Preceptors for UC's adult-gerontology primary care NP

The AGPCNP track at UC

UC delivers the adult-gerontology primary care NP as an online MSN, with the clinical hours done in person under a preceptor. It's listed at 44 credits and 504 clinical hours, and the curriculum guide maps it across roughly two years and six semesters. Cohorts begin in spring, summer and fall on the same dates as UC's FNP. To apply you need a year or more of US RN experience and an RN license with no restrictions.

Expect one campus trip. From Spring 2027, APRN students in NURS8020C attend a three-day Advanced Health Assessment immersion in Cincinnati; the immersion page lists the dates.

The same three practicums sit in semesters 6 to 8 of the AGPCNP DNP, which starts in fall only and, like every UC DNP, is closed to Washington as well as to the seven states UC excludes from all graduate clinicals. The post-master's certificate uses internships ANNP8056 to ANNP8058, 168 hours each, and admits only residents of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Three practicums, 504 hours

Hours step up each term. The per-course rules, including which specialty settings count, are on AGPCNP practicums.

Half the program, at least 252 of the 504 hours, has to be primary care. Up to 100 hours in long-term care, extended care, assisted living, home-based care or urgent care can count toward that primary care total. Only outpatient time counts, and each clinical day needs at least four hours with your preceptor.

Who qualifies as an AGPCNP preceptor

UC keeps the AGPC preceptor list short: a nurse practitioner, or a physician with an MD or DO. The baseline for anyone who precepts at UC is on UC preceptor requirements; the AGPC Clinical Planning Guide then layers on its own rules.

• At least 80 hours with every preceptor you use.
• At least 100 hours with a nurse practitioner over the program.
• At least three preceptors and three practice locations before you finish.
• A ceiling of two preceptors per term, and just one during Practicum I unless faculty approve adding another.
• No relatives, and no one in your department who supervises you.

Since Practicum I normally runs through a single preceptor, that person has to be willing to give you all 112 hours inside one semester. Ask about their weekly availability in the first conversation, not after the packet is in.

No employer sites, and other settings that don't count

Under the AGPC guide, the place you work can't double as a clinical site. That's stricter than UC's FNP rules and removes the lead many working nurses would try first. If you work for a large organization with many clinics, ask your CSC how broadly the rule applies before approaching any practice under the same employer.

Several settings are ruled out regardless of who owns them: inpatient units, the operating room, hospice, weight-loss clinics, addiction treatment and integrative-medicine practices. Telehealth time needs the program director's individual approval, and even then you're expected in the clinic next to your preceptor, not dialing in.

For how the employer rule compares across UC tracks, read clinicals where you work.

Where AGPCNP searches stall

Three constraints stack up. The employer ban takes away the easiest lead. The 80-hour floor means a preceptor who can offer only a few afternoons won't help. And the three-location rule means you have to move on even when a practice suits you well.

The per-semester cap makes a mid-term loss harder to absorb. With no more than two preceptors a term and 224 hours due in Practicum III, a cancellation halfway through ANNP8044 leaves little room to recover. For AGPC, being secured by the end of week 2 means every document is processed and your CSC has granted clearance. A verbal yes from a clinic doesn't meet that bar.

Practicum III brings its own trade-off. ANNP8044 lets you pick a specialty such as dermatology, orthopedics, cardiac care or oncology, but the 252-hour primary care floor still applies across the program, so tally your primary care total before you commit that term to a specialty clinic.

A planning sequence that fits UC's calendar

1. Pick three locations early. Decide which practice covers Practicum I, II and III, keeping each preceptor at 80 or more hours and your NP total at 100 or more.
2. Submit before the packet date. Every term has a set Friday cutoff, listed on packet deadlines. Your section of the Preceptor Application gets done ahead of the preceptor's part.
3. Leave time for the agreement. Six weeks is the usual minimum for UC's own contract, far longer if the clinic's legal team insists on theirs, and a packet that arrives late may not get an agreement in time at all.
4. Sort out onboarding. Ask the site which onboarding platform it uses, such as ACEMAPP or MyClinicalExchange, and whether it's one of the systems UC wants approached through your CSC. Site onboarding covers the school documents your coordinator provides.
5. Log hours only inside the term. Time before the first day or after the last day of the semester doesn't count, and each day needs four or more hours with your preceptor. Enter it in eMedley promptly so your preceptor can verify it on schedule.

Where we fit: we look for outpatient NPs and physicians outside your employer who can commit 80 hours or more, help you pull together the preceptor and site details UC's application asks for, and remain available if a preceptor falls through. Approval is UC's decision, never ours. How it works walks through the steps.