When a YSU preceptor drops out

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

If a preceptor pulls out before or during a Youngstown State University practicum, tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator as soon as possible, as YSU's FAQ asks, and tell your clinical faculty the same day. Get the hours you already logged verified, then put forward a replacement who can be approved before you log another hour, because YSU's usual lead time for preceptor paperwork is two months.

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12 monthsGap in practicum courses after which YSU's handbook requires repeating completed practicums

The first day: notify, document, return

Speed matters more than polish. The earlier YSU hears about the change, the more options your clinical faculty have for the rest of the term.

Tell the Graduate Clinical CoordinatorYSU's FAQ asks students to report any preceptor change as soon as possible. Put it in writing: the date, what happened and how many hours remain.
Tell your clinical facultyThey approve sites and preceptors and assign your clinical grade, so they decide how the rest of the practicum proceeds.
Get your hours verifiedThe handbook makes verifying hours and completing required evaluations part of the preceptor's role. Ask the departing preceptor to sign off on what you completed while they are still reachable.
Bring your Exxat log up to dateEnter every encounter and hour through your last day, since the handbook makes accurate practicum records your responsibility.
Return anything the site loaned youUnder the handbook, unreturned site equipment blocks progression to the next practicum course.

What happens to the hours you already did

Hours supervised by an approved preceptor and properly recorded belong to your practicum record. YSU's FAQ allows a practicum's hours to be split among several approved preceptors, so a replacement can supervise the remainder rather than restarting the count. What you need is proof: verified hours, any evaluation that was due, and a clean log.

Two things can put finished hours at risk. One is time: under the 2026-27 handbook, a student away from practicum courses for more than 12 consecutive months must repeat every practicum already completed, hours included. The other is documentation. Hours a preceptor never verified are hard to defend, so ask for the sign-off before the relationship ends, not weeks later.

Missed days are a separate issue. The handbook says missed clinical hours are made up at a time approved by the preceptor and your clinical faculty, which after a change means your new preceptor.

The approval clock for a replacement

YSU's standard is preceptor information two months before a practicum begins, and nobody may precept you before approval. YSU publishes no separate fast track for a mid-term replacement, so the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your clinical faculty set the path. Your part is to hand them a complete candidate who fits the practicum, quickly.

The 7-week term makes each week count. At 150 hours per practicum, the figure on YSU's program page, a two-week gap squeezes the remaining hours into five weeks. A replacement at a facility that still needs a new affiliation agreement is usually the slowest option, since YSU's FAQ warns those negotiations may not finish before a start date. A second preceptor already approved at your current site, or one at a facility with no new contract to negotiate, tends to move faster.

If the loss comes before the practicum starts, the same rules apply with a shorter runway. YSU asks students who cannot find a preceptor to tell the coordinator at least 90 days ahead; the approval timeline shows how those dates stack up.

If the practicum cannot finish on time

Talk with your clinical faculty about options before the term ends. YSU's written rules set the frame:

YSU rules that apply when a practicum runs short
Rule	Source	What it means for you
An Incomplete requires more than 60% of the course done, satisfactory work and a reason beyond your control that the instructor accepts	Graduate catalog	A late-term preceptor loss may qualify; an early one may not
A student with an Incomplete in a required course cannot progress to later courses	2026-27 graduate handbook	Your next practicum waits until this one closes
Incompletes close March 1 for fall and October 1 for summer; spring is July 1 in the handbook and September 1 in the catalog	Handbook and catalog (conflict on spring)	Unfinished work converts to an F after the deadline
Missed clinical hours are made up at a time the preceptor and clinical faculty approve	2026-27 graduate handbook	Schedule make-up days with the new preceptor
Failure to begin or complete required clinical experiences is a ground for administrative withdrawal	2026-27 graduate handbook	A long stall is a program risk, not only a course risk
Every required course needs a B, and a course may be repeated once	Graduate handbook and catalog	Protect the grade as well as the hours

The grades and time limits guide covers these rules in full, and behind on clinical hours deals with catching up inside a term.

Keep a backup ready before you need one

The cheapest insurance is a second name. Because hours can be split among approved preceptors, ask whether another NP or physician at your site would be willing to be approved alongside your main preceptor. If your main preceptor goes on leave, changes jobs or cuts clinic days, the second is already cleared.

Watch for early signals: a preceptor mentioning a new job, a practice changing hands, a site slow to return its agreement, or clinic days that keep shrinking. Any of these is reason to start a backup search, and reason to tell the coordinator if the practicum is already under way.

Plan one practicum ahead as well. With five practicums in strict order, the preceptor for your next term should be in progress while the current one runs, so a sudden change never leaves two terms uncovered at once. The 7-week terms guide lays out that rhythm.

Keep new hours off the log until the replacement is approved. YSU requires approval before clinicals, and hours supervised by an unapproved preceptor may not count.

How we help the day a preceptor drops

Tell your placement advisor what happened, where you are in the term and how many hours remain, and the replacement search starts that day. We look first for the options that can be approved fastest, such as a second preceptor at your current site or a practice with no new contract to negotiate, then widen to practices near your home that fit the practicum: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP.

Each candidate is checked against YSU's credential rules, your own unit and supervisor limits and your license state before you hear the name, and we assemble what the preceptor paperwork needs so your clinical faculty can review it without delay. We stay on call for every remaining practicum and keep a standing backup in view where one can be found. YSU's clinical faculty approve every replacement. Start a replacement request or read what to do this week.

Questions YSU students ask

Will I fail a YSU practicum if my preceptor quits?

Not automatically. A preceptor leaving is a change YSU expects you to report, and your clinical faculty decide how the practicum continues. Timing shapes the options: late in the term an Incomplete may be possible if you meet the catalog's conditions, while early in the term a fast, approved replacement is the aim. Report the change the day it happens.

Can my new preceptor sign for hours I completed with the old one?

Ask each preceptor to verify only the hours they supervised. The handbook makes hour verification part of the preceptor's role, so the cleanest record has the departing preceptor confirming their hours and the replacement confirming theirs. Collect the first sign-off before your former preceptor becomes hard to reach.

Does a mid-term replacement need the full two months for approval?

YSU's two-month lead time is written for preceptor information before each practicum starts, and YSU publishes no separate timeline for changes during a term. Follow the Graduate Clinical Coordinator's direction, submit a complete packet at once, and log nothing with the new preceptor until approval arrives.

Can I change preceptors because the placement is a poor fit?

YSU's public documents set out no process for switching by choice, so start with your clinical faculty. Any new preceptor needs the same approval as the first, and a 7-week term leaves little slack, so have a qualified alternative identified before you raise it. Keep your hour log and evaluations current in the meantime.

What if my preceptor cancels before the practicum even starts?

Tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator right away and restart the search that day. YSU asks for preceptor information two months before each practicum and for notice at least 90 days ahead if you cannot find one, so a late cancellation can put the start date at risk. A backup identified earlier is the quickest fix.

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.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.YSU systemGrades and time limitsYSU's MSN progression rules: a B in every practicum, repeats, clinical failure, Incompletes, the 6-year vs 4-year limit, leave, transfer credit and appeals.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.Terms7-week practicum termsHow YSU's 7-week practicum terms work: one practicum per term in strict order, a B to move on, no didactic course alongside, and five preceptors back to back.

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

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