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Sacred Heart's clinical process, one guide at a time

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

Sacred Heart University's clinical rules are scattered across a catalog, an online FAQ, six Contract Request Forms and a stack of 2026-27 student guides. The guides below pull each rule out and put it on one page: approval, contracting, clearance, E*Value, every NU clinical course, the Fairfield residencies and the state table. When two Sacred Heart sources disagree, the page shows both.

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Sacred Heart's clinical process, one guide at a time. Sacred Heart University's clinical rules are scattered across a catalog, an online FAQ, six Contract Request Forms and a stack of 2026-27 student guides. The gu
Every Sacred Heart clinical guide in one place: approval, the Contract Request Form, affiliation agreements, E*Value, NU courses, residencies and states.

How the Davis & Henley College of Nursing documents its rules

Think of it in layers. The graduate catalog fixes credits, NU course numbers and hour totals. The SHU Online pages and FAQ speak to starts and residencies. The 2026-27 student guides do the day-to-day work: who approves a preceptor, when the Contract Request Form goes in, what the Health Account must hold and when.

Below the guides sit the Blackboard clinical requirements organizations each program runs, and above them sits your academic advisor, who settles anything the documents leave open. Wherever a detail lives only in one of those places, the relevant guide on this site tells you so and sends you there.

Why we built these guides first

A placement for a Sacred Heart student is really a scheduling problem with several clocks: the NU course you are entering, the week-10 or published deadline ahead of it, the months a new affiliation agreement can take, and the states where your program meets licensure requirements. Mapping those clocks is the first thing our placement desk does for every student.

Once the map is clear, the search is ours. Send your program, city and next clinical course through the form below and we start lining up preceptors who match the course, with their credentials gathered for Sacred Heart's review.

Preceptors and approval

Clinical 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.Finding your own preceptorWhat Sacred Heart University online nursing students own in the preceptor search, program by program, how to search well and what to ask a prospective preceptor.Preceptor approvalHow Sacred Heart University's academic advisor and MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator approve a preceptor, what they receive and what speeds a yes.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept a Sacred Heart University nursing student: FNP, PMHNP, CNL, NE, NMEL, RN-BSN and DNP mentor rules on licenses, experience and conflicts.Contract Request Form (CRF)The Sacred Heart University Contract Request Form: the six program versions, the fields it asks for, when to submit it and what happens after you send it.Affiliation agreementsWhy a new Sacred Heart University clinical affiliation agreement can take up to nine months, how existing agreements help and how to plan around the wait.Cleared for Clinical emailWhat Sacred Heart University's Cleared for Clinical email requires, what happens to hours logged without it, and why a new site or preceptor needs new clearance.Clinicals where you workCan Sacred Heart University nursing students do clinicals where they work? The CRF's employment questions, the RN-BSN own-unit rule, DNP limits and NP advice.Who does whatEvery Sacred Heart University role in a clinical placement, from the academic advisor to the Clinical Contract & Compliance Coordinator, and what each one does.

Deadlines, compliance and tracking

Week-10 deadlineWhen Sacred Heart University wants your next site and preceptor filed: the FNP week-10 rule, Clinical Placement Team dates, RN-BSN nine months and DNP NU 823.Registration and modulesWhen Sacred Heart University opens registration (April, October, February), what months modules M1 to M6 cover, and why clinical courses wait for approval.Health Account and complianceWhat goes in your Sacred Heart University Health Account: physical, TB, CPR/BLS, RN license, insurance, a flu shot by November 1, and each program's due date.Background checkSacred Heart University's criminal background check: cleared at application, rechecked every year, the added New York search, and what clinical sites may add.Liability insuranceThe liability policy Sacred Heart University names for each track: NP student liability, FNP/DNP student malpractice, RN liability for CNL, NE, NMEL and RN-BSN.CHA Health & Safety TestSacred Heart University students training in Connecticut must pass the Connecticut Hospital Association Health & Safety Test with 85 or better. Who, and when.E*ValueWhat Sacred Heart University students do in E*Value: clinical and case logs, the student-preceptor agreement, evaluations, DNP hours and the on-time rule.

