Oregon and University of Cincinnati nursing clinicals

Every UC program lists Oregon as closed

Oregon shows up on each exclusion list UC publishes. Arizona and New York keep UC's RN-to-BSN; Oregon doesn't, so the state is closed across the board. Where UC allows clinicals sets all seven closed states side by side.

Oregon's board isn't the obstacle

Many students assume the Oregon State Board of Nursing keeps out-of-state NP students away. It doesn't. The board's APRN FAQ is blunt: out-of-state APRN programs don't need OSBN approval to place students in Oregon. The older rule that demanded prior authorization for NP practicums was repealed effective July 1, 2021.

OSBN's notice duty falls on pre-licensure PN and RN schools from other states. APRN programs are exempt, as are programs that don't end in licensure, such as RN-to-BSN. OSBN does say an institution must satisfy the Higher Education Coordinating Commission or NC-SARA before enrolling Oregon students. UC doesn't say which factor drives its exclusion, so treat Oregon as closed until UC's Clinical Planning page says otherwise.

If you live in Oregon now

UC's program pages say it can't take applications from Oregon for these programs, which leaves nothing to plan state-side. Samaritan Health Services, Legacy Health, OHSU, Kaiser Permanente Northwest and Providence Oregon can't host a UC clinical while the exclusion stands, however willing a preceptor there might be.

UC's pages don't explain how residency is judged for an applicant who expects to relocate before clinicals. If that's your situation, ask UC admissions and constateauth@uc.edu in writing before you build a plan on it.

Moving to Oregon partway through a UC program

Tell your Clinical Site Coordinator before you sign a lease. No Oregon site can count toward your UC hours, and whether you may stay enrolled while living in Oregon and travel elsewhere for clinicals is UC's decision; its pages cover applicants and clinical activity, not continuing students. Moving during UC clinicals covers licenses, CastleBranch and new preceptors.

Near Portland, Washington can look like an easy fix across the river. It's open to UC's MSN and certificate clinicals but closed to DNP programs and the RN-to-BSN, and WABON limits the out-of-state placements it approves to students who live in Washington, making exceptions one case at a time. Read Washington before counting on Vancouver.

Licensing, and how we help you plan elsewhere

Oregon sits outside the compact, and no NLC bill is pending there, so an Oregon RN license covers Oregon alone. Hours in another state need a license valid there, per UC's RN license rule.

Oregon is closed, so we put the planning into the states UC allows. If UC confirms you can train in an open state, we work through that state's license and paperwork steps with you, run the search there, and have the Preceptor Application ready for your CSC's final approval. Near Portland, that includes reading Washington's residency limits before anyone counts on Vancouver. The form on this page is the place to start.