Questions Sacred Heart nursing students ask us

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Sacred Heart Preceptor placement team

These are the broad questions that come up before a Sacred Heart University student starts working with the placement desk. Program, course and deadline details have their own pages, linked as you go, so the answers here stay short.

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Questions Sacred Heart nursing students ask us. These are the broad questions that come up before a Sacred Heart University student starts working with the placement desk. Program, course and deadline details — Answers for Sacred Heart University nursing students about our placement service: who we help, where we search, telehealth, licenses and how to begin.

Who we help

We place students from every Sacred Heart program in which the student finds the clinical site: the online MSN tracks for family and psychiatric-mental health NP practice, the two post-master's NP certificates, the online CNL, Nursing Education and NMEL tracks, the RN-BSN and RN-BSN-MSN, and the post-master's DNP, where the task is a practice mentor and a project site. Each has its own preceptor rules, and the search starts from yours.

Hybrid FNP/DNP students arrange the NU 552 observation themselves and later courses run through the FNP/DNP Clinical Placement Coordinator, so we help with that observation and with sites they arrange for approval. Campus BSN, accelerated BSN and ASN students are placed by Sacred Heart and may not arrange their own. Every program is listed on the programs page.

Where we search

Near where you live, in states where Sacred Heart says your track meets the educational requirements for licensure. For its FNP and PMHNP programs, Sacred Heart's disclosure table marks five states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories "No", and adds Washington for PMHNP alone. The licensure disclosures page names each one.

New York is its own case: residents may enroll, but their NP hours take place across the state line, under an RN license from that neighboring state, as the New York rule page explains. Connecticut FNP students may seek placements in any state other than New York, which widens the map when primary care sites near home are hard to come by. Tell us every state where you hold a license and the search covers each one.

How we fit Sacred Heart's rules

Everything we prepare follows the path Sacred Heart sets: advisor approval, NP clinical coordinator approval, the Contract Request Form, the affiliation agreement and the clearance email. Each preceptor is checked against your track's credential rules before you hear the name, and the site's contract contact is confirmed so the agreement can begin promptly.

Two rules shape every search from the start. Your preceptor cannot be a family member or close friend, and your RN license must be active and unencumbered in whichever state hosts your clinical hours. We also keep the course calendar in view, since an NP clinical course cannot be registered for until the site and preceptor are approved. The clinical placement process page walks the full sequence.

Working alongside your advisor and faculty

Your academic advisor, course faculty and clinical advisor keep every role Sacred Heart gives them. The advisor approves your site, your preceptor and your registration; faculty and the clinical advisor oversee the rotation and your grade. The placement desk handles the search and the paperwork around it, so the people who evaluate you receive a clean, complete proposal.

If an advisor asks for something different, such as another setting or a different preceptor credential, tell your placement advisor and the search changes course to match. Keep an eye on your SHU email as well: the student guide asks you to answer clinical and compliance messages within 48 to 72 hours, and a quick reply keeps your approval moving through each office.

Your information, and how to begin

We ask for only what a search requires: program, NU course, home city, licenses, deadline and the hours still ahead. Those details are used to answer you and to set up your placement, and a prospective preceptor or site sees only what it needs to consider you. Health records and background check reports can wait until a specific placement calls for them. The privacy policy has the details.

To begin, send your program, NU course and city through the form on this page, or start with the chat or WhatsApp if a question comes first. A placement advisor answers with a plan and a written quote, and nothing moves forward until you say so. Mention a preferred channel for replies in the form, and your placement advisor works around it.

Questions Sacred Heart students ask

Can Sacred Heart clinical hours be done by telehealth?

Only in limited ways. The graduate catalog says NP clinical hours are completed in person, or occasionally via telehealth as directed by the preceptor. The MSN guide says CNL, NE and NMEL clinical experiences are in person on site, and the hybrid FNP/DNP guide adds that a Zoom class can never count as clinical hours. Plan for an in-person placement and check with course faculty before counting any telehealth time.

Can I do my clinical hours where I work?

Yes, with conditions. Many online students train with their current employer, according to Sacred Heart's online FAQ, and the Contract Request Form has questions about your employment at the site and your work with the preceptor. RN-BSN students can use their employer's institution, though not the unit where they work. The workplace clinical site page covers each track.

Which RN license do I need for clinicals in another state?

Sacred Heart requires a current, active, unencumbered nursing license in every state where you do clinical practice. Connecticut joined the multistate Nurse Licensure Compact effective October 1, 2025, so a Connecticut resident's multistate license is recognized in other compact states. The RN license page explains the rule state by state.

What happens if I relocate partway through my program?

Tell Sacred Heart and tell us early. Sacred Heart asks students who relocate to check its state disclosures and file a change of address, and warns that skipping this step may lead to an inability to obtain clinical placements in the new state. Once your new state is confirmed as eligible, the search restarts there with your new RN license in view.

Can clinical hours from the Ireland experience count?

Sacred Heart offers an optional two-week international clinical experience in Ireland. Its guides add that a degree track may limit how many clinical hours a student can accrue through global immersion, so confirm the count with your program before planning around it. The Ireland clinical immersion page has more.

Can a relative or friend who is an NP precept me?

No. Sacred Heart does not permit a family member or close friend to serve as your preceptor, because it creates a conflict of interest, and every Contract Request Form asks you to confirm this. A colleague you know professionally is a separate question, which the form handles by asking how the two of you work together.

Is there a way to ask something quickly first?

Yes. Open the chat from any page and the placement desk answers there, or use WhatsApp if messaging from your phone is easier. Ask about your course, your state or your timing, and fill in the form once you know you want to start.

ServiceHow it worksFrom intake to your final clinical hour: how we find a Sacred Heart preceptor near home, prepare the approval details and stay on call through the course.PricingCostWhat shapes a quote for a Sacred Heart University preceptor placement: program, course, setting, location, timing and whether the site has an agreement.ContactContactContact the Sacred Heart Preceptor placement desk: what to include about your program, NU course, deadline, city, licenses and hours, and what happens next.ProcessClinical placement processHow a Sacred Heart University clinical placement moves from a named preceptor to the Cleared for Clinical email, step by step, with the differences by program.ComparePlacement help vs your own searchSearch alone, lean on Sacred Heart's own support or use a placement service: how the routes compare on time, reach, CRF readiness, agreements and backup.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Sacred Heart's own catalog, program pages and 2026-27 student guides. Your student guide, your academic advisor and your course faculty have the final word.

Sacred Heart asks you to secure your clinical placement. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Sacred Heart program, your city and your next clinical course. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what your advisor, the NP clinical coordinator and the Contract Request Form ask for, early enough for the affiliation agreement.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care of adults, women and children for FNP, psychiatric care across the lifespan for PMHNP
Preceptor CV, license, board certification and the site's contract contact ready before your week-10 deadline
Close to home in any state where Sacred Heart's program meets licensure requirements, with New York's rule planned around

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