Hours and clinical courses

Clinical hours by programClinical hours for every Sacred Heart University nursing program, with guide, catalog and web figures side by side where they differ, and how hours get logged.FNP clinical hours (540)Sacred Heart University's online FNP needs 540 clinical hours: 180 in NU 561, 90 in NU 606, 90 in NU 607 and 180 in NU 621, plus residency lab hours.PMHNP clinical hours (540)Sacred Heart University's online PMHNP requires 540 clinical hours, 180 each in NU 571, NU 572 and NU 573, with at least 100 hours caring for patients under 18.DNP 1,000-hour ruleHow Sacred Heart University's two DNPs reach 1,000 hours: MSN hours counted in the post-master's DNP, the BSN-to-DNP split, and the catalog's 435-hour figure.NU 552 Advanced Health AssessmentNU 552 Advanced Health Assessment for NP at Sacred Heart University: residency 1 and week-10 checkpoints online, and 8 to 10 observation hours in the FNP/DNP.FNP/DNP clinical coursesThe hybrid BSN-to-DNP FNP clinical courses at Sacred Heart University, NU 552 to NU 832, with hours, titles and how the Clinical Placement Coordinator works.NU 561 Primary Care INU 561 Primary Care I at Sacred Heart University: 6 credits, 180 hours with an adult primary care preceptor, and the week-10 deadline for your next site.NU 606 Primary Care of ChildrenNU 606 Primary Care of Children at Sacred Heart University: 4 credits, 90 clinical hours from birth through adolescence, and choosing a pediatric preceptor.NU 607 Primary Care for WomenNU 607 Primary Care for Women at Sacred Heart University: 4 credits and 90 clinical hours in well-woman, prenatal and gynecologic care, plus a site checklist.NU 621 Primary Care IINU 621 Primary Care II at Sacred Heart University: 7 credits, 180 clinical hours with complex adult families, the built-in capstone and the final residency.NU 509 Advanced PsychopharmacologyNU 509 Advanced Psychopharmacology for the PMHNP at Sacred Heart University: its place before NU 571, when certificate compliance is due, and how to use it.NU 571 PMHNP INU 571 at Sacred Heart University: the first 180-hour PMHNP practicum with adults and late adolescents, both course titles, and who can supervise it.NU 572 PMHNP IINU 572 at Sacred Heart University: 180 PMHNP clinical hours, at least 100 with patients under 18, both course titles, and finding a child and adolescent site.NU 573 PMHNP IIINU 573 at Sacred Heart University: the final 180-hour PMHNP practicum with older adults, couples and families, the built-in capstone, and both course titles.

Calendar, residencies and progress

Residencies in FairfieldOn-campus residencies at Sacred Heart University by program: the FNP's two Fairfield visits, certificate and DNP campus days, pass/fail grading and planning.Course calendar 2026-27Sacred Heart University's 2026-27 graduate nursing calendars: Special Trimester and Semester-Level dates, 16-week NP courses vs 8-week modules, and start terms.Blackboard and student systemsWhere Sacred Heart University nursing students handle clinical work: MySHU, SHU email, Blackboard Ultra organizations, SPA, eSTAR, E*Value and the Health Account.Grades and progressionSacred Heart University nursing progression rules: the B- minimum, the 75 exam average in NP courses, one repeat, withdrawals, leave and the six-year limit.Ireland clinical immersionSacred Heart University's optional two-week clinical experience in Ireland: the Dingle campus, Tralee and Dingle capstone options, and the limit on global hours.

Where you live

State licensure disclosuresSacred Heart University's state licensure disclosures: 44 Yes states for FNP, the No list, Washington for PMHNP, New York's condition, the CNL row and SARA.New York clinical ruleWhy Sacred Heart NP students log no clinical hours in New York, how New York residents train next door on that state's RN license, and which programs are exempt.Clinicals outside ConnecticutSacred Heart clinicals beyond Connecticut: the limited CT primary-care note, the four high-need states, other boards' rules, the hybrid map and relocating.RN license for clinicalsSacred Heart requires an active, unencumbered RN license in each state where you do clinicals: the Health Account item, the compact, Connecticut and New York.Nursing accreditationCCNE accreditation dates for each Sacred Heart University nursing program, the new post-graduate APRN certificate, ACEN for the ASN, and Connecticut approvals.

Questions Sacred Heart students ask

Where do I find Sacred Heart's Contract Request Forms?

The College of Nursing's Forms page links all six program-specific CRFs, and each program's Blackboard clinical requirements organization walks through the full procedure. Our Contract Request Form guide lists what the form asks so you can gather it first.

Why do Sacred Heart's hour figures sometimes differ?

The catalog, student guides and SHU Online pages are revised on different schedules. The Clinical Nurse Leader track is the clearest case: 420 hours in the guide, 400 or 500 in the catalog. Our guides show each version; your student guide and academic advisor decide which applies to your cohort.

What order should I read these guides in?

Begin with the placement process, move to the week-10 deadline, then open the page for the NU course you take next. Because a new affiliation agreement can take months, reading in that order saves time.

Is every Sacred Heart nursing program covered?

Every program with clinical or practicum hours is: both online NP MSNs and certificates, both DNPs, the Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Education and NMEL tracks, the RN-to-BSN, and the campus BSN routes. The programs hub lists them all.

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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