submitting a second set of details in time.
Can I ask providers at my own employer to precept me?
Yes, within limits. YSU allows clinicals at your place of employment, but not on the unit or patient care area where you work, not under your immediate supervisor, and never while you are on the clock. The workplace guide walks through each rule.
Related pages
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 7061toNURS 7065, acute care for AGACNPNURS 7071toNURS 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.