Georgia clinicals for Sacred Heart University NP students
Yes, Georgia works: Sacred Heart University's September 2026 disclosures mark it "Yes" for every FNP and PMHNP program. Georgia's nursing board keeps its hands off graduate programs from other states, so Sacred Heart files nothing with it before placing you. The state's attention goes to licenses instead, yours and your preceptor's.
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Tell us your Sacred Heart program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Georgia: yes across the NP table
On Sacred Heart's State Authorization page, the Georgia cell reads "Yes" for each FNP and PMHNP program, and the Clinical Nurse Leader track is "Yes" everywhere. That is the September 2026 picture; the catalog asks you to confirm it yourself before enrolling or relocating.
| Program | Georgia | Clinical courses | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | Yes | NU 561, NU 606, NU 607, NU 621 | 540 |
| Post-master's FNP certificate | Yes | The same four | 540 |
| BSN-to-DNP FNP (hybrid) | Yes | NU 552 through NU 832 | 1,000 minimum post-baccalaureate (guide) |
| MSN PMHNP | Yes | NU 571, NU 572, NU 573 | 540 |
| Post-master's PMHNP certificate | Yes | NU 509, then the three practicums | 540 |
More on the table in our disclosures guide.
The Board steps back and license rules step in
Georgia's Board of Nursing, housed under the Secretary of State, draws its line at pre-licensure education. Graduate and other post-licensure programs, NP programs included, fall outside what it approves or oversees, so a Connecticut MSN or certificate program needs no Georgia permission to host a student in the state. (Pre-licensure is the mirror image: at present the Board lists no approved out-of-state or online pre-licensure programs for Georgia clinicals.) Three license conditions fill the space an approval step would occupy:
- You, a Georgia resident training at home for a school based elsewhere, carry a Georgia license or a multistate license that another compact member issued.
- Anyone teaching you in Georgia, whether in the room or online, carries the same kind of license.
- Your clinical instruction in an APRN program comes from a nurse authorized as an APRN in Georgia.
Picking a preceptor with Georgia's APRN line in mind
Sacred Heart's lists are broader than Georgia's statement. For the FNP, Sacred Heart takes MDs, DOs, PAs and APRNs; for the PMHNP, psychiatry-certified physicians as well as PMHNPs. Georgia's Board says APRN clinical instruction belongs to a nurse holding Georgia APRN authorization. An NP preceptor authorized in Georgia fits both at once, which is why our Georgia searches begin there. When a physician or PA is the strongest option, put the question to the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator before building a semester on it. See preceptor requirements.
Restricted practice in Georgia
AANP classes Georgia as restricted. A Georgia NP needs a physician's delegation or supervision to practice, and prescribing Schedule II drugs is limited. Your preceptor will likely work under a delegation agreement, and PMHNP students will see those Schedule II limits in everyday psychiatric prescribing.
PTIP after HB 144
Georgia rewards some preceptors through PTIP, its Preceptor Tax Incentive Program: a state tax credit for Georgia-licensed physicians, dentists, APRNs and PAs who teach unpaid in the community. Per the state AHEC office, HB 144 reworked and lengthened the program, with an APRN credit for every 160-hour rotation (ten at most per year), a statewide yearly cap and required annual registration from 2026 onward. Revenue department guidance lags behind, still describing tiered amounts and tax years that end by December 31, 2026, and neither source gives a new expiration date.
Under either version, only students of Georgia medical, dental, NP and PA schools count. Hosting a Sacred Heart student brings a Georgia preceptor no PTIP credit.
Atlanta and the border metros
About 6.5 million people live in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro, and Atlanta is where most Georgia NP searches begin. Students there ask at Piedmont Healthcare and Wellstar Health System, at Emory Healthcare, at Northside Hospital and at Grady Health System; none is a confirmed Sacred Heart site. Savannah, at about 438,000, is a separate market.
Two metros spill over the border: Augusta's into South Carolina, Columbus's into Alabama. Cross the line and you inherit the other state's rules. Alabama's include a Board letter filed 15 days before out-of-state clinicals, covered in our Alabama guide.
Our Georgia search
Georgia-authorized NPs who meet Sacred Heart's certification and experience criteria are our first call. We confirm each one's license status before your name goes forward, deliver the file Sacred Heart's approvers want, and, when the right site belongs to a large system, map that system's approval steps so the affiliation agreement can start early. Begin with the contact form.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Is Georgia Board approval required before Sacred Heart places me?
No. Georgia's Board confines its program approval to pre-licensure education, leaving post-licensure and APRN programs outside it. What Georgia does require is licensure: a Georgia or multistate license for you, a Georgia-valid license for anyone teaching you, and Georgia APRN authorization for the nurse leading your clinical instruction.
Can a physician be my FNP preceptor in Georgia?
Sacred Heart allows a board-certified physician with a year of primary care. Georgia's Board statement points APRN clinical instruction toward nurses with Georgia APRN authorization, though, so check any physician or PA option with the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator first. A Georgia-authorized NP avoids the question entirely.
Will my Georgia preceptor qualify for PTIP?
No. PTIP counts only rotations for students of Georgia medical, dental, NP and PA programs, and Sacred Heart University is in Connecticut. Say so early in the conversation, then describe what Sacred Heart offers its preceptors, summarized on our preceptor page.
Is my multistate license enough for Georgia clinicals?
Yes, when a compact member issued it. Georgia implemented the compact on January 19, 2018, and for Georgia residents in out-of-state programs the Board accepts either its own license or a multistate one from another member. Either also meets Sacred Heart's rule on licensure where you train.
Related pages
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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