Clinical Planning
The collaboration between the Clinical Site Coordination team and students, under faculty oversight, ensures that graduate nursing clinical placements are meaningful, educational and aligned with program requirements.
Recognizing that students have varying needs related to scheduling, travel, and location, the college empowers them to take an active role in identifying clinical sites and preceptors that best suit their individual circumstances. During their first semester, students are encouraged to build professional networks and connect with local healthcare organizations, leveraging these relationships to explore placement opportunities that align with their clinical specialty and program requirements.
Why Are Clinical Experiences Important?
The clinical portion of graduate nursing programs is not only structured and supportive of didactic learning but also essential for developing advanced clinical competencies. Clinical and practicum experiences bridge classroom knowledge with hands-on practice, enabling students to achieve role-specific competencies through direct, supervised patient care and feedback-driven progression. Under the guidance of experienced preceptors, these experiences build clinical confidence and foster professional growth.
Clinical Planning Resources
Upon your admission to a graduate nursing program, it is essential that you thoroughly review all clinical planning resources to ensure a clear understanding of key elements such as clinical placement procedures, expectations and program requirements.
- Familiarize yourself with your program-specific clinical requirements.
- To acclimate yourself with common terms used by UC College of Nursing related to clinical planning and the overall student experience, see our Clinical Planning Glossary of Terms
- Clinical Planning Checklist (PDF): includes all tasks associated with clinical planning so you can adequately prepare for your clinical activity.
- Networking Tips & Strategies (PDF): provides recommendations as you network to secure a clinical preceptor. Suggested questions to navigate conversations with potential preceptors are included.
- Academic Netiquette (PDF): practical tips for students to foster respectful, effective and courteous behavior in their online communication.
- Preceptor Outreach Scripts: offer sample language for emails and phone calls to preceptors. - Email (PDF) Phone (PDF)
- Clinical Course Expectations and Responsibilities (PDF)
- Check out our YouTube playlist with quick videos on clinical requirements topics, such as navigating this page and tips for finding a preceptor.
Please note:
- Nurse Anesthesia DNP students will receive additional clinical requirement information as part of their welcome message before the program starts.
- Due to accreditation standards, preceptors for Nurse Midwifery MSN students must submit both the preceptor application and a current professional resume/curriculum vitae.
- PhD students are not required clinical planning.
Preceptor applications and site affiliation agreements are required for all clinical rotations.
Each preceptor must complete and submit a preceptor application to ensure they meet program and accreditation standards. An affiliation agreement* between the clinical site and the University of Cincinnati must also be in place before a student can begin their rotation.
UC typically provides its approved Educational Affiliation Agreement, however, if the clinical site requires the use of its own agreement, the terms of such agreement will need to be negotiated between the legal counsels of both parties. As this process can take up to six months or longer, students and sites are encouraged to begin this process as early as possible to avoid delays in clinical placements.
*An affiliation agreement is a legal contract between two or more entities that establishes a formal relationship between the clinical site and the University It outlines the terms, conditions and responsibilities of each party involved in the partnership. These agreements are crucial for ensuring clarity, managing risks and facilitating successful collaborations. Such agreements usually take a minimum of 6 weeks to get ready.
Preceptor Application (PDF): The application includes a student information section that must be completed by the student before submission.
| Term of Clinical Course | Preceptor Packet Deadline |
|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Last Friday in May |
| Spring Semester |
1st Friday in October |
| Summer Semester |
1st Friday in February |
Added Requirements for California and North Dakota
In addition to the preceptor application, California and North Dakota state boards of nursing require specific documentation to be submitted separately by preceptors of students engaging in clinical (practicum/internship) experiences in these states.
State authorization forms are a separate requirement from the preceptor application and must be submitted separately from the packet. Do not submit state authorization forms together with the preceptor application.
All documentation for your state should be thoroughly completed and sent to constateauth@uc.edu at least 1 week before the start of the semester in which clinical activity is slated to occur.
| Term of Clinical Course | Documentation Deadline |
|---|---|
| Fall Semester | 1 Week Prior to Semester Start |
| Spring Semester |
1 Week Prior to Semester Start |
| Summer Semester |
1 Week Prior to Semester Start |
For assistance related to state regulations and state board of nursing authorization, email constateauth@uc.edu.
Each clinical site may have its own specific process for requesting and approving student clinical rotations. These processes can include application forms, deadlines, or internal approval procedures that must be followed before a rotation can be confirmed.
Many sites also require students to complete onboarding requirements—such as orientation, training modules, background checks, or health documentation—prior to participating in any clinical activities. Students should reach out to the secured site to complete any required onboarding, the Clinical Site Coordinator will assist with completing the school portions of the onboarding documentation, such as Letter of Good Standing and Liability/Malpractice verification. Collaboration to comply with all site-specific requirements is critical in ensuring timely placement and avoiding delays.
