Vermont and Sacred Heart University: NP clinicals near the New York line
Sacred Heart University's September 2026 disclosures list Vermont as "Yes" across its FNP and PMHNP programs. It serves Vermont nurses training at home and New York residents who must log NP hours in a neighboring state, and both meet one Vermont twist: the Board of Nursing says physician assistants may not precept APRN students.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Sacred Heart program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Vermont's row, program by program
For Vermont, all of Sacred Heart's NP answers read "Yes", and the Clinical Nurse Leader carries a nationwide "Yes". The catalog makes rechecking your state your job before you enroll or relocate.
| Program | Vermont | How it runs | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | Yes | Online, two campus residencies | 540 |
| MSN PMHNP | Yes | Online, campus residencies | 540 |
| FNP or PMHNP certificate | Yes | Online, one residency a year | 540 |
| BSN-to-DNP FNP | Yes | Hybrid | 1,000 post-baccalaureate (guide) |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | Yes | Online, no residencies | 420 (guide); 400/500 (catalog) |
In Vermont, your preceptor is an APRN or a physician
Sacred Heart's FNP list includes PAs; Vermont's does not. The Board of Nursing's FAQ reserves APRN-student precepting for two professions, APRNs and physicians, and asks three things of them: a current Vermont license with no encumbrance, a background in the student's own role and population, and direct contact with the school's faculty. A physician assistant, however seasoned, is off the list for NP students.
Vermont is full practice on AANP's map once new NPs finish a transition: for their first 24 months and 2,400 hours they work under a collaborating agreement with a Vermont-licensed physician or APRN. Sacred Heart adds its own bar of a year's relevant experience; see preceptor requirements.
A PA can fit Sacred Heart's FNP list and still fall outside Vermont's rule. Build your Vermont list from NPs and physicians.
New York residents crossing into Vermont
No NP clinical hours may happen inside New York, so Sacred Heart's New York-based NP students train next door on an RN license good in that state; the New York clinical rule has the background. Because New York sits outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, its licenses carry no privilege in Vermont, so file for a Vermont RN license early enough to clear your compliance deadline.
Vermont's compact membership took effect February 1, 2022. Under the Board's Rule 4.1, a nurse whose multistate license comes from another member state can work in Vermont without a second license while living elsewhere, which covers New Hampshire nurses in the Upper Valley. Massachusetts passed the compact in 2024 but aims to implement it in May 2027, so Massachusetts-only nurses still apply to Vermont. The New York guide lists the extra background search.
A gap in Vermont's approval rules
Part 5 of Vermont's 2023 nursing rules requires Board approval to run a nursing school in the state, excepting online-only programs cleared by the Agency of Education. Research found nothing on schools elsewhere sending students to Vermont clinical sites, and the student exemption in 26 V.S.A. 1583(2) is tied to Board-approved programs. Ask Sacred Heart's clinical coordinator how it handles Vermont before your CRF goes in.
Burlington, Rutland and the Upper Valley
Burlington-South Burlington is Vermont's largest market, near 227,800 people in 2025 Census estimates. The Lebanon-Claremont area straddles the New Hampshire border, with about 87,300 of its 224,500 residents in Vermont, and Rutland counts about 59,700. University of Vermont Health includes UVM Medical Center, Porter and Central Vermont; Rutland Regional Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, a member of New Hampshire's Dartmouth Health, round out the list. None is a confirmed Sacred Heart site.
Act 183 of 2022 funded a single year, fiscal 2023, of preceptor grants for nurses at Vermont's critical access hospitals, and only for students from Vermont schools. Research found no sign of a renewal.
Trips south to Fairfield
Online MSN FNP students attend two residencies in Fairfield, Connecticut, during NU 552 and NU 621 per the online FAQ (the catalog describes a yearly daylong residency); certificate students come once a year. A failed residency means a failed clinical course, so keep those days clear of Vermont shifts. See residencies.
Why Vermont students choose us
Your placement advisor builds Vermont APRN searches from NPs and physicians only, confirms each one's Vermont license and population focus, and delivers a packet Sacred Heart's reviewers can approve on first read. New York residents get a search mapped to their side of the border. Start at the contact form.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Will Vermont accept a PA as my Sacred Heart FNP preceptor?
No. The Vermont Board's FAQ limits preceptors for APRN students to NPs and other APRNs plus physicians, each licensed in Vermont with experience matching your role and population. Sacred Heart's wider FNP list cannot override a state rule, so plan the Vermont search around those two groups.
Which RN license does a New York resident need for a Vermont site?
A Vermont RN license. Because New York stays outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, a New York license carries no practice privilege into Vermont. Sacred Heart checks that license in your Health Account before clearance, so apply well before your first Vermont clinical day.
Does Vermont's preceptor grant reward someone who precepts me?
No. The Act 183 incentive was a one-year appropriation for nurses at Vermont critical access hospitals teaching students enrolled in Vermont nursing programs, paid by the preceptor hour. Sacred Heart students fell outside it, and research found nothing showing it still runs.
Does the Vermont rule change anything for PMHNP students?
The same limits apply: a Vermont-licensed psychiatric NP or physician with experience in that population. Plan NU 572 early as well, because Sacred Heart sets aside at least 100 hours of that course for patients younger than 18, and your preceptor list should show where those hours will come from.
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
Start your placement plan
Program, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.