Can't find a preceptor for your CUW clinical? Start here
A stalled Concordia University Wisconsin search rarely means there are no preceptors near you. More often the calls are going to systems that only accept requests from schools, or the ask is for one person to cover a whole program. Widen the preceptor types CUW has accepted, move toward practices that can say yes on their own, tell CUW early, and let us carry the search with you.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your CUW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Why CUW searches stall
Most dead ends trace back to a handful of patterns, and each one has a fix. CUW anticipated the first years ago: its 2014-15 NP clinical handbook told students that big health systems had few spots to give and that a backup plan was wise.
- Calling large systems first. In Wisconsin, the systems that publish a student process take requests from the school, not the student, and some are not signing new affiliation agreements at all.
- Counting on your employer. CUW's 2022 blog pointed out that a job inside a system is no assurance of a clinical spot there, and your own unit is off limits in any case.
- Asking one preceptor to carry everything. The 2014-15 handbook capped any single preceptor at 400 program hours, so a 750-hour track needs at least two.
- Looking in the wrong setting. FNP and AGPCNP clinicals belong in primary care, not in a hospital unit, emergency department or specialty clinic as the main site.
Widen who can precept you
It is natural to ask only nurse practitioners, yet CUW's 2014-15 handbook accepted four kinds of preceptor: NPs, physician assistants, certified nurse-midwives and physicians (MD or DO). It asked that at least 50 of your program hours be with an NP, that preceptors hold a current state license, and that NPs, PAs and CNMs hold national board certification. Experience is where CUW's own sources differ: one year of practice in that handbook, two years of clinical experience in the 2022 program FAQ. Confirm the current figure with graduate faculty before you rule anyone out.
PMHNP students face a thinner rulebook. CUW publishes no preceptor credential list for its psychiatric tracks, so whether a psychiatrist, a PMHNP or another prescriber fits NURS 7510 is a question for your course faculty before the first call. Our preceptor requirements guide keeps the dated rules in one place.
Widen where you look
Independent family and internal medicine practices, community health clinics, rural practices within a reasonable drive, and urgent care or walk-in clinics (the one exception CUW's archived rules made to the primary care requirement) all make sense for FNP and AGPCNP students. PMHNP students can look at outpatient behavioral health, community mental health centers, integrated primary care and telehealth, the settings CUW names for its PMHNP graduates.
Geography can open up too. CUW's disclosure lists 26 states where the MSN primary care NP meets requirements, including neighbors Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota, although a few rows differ for the DNP and CAGE tracks. If you cross a state line, CUW makes it your job to confirm your program is eligible there; the disclosure guide shows your row.
Tell CUW before the deadline, not after
The catalog says the Graduate Clinical Coordinator is available for assistance, and that help is worth more in week two of a search than in the week proposals are due. Tell your course faculty and the coordinator what you have tried, where, and for which course. They may know which sites already hold a CUW contract, and they can tell you what the current proposal deadline is.
The stakes are real. Under CUW's archived proposal form, a student whose form arrived late could not take that semester's clinical or the didactic course paired with it. Current pages do not publish the rule, but it is a good reason to raise a stalled search early. If a missed term is already likely, read our guide on delayed graduation.
Silence reads as progress. If your search has gone two weeks without a single yes, tell your course faculty now rather than at the proposal deadline.
A two-week reset for a stalled search
- Write down the factsYour track, the next NURS clinical course, its hours, the term start date, your state and how far you will drive.
- Rebuild the target listGroup practices by setting, put independent and community clinics at the top, and move systems that need a school request to a separate list for the coordinator.
- Make a short, specific askName CUW, the course, the hour total, the weeks involved and what the preceptor would sign, so a busy clinician can answer in one read.
- Collect documents on the first yesLicense, board certification, CV and site details, so the proposal is ready the day you have an answer.
- Check the contract statusAsk CUW whether the site already has a clinical contract, since the archived process allowed 8 to 12 weeks for a new one.
When you would rather hand it over
A stalled search is exactly where our service does its best work. Your placement advisor searches by your course and your state, contacts practices that fit CUW's setting rules, and gathers the license, certification, CV and site details before anything reaches graduate faculty. We tell you early when a site will likely need a new contract, and we plan the next two clinicals while we fill this one.
You review every preceptor and site we line up before your proposal goes to CUW, so the choice stays yours. If a preceptor steps away later, we are already on call to find the replacement. Send us your track, course and start date, or read how it works first.
Questions CUW students ask
What happens if I have no preceptor when the semester starts?
Current CUW pages do not say. The archived proposal form barred a student whose paperwork arrived late from that semester's clinical and its paired didactic course. Talk to your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator as soon as a late start looks possible, since they set the options for your term.
Will CUW find a preceptor for me if I run out of options?
For the MSN, DNP and CAGE tracks, CUW's catalog leaves identifying and securing preceptors to the student, with the Graduate Clinical Coordinator available to help. CUW arranges clinical placements itself only in the Direct Entry MSN and the Traditional BSN. The coordinator can still advise on sites and contracts.
Can a physician or PA be my preceptor at CUW?
CUW's 2014-15 NP handbook allowed physicians (MD or DO), physician assistants and nurse-midwives as well as nurse practitioners, provided at least 50 of your program hours were with an NP. Current pages publish no list, so confirm the rule with your graduate faculty before you commit.
How many preceptors can I use in one CUW clinical course?
The 2014-15 handbook allowed up to two preceptors a semester without prior approval and no more than 400 program hours with any one of them. Using two preceptors in one course can rescue a thin schedule. Each preceptor and site still needs its own approval.
Is it too late to start a search mid-semester?
It depends on the course calendar and whether the site needs a new contract. A practice with a CUW contract already in place moves faster. If this term's start is close, see our guide for when you need a preceptor fast, and talk to your course faculty about the timing.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against CUW's own academic catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
CUW asks you to secure your preceptors. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your CUW track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NURS course, gather the license, board certification and site details CUW's graduate faculty review, and flag early whether the site needs a new clinical contract.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental health settings for PMHNP, an agency mentor for DNP projects
- Preceptor license, certification, CV and site details ready for CUW's approval
- All three clinical courses planned together, close to home in a state CUW's disclosure lists for your program
Start your placement plan
Track, city and next clinical course is all we need to begin.