Sacred Heart University NP clinicals in Hawaii
Sacred Heart University lists Hawaii as "Yes" for its FNP and PMHNP programs (disclosures as of September 2026), so a nurse in Honolulu, Kahului or Hilo can take the online NP route. Two things set the islands apart: they sit outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your clinicals need a Hawaii-issued RN license, and the campus residencies mean long flights to Connecticut.
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Hawaii and Sacred Heart's disclosures
As of September 2026, each FNP and PMHNP program on Sacred Heart's State Authorization page shows "Yes" for Hawaii, as does the Clinical Nurse Leader track. The same page holds a contrast: Sacred Heart's on-campus ASN and BSN read "No" for Hawaii, which matters only if you are weighing pre-licensure study. Confirm the table before you enroll; the catalog puts that check on you.
| Program | Hawaii | Delivery | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | Yes | Online; two campus residencies | 540 |
| Post-master's FNP certificate | Yes | Online; a residency each year | 540 |
| MSN PMHNP | Yes | Online | 540 |
| Post-master's PMHNP certificate | Yes | Online; a residency each year | 540 |
| ASN and BSN (pre-licensure) | No | On campus in Connecticut | Scheduled by the school |
Our disclosures guide covers the rest of the table.
How Hawaii's Board treats programs from elsewhere
Hawaii's Board of Nursing, run through DCCA's professional licensing division, splits nursing education in two. Before licensure, HRS 457-13(2), the law's student exemption, protects only people enrolled in programs this Board accredits. Its Education Committee applied that in September 2016, agreeing that a North Dakota school's pre-license BSN student could not do clinicals in Hawaii.
After licensure the picture relaxes. Per the Board's FAQ, a post-licensure program delivered online or at a distance from another state, with no Hawaii campus, gets no Board approval (there is no application) and owes the Board no notice. A Hawaii license becomes necessary for program faculty only when their teaching or precepting happens on the ground in the islands. No Hawaii source names graduate APRN programs, so any site question goes to Sacred Heart's NP clinical coordinator.
A Hawaii license, with no compact shortcut
The compact map shows Hawaii as a non-member of the Nurse Licensure Compact with nothing pending, so a multistate license earned on the mainland stops at the shoreline. Pair that with Sacred Heart's requirement of an active, unencumbered RN license for whichever state hosts your clinical hours, and the answer is a Hawaii-issued license in your Health Account. Relocating? Apply for it first. Details: RN license guide.
Full practice across three island markets
AANP rates Hawaii full practice, so island NPs work on their own authority. Honolulu's metro, about 989,000 people, is home to The Queen's Health Systems and to Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. Hawaii Pacific Health runs Kapiolani, Straub, Pali Momi and Wilcox, and HHSC (Hawaii Health Systems Corporation) is the fourth name students raise. Beyond Honolulu, the Kahului-Wailuku metro (about 161,000) and the Hilo-Kailua area (about 210,000) are the main markets. None is a confirmed Sacred Heart site. Criteria sit on the preceptor requirements page.
Hawaii's preceptor credit and who can claim it
Act 43 of 2018 created a preceptor income tax credit, now HRS 235-110.25. It is nonrefundable and earned per volunteer rotation, up to five a year. Only Hawaii residents qualify, and only physicians, APRNs or pharmacists whose primary care practice is in the state; the Department of Health certifies each rotation, and no more than 1,500 credits go out statewide in a year. The student's school must be accredited in Hawaii or sit there, with Hawaii residents making up over half its enrollment, so precepting a Sacred Heart student does not qualify.
Planning the Fairfield trips
The online MSN FNP holds two short competency residencies on Sacred Heart's campus in Fairfield, Connecticut, one in NU 552 and one in NU 621 per the online FAQ, while the post-master's certificates hold one in-person residency a year. From the islands that is a long trip across several time zones, so book early and keep clinical days around each residency open. Sacred Heart grades each residency pass/fail, and a residency failure means failing the clinical course. See the residencies guide.
What we do for Hawaii students
We search Honolulu, Kahului-Wailuku and Hilo-Kailua for Hawaii-licensed preceptors matched to your Sacred Heart course, and we schedule rotations around residency travel so your hours stay on pace. Every match arrives with a ready file: the preceptor's CV, license and board certification as Sacred Heart's approvers expect. Start with the contact form.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Does a mainland multistate license work for Hawaii clinicals?
It does not. The compact ends at Hawaii's shoreline, so a multistate license issued elsewhere confers no Hawaii practice privilege. Because Sacred Heart ties clinical work to an active, unencumbered license issued for the state you train in, get a Hawaii RN license and add it to your Health Account ahead of clearance.
Must Sacred Heart notify Hawaii's Board before I start?
Hawaii's FAQ on post-licensure programs from other states without a local campus describes no approval and no notice. It never mentions graduate APRN programs specifically, so if a Hawaii site asks, Sacred Heart's clinical coordinator is the person to answer. Sacred Heart's full approval chain and affiliation agreement apply regardless.
Is my Hawaii preceptor eligible for the state's preceptor tax credit?
No. Eligibility turns on the student's school, which must be accredited in or located in Hawaii, with Hawaii residents outnumbering all other students. Sacred Heart University is a Connecticut school. Tell the preceptor early and describe Sacred Heart's own recognition, summarized on our preceptor page.
Why is Hawaii "No" for Sacred Heart's campus BSN but "Yes" for the NP programs?
The disclosure table answers program by program without giving reasons. Hawaii's Board does treat the levels differently: pre-licensure clinicals are limited to programs it accredits, while out-of-state post-licensure programs need no approval. The FNP and PMHNP are post-licensure, and both read "Yes" as of September 2026.
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 University: State Authorization, Disclosures & Student Complaints
- Hawaii Board of Nursing (DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing)
- Hawaii Board of Nursing: FAQ on out-of-state post-licensure programs
- Hawaii Department of Taxation: Form N-358 instructions (preceptor credit)
- Sacred Heart University Online: FAQ (residencies)
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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