Your preceptor dropped out mid-course: what to do this week

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

No current Concordia University Wisconsin page addresses a preceptor who leaves partway through a clinical, so your first move is to tell your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator. Next, secure a signed record of the hours you already earned. Then get a replacement preceptor through CUW's approval while enough of the semester remains to finish.

Get matched Chat now

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.

The first 48 hours

Tell CUW the same dayEmail your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator: which course, how many hours are done, how many remain, and when the preceptor's last day is or was.
Get your hours signedAsk the departing preceptor to sign off the hours you completed. CUW's 2014-15 handbook required a signed hours form from each preceptor and held the grade when one was missing.
Bring your logs up to dateEnter every shift and patient encounter now, while the preceptor can still confirm them. The archived process wanted time entries within seven days of the work.
Ask for an evaluationIf the preceptor is willing, request a written evaluation of your progress so far, which helps your faculty and your next preceptor.
Stop seeing patients thereUnless another approved preceptor at that site is supervising you, pause patient care until CUW approves the next arrangement.

Why a replacement needs its own approval

CUW's graduate faculty approve each preceptor and each site for appropriateness, so a new person is a new approval, even at the same clinic. The archived proposal form made this explicit: one form per semester for each preceptor and site. Expect to send a fresh set of documents, typically the license, CV and board certification CUW's archived handbooks asked for.

Where the replacement works decides how long this takes. A colleague at the same practice may fall under the clinical contract you already have, which keeps the wait short. A different organization can need a new contract, which CUW's 2014-15 handbook put at 8 to 12 weeks. Ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator which case you are in before you commit to a new site.

A replacement at the same practice is often the quickest fix, because the site's contract and onboarding may already be in place.

Limits that affect your second preceptor

The 2014-15 handbook set a few rules that come into play once you add a preceptor. You could work with up to two preceptors in a semester without asking first; a third needed prior approval. No single preceptor could supervise more than 400 of your program hours. At least 50 of your program hours had to be with a nurse practitioner, so a physician or PA replacement is fine as long as that minimum is met somewhere in your program.

The setting rules still apply. FNP and AGPCNP clinicals belong in primary care, and CUW's 2022 blog ruled out acute care as a clinical site. PMHNP students should confirm with course faculty that the replacement setting fits the practicum they are in, since CUW has not published PMHNP preceptor rules. The preceptor requirements guide dates each rule.

Protecting the hours you already earned

Hours you completed with an approved preceptor at an approved site were earned under CUW's rules, and a signed record is your best protection. CUW's current pages do not say how partial hours carry across a preceptor change, so ask your course faculty to confirm in writing that the finished hours stand and how many remain.

Save a copy of your hour log as it stands today, with dates, shift lengths and patient counts, and keep copies of everything the preceptor signed. In the archived process each preceptor signed a documentation of hours form and the end-term checklist had to be complete before a grade was released. Our logs and evaluations guide explains what CUW used then and what is confirmed now.

When the semester is running out

Divide the hours left by the weeks left. If the number is more than your schedule can carry, raise it with your course faculty now. The 2026-27 catalog lets an incomplete stand for three weeks after the term ends before it can become a failing grade, with up to six weeks allowed in some cases, and the faculty decide whether an incomplete fits your situation.

Because each clinical is a prerequisite for the next, an unfinished course can hold up your next registration. Our guides on falling behind on hours and delayed graduation cover both problems in more depth. The 2014-15 handbook also wanted hours spread evenly across the semester, so run any plan that crams the final weeks past your faculty first.

How we handle a dropped preceptor

Staying on call after the match is part of our service, because this is when a CUW student needs help most. Tell your placement advisor what happened and we start searching for a replacement at once, beginning with colleagues at the same practice and nearby sites that fit your course and CUW's rules.

We collect the new preceptor's license, certification, CV and site details, flag whether a new contract is likely, and help you work out a realistic plan for the hours you have left. Tell us which course and how many hours remain, or read how it works. We also line up the next clinical while we fix this one, so a single lost preceptor stays a single problem.

Questions CUW students ask

Do I lose the hours I completed with the preceptor who left?

CUW's current pages do not address it, and the archived handbooks set no rule for it either. What they did require was a signed hours form from each preceptor. Get the departing preceptor's signature now and ask your course faculty to confirm in writing how many of your hours stand.

Can my replacement work at the same clinic?

Yes, if graduate faculty approve the new preceptor. It is often the fastest option, since the clinic may already have a contract with CUW and you know the workflow. You will still send a new proposal, because CUW's archived form was filed once per preceptor and site each semester.

Do I have to tell CUW if I find a replacement myself?

Yes. Every preceptor needs graduate faculty approval before you see patients with them. CUW's 2014-15 handbook also asked students whose plans changed after a preceptor agreed to notify that provider and copy the clinical coordinator, so keeping CUW informed has long been part of the process.

Can a physician finish my hours instead of an NP?

CUW's 2014-15 handbook allowed physicians (MD or DO) to precept, as long as at least 50 of your program hours were with a nurse practitioner and the site was primary care for FNP or AGPCNP students. Current rules are not published, so confirm with your graduate faculty first.

TrackingLogs and evaluationsHow CUW NP students have logged hours and been evaluated: the archived Typhon process, preceptor evaluations, the per-semester site visit and what is current.PreceptorsPreceptor requirementsPreceptor requirements for Concordia University Wisconsin NP students: license, board certification, years of practice and NP hours, with dates and sources.HoursBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in a Concordia University Wisconsin clinical course? Find your weekly pace, the archived rules on spreading hours, and safe ways to add more.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.RolesThe Graduate Clinical CoordinatorWho does what in Concordia University Wisconsin NP clinicals: the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, the older contract and education coordinators, and faculty.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.

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.