YSU's online RN to BSN practicum: your leadership preceptor and the contract behind it
Youngstown State University's online RN to BSN carries 60 precepted practicum hours: 20 in the NURS 4852 capstone and 40 in the leadership course. You choose the setting and a nurse leader to precept you, YSU signs a contract with the facility, and the contract information is due at least 60 days before the capstone. Nurses who are not working can ask the nursing department for help, two 7-week terms early.
Need a leadership preceptor?
Tell us your capstone term, your state and whether you are working now. A placement advisor replies with the next steps.
The program and where the practicum fits
The RN to BSN is fully online. YSU's online page counts 28 credit hours of program courses and a finish in as few as 10 months, and the catalog lists 121 to 122 semester hours for the whole program. Admission is open every semester.
Only two courses carry practicum hours, and in both you learn beside a nurse leader rather than in a faculty-led clinical group. YSU's sources name the courses slightly differently: the FAQ says Senior Capstone and Leadership in Nursing, the 2026-2027 RN-BSN handbook also says Nursing Capstone and Nursing Leadership, and the handbook and catalog write the leadership course without the L. The hours match everywhere.
| Course | Precepted hours | Where YSU states it |
|---|---|---|
NURS 4852 Senior Capstone | 20 | FAQ, 2026-2027 RN-BSN handbook, catalog |
NURS 4854L Leadership in Nursing | 40 | FAQ; the handbook and catalog write NURS 4854 |
| Total | 60 | All three sources agree |
Choosing a leadership role model
The handbook asks you to identify a leadership role model to be your preceptor, and the FAQ says you pick the practice setting as well. The person you choose has to clear a short list:
- A registered nurse holding at least a BSN; the handbook's wording is a BSN or MSN.
- A leadership role in the organization, with at least one year of experience in it and demonstrated competence in the role.
- Available to you at all times during the preceptorship.
- Willing to complete YSU's Preceptor Qualification form, which validates those credentials.
YSU's FAQ recommends doing the practicum where you already work and gives charge nurses, assistant unit managers, unit managers and shift supervisors as examples. The handbook adds one limit: preceptorship and online coursework should not happen during scheduled work hours, so plan the 60 hours as time off the clock even at your own hospital.
Forms and the practicum contract
Four pieces of work stand between you and the first practicum hour. The forms themselves are not posted publicly; you reach them through the program.
- Preceptor Information FormCompleted in full and sent to the Clinical and Student Services Coordinator or the RN-BSN Coordinator, per the handbook. It tells YSU who will precept you and where.
- Preceptor Qualification formYour preceptor documents their education, the leadership role and the year of leadership experience. The FAQ lists this form and the contract as required before practicum activities begin.
- Practicum contractEvery facility used for a preceptorship needs a formal legal contract with YSU. To prepare it, YSU needs the name of the person with signature authority at the facility, plus that person's email and other contact details.
- Site complianceSome facilities ask RN students for a drug screen or background check. Those are documented in Exxat, or you file a signed statement that compliance is met through your employment. Certifications such as HIPAA or OSHA training may carry a cost.
Preceptor orientation material sits in the Blackboard orientation course (the FAQ points to Module 7), and the RN-BSN Coordinator serves as each student's faculty advisor. The who does what page sorts out the roles.
Timing: 60 days, or two terms if you are not working
The handbook's deadline is 60 days before NURS 4852: contract information should be in by then, so YSU has time to plan, confirm your preceptor and prepare the site contract. Treat it as the latest date rather than the target, because the facility's side of a contract moves on its own schedule.
Nurses who are not currently working have a second route. The FAQ says you may request a hospital or health care agency in your area, and the nursing department can help you find and request the placement. That help takes longer, so the request belongs at least two 7-week terms before you register for the capstone.
Once the contract and forms are through, you and your preceptor agree on a schedule that fits 20 hours in the capstone and 40 in the leadership course around both of your shifts.
The common slip is waiting until capstone registration to ask a manager. Contract information is due 60 days before NURS 4852 starts, and a request for the department's help belongs two 7-week terms ahead.
Outside Ohio: the RN to BSN state list
The RN to BSN has a narrower map than YSU's graduate programs. YSU's online program map shows Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan as open for the RN to BSN and marks West Virginia unavailable, even though the graduate programs accept West Virginia residents. No other YSU page lists RN to BSN states, so confirm with YSU in writing if you live in West Virginia; the state authorization page tracks the graduate lists.
If you live in Pennsylvania or Michigan, the handbook gives you two extra jobs: making sure a legal clinical agreement can be granted for a preceptorship outside Ohio, and checking that state's own requirements for the capstone and leadership courses. Raise both with the facility at the same time you ask your preceptor, since either one can stretch the 60-day window.
How we help RN to BSN students
YSU's FAQ points most students toward a leader at their own workplace. When that route is closed, because you are between jobs, your unit's leaders are stretched thin or you live outside Ohio, a placement advisor finds the leadership preceptor and the facility for you, and prepares what YSU needs from both.
- A nurse leader with a BSN or higher and a year or more in the role, confirmed before you put the name forward.
- The facility's signature authority identified, with the contact details YSU's contract calls for.
- Everything the Preceptor Information Form asks for, gathered in one place so you can complete it in full.
- A plan for 20 capstone hours and 40 leadership hours that fits your preceptor's shifts and your own.
We work back from your capstone term so the file is ready well inside the 60-day mark, earlier still if you also want the department's help. Start with your term and state on the request form.
Questions YSU students ask
Can my charge nurse be my YSU RN to BSN preceptor?
Often, yes. YSU's FAQ names charge nurses among the leadership roles it suggests. The test is the handbook's list: a registered nurse with at least a BSN, in a leadership role, with a year or more of leadership experience, who completes the Preceptor Qualification form. A charge nurse without a bachelor's would not meet it.
Do RN to BSN practicum hours have to be in a hospital?
No hospital-only rule appears in YSU's materials. The FAQ describes practicum hours in various learning environments chosen by the student, and it lets nurses who are not working request a hospital or health care agency. What matters is a qualified leadership preceptor and a contract between YSU and the facility, whatever kind of facility it is.
Can hours I work count toward the 60 practicum hours?
No. The RN-BSN handbook says preceptorship coursework should not take place during scheduled work hours. Plan the capstone and leadership hours as separate time with your preceptor, even when the practicum is at your own employer, and record them the way your course faculty direct.
Does YSU need a contract if my practicum is at my own hospital?
Yes. The handbook says every clinical site used for a preceptorship requires a formal legal contract between YSU and the facility, and the FAQ asks for the signature authority's name and contact details to complete it. Working there does not replace the contract, so ask the Clinical and Student Services Coordinator whether one is already on file.
Is there orientation for RN to BSN preceptors?
Yes. YSU's FAQ places preceptor orientation material for the practicums in the Blackboard orientation course, in Module 7. Share it with your preceptor as soon as they agree, along with the course expectations, so the two of you start the first shift with the same picture of the capstone and leadership hours.
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
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