Do NP Schools Help Find Preceptors? (What to Expect)

Finding a preceptor is one of the biggest challenges nurse practitioner (NP) students face today. If you’ve ever spent hours cold-calling clinics, emailing providers, and still come up empty, believe me, you’re not alone. One question I hear all the time is:

“Why don’t schools help with preceptor placement?”

The short answer is: sometimes they do. Some schools go above and beyond, building strong preceptor networks and actively securing sites. Others may promise help, but the reality is that students still do most of the legwork. A few programs, however, provide little to no assistance at all.

This inconsistency leaves many students frustrated and unsure of what to expect. In this article, I’ll share what I’ve learned about how schools approach preceptor placement, where the gaps often are, and why this matters so much for NP students.

​What Accreditation Standards Actually Say

Many students assume schools are going to find them preceptors. The truth is, accrediting bodies like the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) do require schools to provide students with high-quality clinical experiences. CCNE’s 2024 Standards, effective January 1, 2025, require programs to ensure quality clinical experiences and clear policies around clinical requirements and placements, but they do not mandate that schools personally arrange every preceptor for every student.
Some schools go above and beyond, helping secure sites, coordinating paperwork, and even offering school-linked clinics (most have med schools attached). Others place the responsibility almost entirely on students to track down their own preceptors. Do your research and ask for clarity in writing to find out the truth. Look on nursing and social forums to find out the truth as well. Just because they claim to help doesn’t necessarily mean they actually do. 

​Schools That Do Offer Support

A few universities stand out for actively assisting students. Some well-resourced or highly selective programs do usually place their students, or at least help. Students should expect to pay higher tuition or clinical fees, but many feel it’s well worth it. These schools generally have real faculty involvement and support as well.

​That said, even for the schools that “help,” students sometimes report that support is limited or inconsistent. It’s not unusual for programs to say they’ll assist, only for students to still end up making most of the calls themselves. Watch for an upcoming article on this subject as well!

How Schools Can Help with Preceptor Placement

When schools take preceptor placement seriously, it shows. Quality programs don’t leave students to fend for themselves. They build systems that make the process smoother for everyone involved. Whether that means bringing outside help (like PreceptorLink®/AMO) or having their own team, they support students. Here are some of the most effective ways schools can support preceptorships:

1. Building Preceptor Networks

Schools that invest in long-term relationships with hospitals, clinics, and community practices give their students a huge advantage. By keeping a list of trusted preceptors who have worked with the program before, schools can quickly connect students with providers who already understand the expectations.

2. Providing Administrative Support

Anyone who’s gone through preceptor placement knows that paperwork can be a mountain. Site agreements, credentialing, background checks can be overwhelming. Schools that step in to handle these details remove a major burden from both students and preceptors.

3. Involving Faculty in the Process
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Good faculty support goes beyond the classroom. Some programs send faculty advisors to clinical sites to check in on students and preceptors. Others provide structured evaluation tools that make it easier for preceptors to give consistent feedback. These touchpoints help ensure quality and show preceptors they aren’t alone in guiding students.

4. Offering Incentives for Preceptors

Let’s face it. Precepting takes time and effort. Schools that recognize this with small stipends, continuing education credits, or even formal recognition programs tend to keep their preceptors engaged. A little appreciation goes a long way.

5. Preparing and Supporting Preceptors

Not every great clinician has been trained to teach. Schools that offer orientation sessions, workshops, or access to academic resources (like online libraries) help preceptors feel more confident in their role. This, in turn, creates a better learning environment for students.

6. Leveraging Technology
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Some schools are getting creative by using placement software to match students with available sites, reducing the back-and-forth. Others are even exploring telehealth preceptorships in rural areas, expanding opportunities for students while addressing access issues.
When schools put these pieces in place, it doesn’t just make life easier for students. It also strengthens relationships with preceptors and improves program outcomes. Everyone benefits: students, faculty, preceptors, and ultimately, patients.

​The Challenges Schools Face

Of course, I want to be fair here. Schools don’t always withhold support out of neglect. In many cases, they’re navigating challenges that make preceptor placement more complicated than it looks from the outside.

• A limited number of preceptors compared to the growing number of NP programs. Schools may simply have more students than available sites, which makes it harder to guarantee placements for everyone.
  
