Washington State and Sacred Heart University: an FNP yes and a PMHNP no
Washington is the one state where Sacred Heart University's two NP families part ways. As of September 2026, the disclosures mark the FNP programs "Yes" for Washington and the PMHNP programs "No". Washington also requires board approval before out-of-state programs place students there, so both answers need a closer look.
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Sacred Heart's Washington rows
| Program | Washington entry | Delivery | Clinical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online MSN FNP and post-master's FNP certificate | Yes | Online, in-person clinicals | 540 across NU 561, NU 606, NU 607, NU 621 |
| Hybrid BSN-to-DNP FNP | Yes | Campus days plus online | 1,000 minimum (guide) |
| Online MSN PMHNP and post-master's PMHNP certificate | No | Online, in-person clinicals | 540 across NU 571, NU 572, NU 573 |
| Online MSN Clinical Nurse Leader | Yes | Online, practicums on site | 420 (guide) or 400/500 (catalog) |
| RN-BSN, Nursing Education, NMEL, post-master's DNP | No licensure row | Online (DNP hybrid) | 72, 180, 120, 1,000 |
Reread these rows before enrolling or moving; the catalog makes that your job. Every state's rows, compared.
The PMHNP "No": who it affects
On Sacred Heart's own reading, its PMHNP programs, the MSN and the post-master's certificate, do not meet Washington's educational requirements for licensure or certification. Nurses aiming for PMHNP practice in Washington should weigh that before applying and put the unexplained "No" to Sacred Heart admissions.
The answer also follows students who arrive mid-program: a PMHNP student relocating to Washington meets the same "No", and Sacred Heart warns that moving without checking can leave a student unable to secure clinical placements. Because the FNP reads the opposite way, choosing between the FNP and the PMHNP here changes the licensure outcome, not just the patient population.
WABON's approval rule for distance programs
Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON) approval must come before an out-of-state distance program sends students into clinical or practice experiences in Washington, under WAC 246-840-571. The school must show equivalence with Washington program standards, oversee and evaluate its students while they train in the state, keep national accreditation and report yearly, and its instructors of ARNP practice there hold a Washington ARNP license. WABON posts a list of approved out-of-state programs, most recently dated September 21, 2026, spanning RN-BSN, MSN and NP tracks.
Two limits stand out. Approved placements are authorized for Washington residents only, with any exception weighed case by case. And a CR-101 notice filed December 5, 2025 opened rules 246-840-500 through 246-840-571 for revision, clinical-placement barriers included, so the requirements may shift. Ask Sacred Heart how its programs currently stand with WABON before you plan Washington hours.
Who can precept an FNP student in Washington
Washington's rule is narrower than Sacred Heart's list. Under it, an ARNP student's preceptor holds a current, unrestricted ARNP, MD or DO license (an equivalent from another state is acceptable), and family members and personal friends are ruled out. Sacred Heart's FNP list also includes physician assistants, yet Washington's rule names no PA option, so plan on a nurse practitioner or a physician. Sacred Heart's own floor still applies: board certification for physicians and APRNs and a year of primary care experience (preceptor rules by track).
Washington funds a Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant through WABON, but its eligibility rules leave out preceptors working with out-of-state programs, hours logged inside Washington included. AANP rates Washington full practice.
Licenses, metros and the trips east
Compact membership began in Washington on January 31, 2024, so a Washington RN license works, and so does a multistate license from any other compact state, for clinical hours there; no APRN Compact law applies. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro, at roughly 4.16 million residents in 2025, dwarfs Spokane-Spokane Valley (near 608,000), Kennewick-Richland and the roughly 545,000 Washingtonians counted in the Portland metro. Washington NP students search at Providence, headquartered in Renton and including Providence Swedish, at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and PeaceHealth, and at MultiCare Health System and UW Medicine.
Online MSN FNP students here also travel to Fairfield, Connecticut for two competency residencies, in NU 552 and NU 621; schedule clinical days around them (residency details).
Why Washington FNP students choose us
Washington FNP students get our complete search: nurse practitioners and physicians in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver or Kennewick-Richland matched to the primary care, pediatric and women's health focus of each course, with every document the academic advisor and the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator review collected ahead of the week-10 deadline. CNL students get the same care. PMHNP students eyeing a move here should come to us early; we sequence remaining placements where you live now and prepare your questions for the academic advisor. Start here.
Questions Sacred Heart students ask
Can I study Sacred Heart's online PMHNP while living in Washington?
As of September 2026, Sacred Heart lists its MSN PMHNP and post-master's PMHNP certificate as not meeting Washington's educational requirements for licensure. If you intend to practice as a PMHNP in Washington, that answer decides it. Confirm the current table with Sacred Heart first.
Can a physician assistant precept my Sacred Heart FNP hours in Washington?
Sacred Heart accepts PA preceptors for FNP students in general, but Washington's education rule for ARNP students names ARNP, MD and DO licenses only. Plan on a nurse practitioner or physician for Washington hours, and let the MSN Online NP Programs Clinical Coordinator make the final call.
Can my preceptor claim Washington's preceptorship grant?
Not for a Sacred Heart student. The grant WABON administers rewards experienced ARNP, RN and LPN preceptors of in-state programs, leaves out preceptors of out-of-state programs, and logging the hours inside Washington changes nothing. Mention this early so your preceptor's expectations match.
Do I have to live in Washington to do Sacred Heart clinicals there?
WABON authorizes approved out-of-state placements only for Washington residents and decides exceptions case by case. An Oregon or Idaho resident hoping to train in Washington should expect that limit and raise it with the academic advisor first; Sacred Heart's FNP "Yes" for Washington does not override it.
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, State Authorization, Disclosures & Student Complaints
- Washington State Board of Nursing, nursing education and out-of-state programs
- Washington State Board of Nursing, Washington State Nursing Education Rules
- Washington State Board of Nursing, Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant
- Washington State Board of Nursing, CR-101 rulemaking notice
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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