Talk to the placement desk

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Concordia Preceptor placement team

Tell us your Concordia University Wisconsin track, the next clinical course on your plan, your home city and the date that course opens. A placement advisor reads every request and replies with a plan: the kind of preceptor and site that course calls for, what CUW's graduate faculty will want to see, and how much lead time the site's contract may need.

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Message the placement desk

Your CUW track, next clinical course and city are enough to start. Add anything else in the message box.

Numbered steps. What happens after you send it: 1 Your advisor replies; 2 The plan; 3 The search; 4 The preceptor packet; 5 Your submission to CUW. — What happens after you send it: 1 Your advisor replies; 2 The plan; 3 The search; 4 The preceptor packet; 5 Your submission to CUW.

What to put in your message

A few specifics up front let your advisor skip the back-and-forth and start calling practices. Pick your program from the list on the form, then use the message box for the details below. Short notes are fine; send what you have.

Your next clinical course by number: NURS 7151, NURS 7266, NURS 7510, a Primary Care Clinical Residency, or a DNP Project Practicum Immersion.
The semester and first day of that course, and any proposal date the Graduate Clinical Coordinator or your instructors have already set.
Where you live and how far you will drive, including the state where the clinicals would happen, since CUW's disclosure list differs by program.
The weekdays or weekends you could spend at a practice, given your job, so we ask preceptors for a pattern you can keep.
Where you work and on which unit, so we look past your own unit, which CUW's archived rules excluded.
Anyone who has already turned you down or said maybe, so we skip dead ends and follow up on the maybes.
Hours already logged, if you are partway through a course or a preceptor has just left.

What happens after you send it

Every request goes to your placement advisor, who stays with you from the first reply to your last clinical. Here is the order the work runs in.

Your advisor repliesThey confirm your track, the course, the timing and the state, and ask anything the form did not cover.
The planYou get the preceptor type and setting your course needs, the dates that matter and whether a new clinical contract is likely.
The searchWe contact clinicians near you who fit the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental health settings for PMHNP, an agency mentor for DNP project hours.
The preceptor packetFor each clinician who agrees, we gather the license, board certification, CV and site details CUW's graduate faculty review.
Your submission to CUWYou take the preceptor through CUW's proposal and approval, and we help you answer any follow-up questions the faculty raise about the preceptor or site.
The rest of the programWe stay on call through the course and start on your next clinical before this one ends.

How the desk works alongside CUW

CUW's model is clear, and our desk is built around it. The 2026-27 catalog says: "Students will identify and secure clinical preceptors which then need to be approved for appropriateness by the graduate faculty. The Graduate Clinical Coordinator is available for assistance." We take on the identifying and securing. CUW's graduate faculty make every approval decision, and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator remains your contact inside CUW.

So the CUW side of the process stays in your hands throughout. You submit the proposal, you correspond with the faculty teaching your course, and you sign whatever CUW and the site require. What we add is the groundwork: preceptors who fit CUW's rules for your track, complete credentials, an early read on the contract, and a backup plan. Our steps are laid out on how it works, and CUW's own steps are on the placement process page.

Situations the desk handles

These are the situations CUW students write to us about, and several have their own guide if you want to read before writing.

A first clinical is coming up and the search has not started: see need a preceptor fast.
A preceptor withdrew partway through a course: see preceptor dropped out.
Hours are behind with weeks left in the term.
Clinicals will happen outside Wisconsin, in a state CUW's disclosure lists for your program.
A PMHNP student needs a psychiatric preceptor for NURS 7510, NURS 7515 or NURS 7520.
A DNP student needs an agency mentor for project hours.

If yours is different, describe it in the message box. Put anything urgent, such as a start date within a few weeks, in the first line.

Preceptors and practices

Nurse practitioners, physicians and other clinicians who would like to teach a CUW student reach us through this page too. Select the preceptor option at the bottom of the program menu, then use the message box to describe your specialty, where you practice and which terms you could take a student.

Before you commit to anything, your placement advisor walks through the CUW course by number, the hours it carries and the credentials CUW's graduate faculty check, such as your license and board certification. We then introduce a student whose course, dates and weekly pattern fit your clinic, and we stay in touch with you through the semester. Practices that can host more than one student a year are welcome to say so. The precept a CUW student page covers the rest.

Questions CUW students ask

How quickly will the placement desk reply?

Your placement advisor answers every message. If your clinical starts within a few weeks or a preceptor has just left, open your message with that, and your advisor handles the request as urgent. The chat button on this page also reaches the desk if you would rather talk it through.

Do I need my CUW proposal paperwork ready before I contact you?

No. You can write before you have a preceptor at all. We gather the preceptor's license, board certification, CV and site details that CUW's proposal asks for, so the paperwork comes together as the search succeeds. Bring any deadline your course faculty have given you.

Will you talk to CUW for me?

CUW's approval runs between you, the graduate faculty who teach your course and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, so you submit and correspond with CUW directly. We prepare what you submit and help you respond when the faculty ask about a preceptor's background or a site, so revisions stay quick and your file stays complete.

I already have one preceptor. Can you find the second?

Yes. The desk can fill one piece of a plan: a second clinician to share a course, a pediatric or women's health block for a final FNP clinical, or the next course's preceptor while the current one is going well. Tell us who you already have so we plan around them.

What does placement cost?

Price depends on your track, where you live, how many courses you want covered and how soon the first one starts. The cost page lists the factors behind a price, and your advisor sets out the figure for your plan so you decide with the full picture.

Placement helpHow it worksStep by step, how our desk finds CUW nursing students a preceptor and site that fit the course, readies the approval file and stays on call all semester.Placement helpCostWhat goes into a quote for CUW preceptor placement: your track, how many clinicals, how soon you start, where you live and what the likely sites require.UrgentNeed a preceptor fastA CUW proposal deadline or semester start is close and you have no preceptor. Count back from the date, pick sites that can move, and see how we speed it up.ProcessThe placement processHow a Concordia University Wisconsin NP clinical comes together: securing a preceptor, faculty approval, the contract, clearance and your first day.PreceptorsFor preceptorsFor clinicians asked to precept a Concordia University Wisconsin NP student: the hours, CUW's approval and contract steps, dated preceptor rules, and our help.Placement helpFAQStraight answers for CUW nursing students on preceptor placement: CUW's rules, using a placement service, employers, other states, timing and preceptor types.

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.