Tennessee clinical placements for Sacred Heart University NP students
Sacred Heart University's September 2026 disclosures mark Tennessee "Yes" for both its FNP and PMHNP. The open question is new state law: a 2026 bill freezes Board approvals, for two years, for nursing programs from other states seeking to place students there, so settle Sacred Heart's Tennessee status before you commit to a site.
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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.
SB 2013 and a two-year pause
SB 2013/HB 1905, whose short title is the Nursing Education Integrity and Oversight Act, creates sections 63-7-501 to -506 of the Tennessee Code. For two years, the Board of Nursing is to stop taking or granting applications from programs not "based in this state" that want to operate, enroll students or send students for clinicals in Tennessee, and it treats pre-licensure, RN-BSN and APRN programs alike.
Already-approved programs are grandfathered, with a catch: on request they must give the Board and the state's Center for Nursing Advancement data such as preceptor rosters and placement numbers. That Center has until June 30, 2027 to recommend standards for visiting programs using Tennessee preceptors or sites. Enactment itself is unconfirmed: the Act takes effect on becoming law, and only a secondary source dates that to April 27, 2026. Our research also turned up no current Board rule expressly requiring out-of-state approval before placement.
Before you sign a Tennessee preceptor, get the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator's word on how the Act touches Tennessee placements for your term.
Tennessee's rows on Sacred Heart's disclosure page
Every Sacred Heart NP program shows "Yes" for Tennessee (September 2026), and Sacred Heart's NC-SARA status dates from January 11, 2017. That column speaks to the curriculum and licensure; the Board approval question above is separate. Confirm it yourself before enrolling or moving, as the catalog asks.
| Program | Tennessee | Format | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | Yes | Online, precepted clinicals | 540 |
| MSN PMHNP | Yes | Online, precepted clinicals | 540 |
| FNP and PMHNP post-master's certificates | Yes | Online | 540 each |
| Campus ASN and BSN (RN licensure) | Yes* | On campus in Connecticut | Not an online option |
The whole map sits in the licensure disclosures guide.
Physician supervision in a restricted state
AANP ranks Tennessee restricted. An NP in Tennessee works under a supervising physician and faces caps on Schedule II to IV prescribing and on opioid supply. Sacred Heart's FNP list accepts either the NP or the supervising physician: MD, DO, PA or APRN, licensed in your state of practice and board certified if a physician or APRN. PMHNP students need a PMHNP or a psychiatry board-certified physician; see preceptor requirements.
THA's preceptor incentive and its school list
On state grant money, the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program (Tennessee Hospital Association, working with the Tennessee Center for Health Workforce Development) rewards 70-plus hours of one-to-one precepting in a cycle, while funding lasts. Qualifying preceptors are LPNs, RNs or APRNs with an unrestricted Tennessee or multistate license, U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, and a completed UTHSC preceptor course, where NP preceptors take a dedicated module.
The student list is narrow: accredited Tennessee programs, plus schools in Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama or Georgia whose students log the hours in Tennessee. Connecticut is absent, so a Sacred Heart rotation earns nothing. This fall's cycle opened August 1 and closes December 1, 2026, with documentation due by December 10.
Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga
Nashville's metro counts about 2.2 million people in the 2025 Census estimates. The Tennessee part of Memphis adds roughly 1.02 million, Knoxville about 968,000, and Chattanooga's Tennessee share about 438,000. Students name Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Erlanger, Covenant Health, Ballad Health and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. Each is an inquiry, not a promised site, and a partnering system signs off on its own clinicians before Sacred Heart acts.
Two metros cross state lines: Chattanooga's reaches Georgia, and Memphis's reaches both Arkansas and Mississippi. A clinic on the far side is that state's placement; the Georgia guide covers the Chattanooga side.
Compact license, and why Tennessee students choose us
Tennessee has issued multistate RN licenses since the compact's January 19, 2018 start there, and holding one meets Sacred Heart's rule on an active, unencumbered license in the training state. No APRN Compact law exists in Tennessee yet. Licensing details live on the RN license for clinicals page.
Tennessee students choose us because we first confirm you hold Sacred Heart's current word on the state, then search your metro for a preceptor matched to your course. You get a complete approval file (preceptor CV, license, board certification) and the site's contracts contact for the Contract Request Form, plus week-10 tracking and a quick replacement if a preceptor leaves. Reach us through the contact form.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Can Sacred Heart students still train in Tennessee under the new Act?
That turns on Sacred Heart's status, which our research could not confirm. Programs approved before the effective date keep approval, with reporting duties, while new approvals pause for two years. Ask the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator before committing to a Tennessee site.
Would my Tennessee preceptor get THA incentive pay for precepting me?
Not under the program's current terms. Eligible students come from accredited Tennessee programs or from schools in seven named nearby states, with hours logged in Tennessee, and Connecticut is not among them. Sacred Heart's own recognition for preceptors is summarized on our preceptor page.
Could I use a Georgia clinic near Chattanooga instead?
Yes, as a Georgia placement. Georgia also reads Yes for Sacred Heart's FNP and PMHNP, though its own rules and your license there apply. It is a practical option while Tennessee's rules settle, if the site clears Sacred Heart's approval chain and affiliation agreement.
When will Tennessee settle its rules for out-of-state programs?
No fixed date exists yet. The Center for Nursing Advancement owes recommended standards by June 30, 2027, and the approval pause lasts two years from the Act's effective date. Until then, follow Sacred Heart's guidance and the Board's announcements.
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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