What must be in place before a CUW clinical site can start you

Vaccines: the site's list is the one that counts

Every CUW graduate nursing page carries the same sentence: in clinical experiences, students work in healthcare systems or clinics and "must comply with any vaccination requirements of the clinical sites." CUW publishes no graduate vaccine list of its own. The list that applies is the one your site hands you, and it can change between your first, second and third clinical.

CUW's 2022 blog on MSN clinicals filled in the rest. Most clinical partners required immunizations, COVID-19 among them. CUW itself did not require vaccines, but it granted no waivers or exemptions for any vaccine, which leaves each site's rule standing.

For comparison, the 2013-14 Graduate Nursing Program Student Handbook asked for a health certificate before placement: a TB skin test, MMR or titers, and the Hepatitis B series or a waiver. Today the site's own requirements take that role.

CPR: what CUW asks for, and what sites may add

The 2026-27 catalog asks for current CPR certification at admission to the MSN, the Post-BSN to DNP, the CAGE certificates, the PMHNP DNP and the PMHNP certificate. It names no course provider for graduate students. The pre-licensure programs are specific: American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Professionals in the Direct Entry MSN, and AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers, kept current throughout, in the Traditional BSN.

Two practical points follow. Renew before your card lapses, since a card that expires mid-program can stall a site's onboarding. And a site can name its own course, so ask before you book a renewal. CUW's 2013-14 graduate handbook, for comparison, asked for yearly adult, child and infant CPR plus HIV/AIDS (OSHA) training. Keep a digital copy of your current card with your clinical records so it is ready the moment a site asks.

Questions CUW's current pages leave open

Some items students expect on a requirements list appear on no current CUW page. The dated sources below are the best available signal; the Graduate Clinical Coordinator has the current answer.

• Drug screens: not mentioned for graduate students today. The 2022 program FAQ listed drug testing among the extra expenses of clinicals, alongside lodging for the on-campus health assessment, background checks and immunizations.
• Liability insurance: no current statement. The 2013-14 graduate handbook advised students to buy malpractice insurance, and the 2010 BSN completion handbook said CUW's liability coverage applied at required clinical sites.
• Health insurance: the 2013-14 handbook contradicted itself, calling it not mandated on one page and required of all students on another.
• Employment status: the same handbook said students at clinical sites are not employees and are not covered by workers' compensation.

Why CUW students choose us for requirement checks

We collect each site's onboarding list before you commit to it and compare it line by line with what you already hold: vaccines, CPR, background check, drug screen and training. A vaccine rule with no waiver surfaces at the start of the search, while switching to another site is still easy, not the week before your first shift.

Your placement advisor keeps the preceptor's license, board certification and CV in the same file as your clearances, so the proposal CUW's graduate faculty review is complete and consistent. Because we plan all three clinicals at once, we also compare each new site's list with the last one, so you know which items carry over and which are new before the term begins. Start with your track and start term or read how it works.