If you are considering a clinical placement at any of the sites listed below, please contact your respective Clinical Site Coordinator for guidance before engaging in activities to secure a preceptor. Sites include, but are not limited to:
- Allina Health, Minnesota (You must be an Allina Health employee and admitted in the Spring '23 semester or prior to complete clinical activity at Allina Health.)
- Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
- Essentia Health, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota
- Nationwide Children's Hospital, Ohio
- Norton Healthcare, Kentucky
- The Little Clinic, Ohio
- Stanford Health Care, California
- Summa Health, Ohio
The University of Cincinnati has been approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) initiative to offer online/distance learning programs to residents of most other SARA states.
Gray: authorized states | Red: unauthorized states | Black: partially authorized states
The College of Nursing is authorized to have a clinical presence in all states, except Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
In Washington, Master of Science in Nursing and Post-MSN Certificate programs are authorized; Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are not.
Added Requirements for California and North Dakota
In addition to the preceptor application, California and North Dakota state boards of nursing require specific documentation to be submitted separately by preceptors of students engaging in clinical (practicum/internship) experiences in these states.
All documentation for your state should be thoroughly completed and sent to constateauth@uc.edu at least one week before the start of the semester in which clinical activity is slated to occur. For assistance related to state regulations and state board of nursing authorization, email constateauth@uc.edu..
Note: State authorization forms are a separate requirement from the preceptor application and must be submitted separately from the packet. Do not submit state authorization forms together with the preceptor application.
In addition to states where the college does not have authorization or only has partial authorization granted by the respective state board of nursing (Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee; Washington for Doctor of Nursing Practice programs), there are limitations regarding clinical activity outside of the approved states:
- Students cannot complete clinical activity within a U.S. Territory.
- Students cannot complete clinical activity at a U.S. Embassy.
- Students cannot complete clinical activity in a country outside of the U.S. (unless residing on a military base while the student (or a partner) is serving in the military, following additional guidance:
- The student serving in the military (or the military partner) should confirm that they will have the ability to complete clinical requirements on the military base. Military base contracts can take over 6 months to a year for approval (and approval is not guaranteed). If the military base and the University of Cincinnati are unable to establish a contract with the military base, students would have to delay clinical activity until they return to an approved U.S. state.
Some sites assess a fee related to the administrative process of completing clinical activity in their organization. This fee does not go to the preceptor.
The Cleveland Clinic (OH) and Atrium Health (AKA Charlotte-Mecklenberg Hospital, NC) are examples of sites that address this fee in their affiliation agreement. UC College of Nursing is required to work in collaboration with these aforementioned sites to obtain fee payment from the student and provide to the site. However, there could be other sites that assess a clinical fee directly to the student.
The fee structure for clinical activity is determined by each site. Please consider this as you prepare for clinical activity.
Additional Resources
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has created a Facebook group (ANCC: Preceptor Connect Group) to assist in making connections between students and potential preceptors. By joining this group, you can both post information related to your preceptor needs and monitor posts of persons who are willing to serve as a preceptor. This resource is most beneficial to post preceptor needs after students have:
- Networked through healthcare systems/colleagues and professional organizations to identify an appropriate and available clinical site/preceptor; and
- Connected with their respective clinical site coordinator to further discuss other resources to assist in the preceptor search, including information on former preceptors and alumni who reside in their state.
Joining this Facebook group is just one avenue for you to network. It is truly a supplement as you actively engage in securing a preceptor.
If the above networking strategies do not result in securing a preceptor, please work with your Clinical Site Coordinator to discuss other possible options, which could ultimately be outside of your preferred geographical area and require travel.
We created a playlist of videos to assist UC College of Nursing preceptors in completing frequently performed actions (e.g. logging in, approving/denying time logs, and completing evaluations) in eMedley.
Program-Specific Information
Clinical Site Coordinator: Taylor Soria
- Clinical Requirements - MSN/DNP
- Clinical Requirements - Post-MSN Certificate
- Clinical Planning Instructions
Clinical Site Coordinator: Taylor Soria
- Clinical Requirements - MSN/DNP
- Clinical Requirements - Post-MSN Certificate
- Clinical Planning Information
- Frequently Asked Questions
Clinical Site Coordinators:
- Melissa Joos (MSN)
- Taylor Soria (DNP/Post-MSN Certificate)
Clinical Site Coordinator: Taylor Soria
Students in the Nurse Anesthesia program should contact DeWana Bailey for information on clinical planning.
- Clinical Requirements - Post-Bachelor's Certificate
- Clinical Requirements - MSN
- Nurse Education Clinical Planning FAQ
Clinical Site Coordinator: Melissa Joos
Clinical Site Coordinator: Mo Koo
Please note: To meet accreditation standards, those serving as a preceptor for a Nurse Midwifery student must submit both the preceptor application and a current professional resume/curriculum vitae.
Clinical Site Coordinator: Mo Koo
Clinical Site Coordinator: Joe Letizia
Clinical Site Coordinator: Joe Letizia
Clinical Site Coordinator: Joe Letizia
Clinical Site Coordinator: Mo Koo