Precepting a Sacred Heart University nurse practitioner student
Sacred Heart University's online nurse practitioner students are licensed registered nurses who train in their own communities, and many need a preceptor close to home. This page is for clinicians weighing the role: who arrives at your practice, which course they are in, what Sacred Heart asks of you and what it offers preceptors in return.
Open to precepting a Sacred Heart student?
Share your specialty and where you practice. The placement desk replies with the course, dates and hours involved.
Who arrives at your practice
A Sacred Heart NP student is a registered nurse whose license is active and unencumbered in your state. Before the first clinical course, NU 561 for FNP or NU 571 for PMHNP, they have finished graduate courses in pathophysiology, pharmacology and health assessment, and online MSN FNP students have attended an on-campus clinical competencies residency in Fairfield during NU 552.
They also arrive compliant. Sacred Heart requires an annual criminal background check, a physical exam, TB testing, CPR certification, nurse practitioner student liability insurance and a flu vaccine by November 1, all tracked in a Health Account. Anyone training in Connecticut has also scored at least 85 on the Connecticut Hospital Association's Health & Safety Test, and every student displays a Sacred Heart student ID on site. No student begins until Sacred Heart sends a "Cleared for Clinical" email.
The course they are in
Sacred Heart's NP clinical courses run about 16 weeks: the catalog gives 16 weeks for the certificate courses, while the online FAQ describes a 15-week semester. Hours are completed in person, or occasionally by telehealth as the preceptor directs.
| Course | Focus | Hours |
|---|---|---|
NU 561 Primary Care I | Comprehensive primary care of the adult | 180 |
NU 606 Primary Care of Children | Birth through adolescence | 90 |
NU 607 Primary Care for Women | Well-woman and antepartum care | 90 |
NU 621 Primary Care II | Complex primary care of adult families | 180 |
NU 571 PMHNP I | Late adolescence through adulthood, behavioral health settings | 180 |
NU 572 PMHNP II | Children and families, at least 100 hours with patients under 18 | 180 |
NU 573 PMHNP III | Older adults, couples and families, complex systems | 180 |
Each track totals 540 clinical hours; the FNP and PMHNP hour pages break them down. Full course descriptions sit on the Clinical Course Information page of Sacred Heart's preceptor portal.
What approval asks of you
In one line: for FNP students, Sacred Heart's portal looks for a physician (MD or DO), PA or APRN licensed in the state of practice, board certification for physicians and APRNs, and a year or more in primary care. PMHNP credentials differ, and the preceptor requirements page sets out every track.
The approval itself takes little of your time. Your current CV, license and board certification travel from the student to the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator for final approval, and the portal asks for the support of your practice or employer. If your practice is part of a health system that partners with Sacred Heart, the system signs off on the placement before Sacred Heart does.
The student's Contract Request Form names your site's contact for contracts so Sacred Heart can confirm or start an affiliation agreement, a process the MSN guide says may need as long as nine months when the site is new to the College. The form also asks whether you are a Davis & Henley College of Nursing adjunct and whether you already work with the student, and it confirms you are not a family member or close friend.
Evaluations and paperwork in E*Value
Sacred Heart keeps clinical records in E*Value, a healthcare education data management application. The student-preceptor agreement, the preceptor letter of agreement, clinical logs and evaluations all live there, which is why Sacred Heart's preceptor inquiry forms ask whether you are comfortable using software of this kind to complete student evaluations.
At midterm, the student completes a self-evaluation in E*Value that is then sent to you to complete. At the end of the course, you summarize the student's performance on the preceptor evaluation form. The College's NP Preceptor Orientation adds three standing duties: feedback to the student every week, a review and co-signature on whatever the student documents in the clinical record, and a Student Evaluation Form for the clinical faculty advisor on request. Its closing advice points preceptors to the student's clinical advisor with any concern. More on the system is on the E*Value page.
Why precept for Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart's preceptor portal lists these benefits under "Why Precept?":
- A rewarding and engaging opportunity to give back to the profession
- An affiliate title, per credential review and approval of the Dean
- Classroom teaching opportunities
- Clinical hours for recertification, available to RNs, APRNs and CNLs
- Continuing-education offerings from the Davis & Henley College of Nursing
- Certification renewal credit as the portal states it: for ANCC, 120 hours as a preceptor count under Category 5, half of the renewal requirement; a second entry allows up to 125 preceptor hours in place of 25 non-pharmacological CE credits
- A Sacred Heart University ID card with reduced employee ticket pricing for shows, concerts and sporting events, access to the SHU Fit Health & Wellness Center and access to Sacred Heart University Library resources and databases
The ID card is picked up in person at Sacred Heart. Renewal rules belong to the certifying bodies, so confirm current terms with yours.
How the placement desk works with preceptors
We introduce preceptors to Sacred Heart students whose course matches the practice. Before any introduction, you hear the course number, the hours, the course dates and the patient population the course needs, so you can decide with full information. We collect your CV, license and board certification once, confirm who at your site handles contracts, and stay reachable through the rotation.
If you would rather register with the College directly, Sacred Heart's preceptor portal has FNP and PMHNP preceptor inquiry forms. To hear from us about a student near you, pick the preceptor option in the program list of the form on this page and share your specialty, your location and the semesters when you could take a student.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
How many hours a week does a Sacred Heart student need?
Sacred Heart sets hours per course rather than per week, for example 180 hours in NU 561 across a course of about 16 weeks. You and the student agree the schedule. Sacred Heart's preceptor orientation suggests focused half days and wave scheduling as ways to fit a student into a busy practice.
Do I need to practice in Connecticut?
No. Sacred Heart's online students live across the country, and its portal notes a particular need for preceptors in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The one exclusion for NP students is New York, where Sacred Heart NP clinical hours may not be completed; the New York rule page explains why.
Can I precept a student who works in my organization?
It can work. The Contract Request Form asks whether the student is employed at the site and how the two of you work together, and the academic advisor reviews the answers. Sacred Heart does not allow a family member or close friend to precept, and for RN-BSN students the home unit is off limits even when the employer hosts them.
Who do I contact with a concern during the rotation?
Sacred Heart's orientation sends preceptors with any concern, whether about the student or about precepting, to the student's clinical advisor. For questions about the placement arrangements themselves, such as dates or a schedule change, your contact at the placement desk is glad to help as well.
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 Preceptor Portal: APRN Programs
- Sacred Heart University Preceptor Portal: Clinical Course Information
- Sacred Heart University Nurse Practitioner Preceptor Orientation (FA24)
- Sacred Heart University MSN and Post-MSN Certificate Online Programs Student Guide, 2026-2027
- Sacred Heart University 2026-2027 Graduate Catalog: Master of Science in Nursing
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
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.