How Sacred Heart approves your preceptor and site
Two Sacred Heart desks review every online NP preceptor: your academic advisor first, then the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator, who gives final approval. When the preceptor works inside a partnering health system, that system signs off before Sacred Heart does. This page covers what each reviewer receives and how to earn a clean yes.
Send us the course, get back a ready packet
We match a preceptor to your Sacred Heart course and gather what the reviewers ask for.
Two approvals, in a fixed order
Order matters here. You propose the site and preceptor to your academic advisor, and only after the advisor agrees do the preceptor's documents go to the NP clinical coordinator. That coordinator's approval email is what opens the door to the Contract Request Form. Skipping ahead only sends the packet back.
CNL, Nursing Education, NMEL and RN-BSN students have a shorter chain: the academic advisor reviews the preceptor's CV and RN license, and the student moves on to the form once satisfied. In the hybrid FNP/DNP, independent placements go to the Program Director and course faculty instead. The route from search to first day is mapped on the placement process page; this page stays on the approvals themselves. Knowing which desk holds your file at any moment tells you whom to ask.
What the academic advisor weighs
Sacred Heart frames every placement around the course objectives and student learning outcomes, so expect your advisor to test fit before anything else. For NP students that means the right population: adult primary care for NU 561, children for NU 606, women's health for NU 607, and a setting that can supply at least 100 hours with patients under 18 in NU 572.
The advisor also holds the key to registration. An NP student cannot register for a clinical course until the advisor has approved the site and preceptor and the NP coordinator has completed the documentation, so a slow proposal can cost a term. Send a complete proposal the first time: the practice name and address, the preceptor's credentials and specialty, and the course it covers.
What the NP clinical coordinator receives
After the advisor's yes, email these to the program mailbox, NPapprovalrequest@sacredheart.edu:
- The preceptor's current resume or CV.
- The preceptor's license. For FNP courses the MSN guide lists MD, DO, APRN or PA; for PMHNP courses it lists MD, DO or APRN.
- Board certification where it applies. The APRN preceptor portal requires it of physicians and APRNs precepting FNP students.
The coordinator gives final approval and completes the preceptor and site documentation. The approval arrives by email, and that email is your cue to submit the form. It is not permission to attend; that comes later, from a different desk, as the Cleared for Clinical page explains. PMHNP credentials vary across Sacred Heart's own sources, and who can precept sets them side by side.
When a partnering health system approves first
Some preceptors work inside a healthcare organization that partners with Sacred Heart. The MSN guide is specific about this case: the placement must also be approved through the health system, and Sacred Heart withholds preceptor approval until the organization approves on its end. A willing preceptor is not enough by itself.
Each health system runs its own student requests, on its own timeline, and Sacred Heart's guides leave those details to the organization. Ask early whether the practice belongs to a larger system and who handles student requests there, then start that request alongside your advisor proposal rather than after it.
The common slip: proposing a preceptor from a partnering health system without starting that system's own approval. Sacred Heart's yes waits for theirs.
What speeds a yes
- A complete packet: CV, license, board certification and practice details, sent together in one email.
- A preceptor whose specialty matches the course population and whose license appears on your track's list.
- A license held in the state where you will train, and a site outside New York for any NP hours.
- No family member or close friend as preceptor; the form asks you to confirm it.
- Prompt replies, inside the 48-to-72-hour window the guides set for clinical and compliance email.
- Early timing. The next online FNP placement is due in week 10 of the course before it, as the week-10 deadline page sets out.
Each of these removes a reason for a reviewer to send the proposal back. The decision itself always stays with Sacred Heart.
When the preceptor changes
An approval covers one preceptor at one site. A departure, an added site or any other shift reopens the file: Clinical Placement hears about it at once, a fresh form goes in, and you pause until an updated clearance letter arrives. The replacement preceptor goes through the same advisor and coordinator review as the first.
Hours logged with a preceptor or at a site Sacred Heart has not approved are deleted from E*Value, so the stretch between losing a preceptor and approving a new one is time that cannot be banked. Screening a replacement against your track's rules before you propose one keeps that stretch short. Tell your course faculty about any pause in hours as well, so the gap is on record.
How we get your preceptor approved faster
Approval speed comes down to packet quality, and we build the packet the way Sacred Heart's reviewers read it. Your placement advisor matches a preceptor to your course population, checks the license and board certification against your track, collects the CV and credentials, and answers the health-system question before you propose. Your advisor sees a complete proposal; the NP coordinator sees exactly what the MSN guide asks for.
When a preceptor changes mid-program, we source the replacement and prepare the new packet and form details right away, so your advisor has a fresh proposal to review instead of a gap to explain. Sacred Heart makes the decision; we make it an easy one to reach. Start with the form below.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
How long does the NP clinical coordinator take to approve a preceptor?
Sacred Heart's public sources give no turnaround time. They do show the sequence: advisor first, coordinator second, and, when it applies, a partnering health system before the final approval. Ask your advisor what to expect for your term, send a complete packet, and watch your SHU email, since approvals and follow-up questions arrive there.
Does my preceptor need board certification?
For FNP courses, the preceptor portal requires board certification for physicians and APRNs; physician assistants appear without that note. The MSN guide asks for board certification "if appropriate". For PMHNP courses, physicians need board certification in psychiatry. CNL, Nursing Education, NMEL and RN-BSN reviews center on the preceptor's CV and RN license.
Can my advisor approve a preceptor who is not a nurse practitioner?
Yes, within your track's rules. FNP courses accept physicians (MD or DO), physician assistants and APRNs. PMHNP courses accept psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatry-certified physicians, and Sacred Heart's PMHNP inquiry form lists some licensed therapists as well. Confirm any unusual credential with your advisor before you propose it.
What if my proposed preceptor is turned down?
Sacred Heart's guides describe approval, not appeals, so ask your academic advisor what fell short: population fit, credentials, the state or the site. Then propose a new match. Your next deadline stays where it is, so keep a second option warm while the first is under review; our placement advisors can source that backup for you.
Do I need approval again for each clinical course?
Each online FNP clinical course has its own placement deadline, and every new site or preceptor goes through approval and a new Contract Request Form. If you plan to stay with an approved preceptor for the next course, ask your advisor what that course requires; the FNP Clinical Requirements Blackboard organization holds the forms.
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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