Montana clinicals for University of Cincinnati nursing students

UC programs and Montana

Montana is absent from every UC exclusion list, carries no UC state form, and isn't on UC's supplemental background check list. Where UC allows clinicals compares it with the other states.

What the Montana board asks, and what it doesn't

Montana draws a sharp line between kinds of programs. ARM 24.159.608 is the rule for pre-licensure schools from other states: before placing anyone in a Montana clinical setting, such a school sends a signed request and a faculty supervision plan, gets assurances from Montana's own nursing program directors that their students keep their spots, and waits for approval from the Board or its executive director. None of that touches you: graduate and RN-to-BSN programs sit outside that approval step, per the Board's FAQ.

The Board's one ask of graduate programs concerns you. Your patients will be Montana patients, so the program needs proof that your license is active and in good standing for Montana. Faculty licensing hinges on hands-on care: a UC instructor who treats Montana patients would need a Montana license, while one who only talks with you and your preceptor wouldn't. UC's published faculty role is conferring with the two of you at least twice a semester.

Preceptors: NPs, physicians, and a PA option

UC's PA list names Montana, so a PA preceptor is possible here, reviewed case by case and held to limited hours. The rest of the term follows your track: FNP students log 150 or more of their 672 hours with an NP or CNM, the AGPCNP rules call for 100 hours or more with an NP, and midwifery students may spend no more than 20 hours with a PA, all in ANW8006 and only with the program director's approval. The track guides list NPs and physicians as the core preceptors, so ask your CSC how a PA fits before you ask one. See PA preceptors.

UC's baseline applies to all of them too: a graduate degree at master's level or higher, board certification, one year or more practicing in the role, and a Montana-valid license with no encumbrances. AANP rates Montana as full practice.

Licensing in Montana

Montana's compact participation started January 19, 2018. Its RN licensing page is plain about the result: someone practicing on a multistate privilege issued by another member state can work in Montana without a separate Montana license. UC wants the license on your file to be valid in Montana and verifies it through NCSBN QuickConfirm as one of your Critical Requirements. If what you hold works only in the state that issued it, plan on getting a Montana license.

Where to look in Montana, and where we fit

Montana's clinicians spread across four small metros: Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and Helena. Missoula's Providence St. Patrick Hospital, St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, which belongs to Intermountain Health, counts among the large employers, alongside Benefis Health System and the merged Billings Clinic and Logan Health system. Think of them as places where preceptors practice, not confirmed UC sites. UC's preceptor FAQ mentions precepting one or two days weekly, so ask early what a Montana preceptor can offer. Montana offers no preceptor incentive that we could find.

We look for Montana NPs, physicians and, where UC approves, PAs who meet UC's rules, and we help with the Preceptor Application. UC makes every approval. Start with the form on this page.