  
• Competition with medical, PA, and other students for clinical spots. With multiple healthcare programs vying for the same preceptors, NP students can easily be pushed to the back of the line.
  
  
• Burnout and staffing shortages (especially since COVID-19). Many providers are stretched thin and don’t feel they have the time or energy to take on students. Some feel NP education is not preparing students well, so they have stopped precepting.
  
  
• Complex affiliation agreements that take months to finalize. Even when a preceptor is willing, schools often require legal contracts with the site before a student can start. These agreements can delay or block placements altogether. I’ve written more about how a standardized affiliation agreement could help ease this burden and open more doors for students.
  
  

Still, from a student’s perspective, none of that makes the process less stressful. And schools should be doing everything they can to prepare and support their students and not leave them to figure it out alone.​

​The Challenges Students Face

From a student’s point of view, the struggle to secure a preceptor can feel overwhelming. You’re balancing coursework, deadlines, and family responsibilities. On top of that, you’re expected to find someone willing to precept you.

Here are some of the most common challenges I hear from students:

• Limited availability: Many preceptors are already stretched thin, and some simply don’t have room to take on students.
  
• High competition: You are competing with other NP students, medical students, PAs, and nursing programs in your area for the same few clinical sites.
  
• Lack of connections: Without an established professional network, it can be intimidating to cold-call clinics or email providers who don’t know you.
  
• School approval issues: Even when you find a willing provider, your program may not approve them due to credentialing or specialty requirements (this is a frustration I wrote about in detail here).
  
• Staffing shortages: In recent years, many sites have scaled back on accepting students altogether, making the process even harder.
  
  

When you put all of this together, it’s easy to see why so many students describe finding a preceptor as the most stressful part of their program. I’ve even written an entire article about why it’s so hard to find a preceptor, because it’s such a common pain point.​

How PreceptorLink® Helps Schools with Preceptor Placement

Schools really should be helping their students secure clinical placements, but the reality is, not every program has the time, connections, or infrastructure to do it well. And when that happens, it’s the students who end up struggling.

That’s why we created our Schools Program. At PreceptorLink®, we partner directly with nursing schools to strengthen their clinical placement process. Instead of leaving students to scramble on their own, we help schools:
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• Expand their clinical placement options through our established preceptor networks.
  
• Take the weight off faculty by managing site agreements, paperwork, and logistics.
  
• Provide students with reliable, vetted, quality placements so they can focus on learning, not searching.
  
  

And we’ll meet the school where they are. We have options, no matter how the school wants to support students. The goal is simple: to help schools meet their responsibility to provide quality clinical experiences while ensuring students graduate on time and with less stress.

When schools and PreceptorLink®/AMOpportunities work together, everyone wins: students, preceptors, faculty, and ultimately, the patients they will go on to serve. And since PreceptorLink® and AMOpportunities have joined ranks, we have even more preceptor options and better services and support! ​

Final Thoughts

If you’re a student, my advice is: don’t assume your school will handle everything for you. Ask early and clearly what support they provide. If you find yourself struggling, know that you’re not alone and that there are resources out there to help.

If you’re a faculty member or administrator, we know how hard this job is! We’ve been doing NP clinical placements for over a decade! If you need our help, we’re here to support you. Your students are counting on you, and there are proven ways to make this process smoother. 
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Schools: Strengthen your clinical placement process with PreceptorLink®/AMO. Contact [email protected]. Together, we can make clinical education easier, more consistent, and more supportive for everyone involved.

​About The Author

Lynn McComas is the Chief Nursing Officer at AMOpportunities and Founder of PreceptorLink. She is a recognized expert in precepting nurse practitioners and advanced practice provider students and has been matching preceptors since 2014.

With over two decades in primary care, Lynn has served as a coach, advisor, mentor, and preceptor for countless healthcare professionals, including NPs, nurses, and medical assistants. She co-founded a successful skills and procedures business and speaks nationwide on NP-related issues.

Lynn is also a regular contributor on LinkedIn, KevinMD, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram @preceptorlink, X @LynnMcComas, and her blog, where she addresses the growing NP and PA professions and the urgent need for preceptor sites.

​ Her unique perspective, shaped by her business, clinical, and educational experiences, positions her as a key voice in tackling preceptor shortages. Lynn is committed to driving change—through a paradigm shift in NP education, reducing barriers, offering preceptor incentives, and advocating for reforms within the profession.