Doing your UC clinicals where you work

The rule that covers every UC track

UC's Clinical Preceptor Guide (revised May 2026) sets limits that apply whatever you study. A relative may not precept you. You can't train in the clinic or unit where you hold a job or already practice as an APRN, unless your track permits it and the program director signs off. And no hours count at any site, your employer included, until a site agreement is in place.

Track documents then tighten or loosen the middle rule. Some forbid the employer outright; others allow it but draw the line at your own department or your boss. The student section of the Preceptor Application asks whether you work for the organization, so your CSC sees the connection either way. Raising it before the packet goes in is simpler than explaining it after.

The table below sets out what each track's current document says. Where a track is silent, the college-wide rule above still applies.

Track by track

"Not ruled out" means the track document limits the department rather than the employer. A different department in your hospital may work, but confirm the exact setup with your CSC before you ask a colleague to precept.

FNP: your employer yes, your department and your boss no

The FNP FAQ (revised May 2026) lets you do clinical hours with your employer, which helps students who work for a large system with many outpatient practices. Two limits apply. The site can't be your own department or unit, and your preceptor can't be someone who supervises you.

A hospital nurse could therefore rotate through the system's family practice or pediatric clinic with an NP there, as long as nobody in that clinic manages them. The standard FNP rules sit on top: every hour outpatient, 60 or more with each preceptor, three or more preceptors in all, and no single preceptor for all three practicums. The course hours are on FNP practicums.

AGPCNP: never your place of employment

The AGPC Clinical Planning Guide (July 2026) is the strictest document UC publishes on this. AGPCNP students "may not use their site of employment as a clinical site." The guide also rules out relatives and any supervisor in your own department.

That closes the route many working nurses count on, so AGPCNP students need outside leads from the start. The guide doesn't define "site of employment" for a large system with many locations. If you work at one hospital in a system and have your eye on an outpatient clinic elsewhere in the same system, ask your CSC before you ask the preceptor, and keep the answer in writing.

The rest of the AGPC rules still shape the search: outpatient hours only, at least 80 hours per preceptor, at least four hours a day, and at least three preceptors and practice locations across the program.

Nurse-midwifery: the workplace form

Midwifery is the track most open to training at work. UC's nurse-midwifery requirements allow clinical hours at your workplace, and UC posts a form for it, "Precepting in the Setting Where You Work." You and the program director both sign it, and the program director must approve and document the plan.

1. Name the setting and preceptorIdentify the unit or practice and the CNM, CM or physician who would precept you. A preceptor in your own department needs program director approval.
2. Complete the workplace formFill in "Precepting in the Setting Where You Work" and sign it. The posted version dates from 2022, so ask your CSC whether a newer one exists.
3. Get the program director's sign-offThe program director approves and documents the plan. Don't start hours before that.
4. Submit each preceptor's applicationAnyone who precepts you for 8 or more hours needs a full Preceptor Application, and midwifery preceptors also send a CV.

Working where you train doesn't change the supervision floor: at least half of your hours must be with a CNM or CM. Nurse-midwifery clinicals has the course-by-course detail.

PNP-AC, WHNP, AGACNP and NNP: department limits

UC's preceptor FAQ notes that some PNP Acute Care students can count hours on their own unit, one of the few places UC names your own unit as a possibility. Treat it as an exception to confirm, not a default. Ask your CSC and the program director before you plan a term around it.

The WHNP requirements allow a preceptor from your own department only with program director approval, and call the arrangement generally discouraged. The AGACNP and NNP requirements both rule out relatives and your own department. None of the three bars your employer outright, so another department in your hospital may be possible, subject to the college-wide rule and your CSC's review.

For PMHNP students, the documents we reviewed contain no track-specific employer rule. The college-wide limits apply, and your CSC is the person to ask before you approach a colleague.

Leadership, education and DNP project settings

Non-NP tracks handle work differently. Systems Leadership preceptors need to sit at least one administrative rung above you. The Public Health Nursing DNP requirements (revised 2022) say a preceptor at your employer must rank at least one level above you. MSN Nursing Education students may not earn practicum hours during paid work time.

The post-MSN DNP runs the other way. UC's DNP FAQ says students' work environments often make an ideal setting for the DNP project, and most post-MSN DNP students keep working full time. That is a project site, not an NP rotation, so the NP employer rules above don't govern it. See the DNP project practicum for how the 500 practicum hours work.