Asking a preceptor to take you on as a UC student

Start with UC's own outreach kit

UC doesn't leave outreach to guesswork. Its graduate Clinical Planning page tells newly admitted students to review a set of resources before contacting anyone, and several are built for exactly this step.

• Your program's clinical requirements document, for preceptor types, hours and settings.
• The clinical planning glossary, so you use UC's terms correctly with a busy clinician.
• The Clinical Planning Checklist.
• Networking Tips, including the questions UC suggests for a prospective preceptor.
• Academic Netiquette, for tone and email conduct.
• Email and phone outreach scripts.
• The Clinical Course Expectations document and UC's YouTube playlist.

UC wants you building contacts with nearby healthcare organizations from semester one, long before a practicum is on your schedule. Tailor UC's scripts with your track, course and term dates so each request reads as specific rather than generic.

Know your ask before you call

A preceptor's first question is usually how much time you need. Have the answer ready: your track, the course number, the hours for that course, the semester dates and roughly how many days a week you'd come. UC's preceptor FAQ asks preceptors to host students one to two days a week.

Check your track's per-preceptor rules as well. An FNP preceptor has to give you 60 hours or more, and you need three different ones over the program; AGPCNP and AGACNP set the per-preceptor floor at 80 hours, and PMHNP at 40. AGPCNP students also need at least four hours a day, in outpatient settings only. Asking an AGPCNP preceptor for 30 hours sets up an approval problem.

Then measure the clinician against UC's preceptor requirements, which cover graduate education, board certification, time in practice and a clean license where you'd train. Hours per course are on UC clinical hours.

Where to look, and who to clear with your CSC first

Your own network comes first: colleagues, former classmates, clinicians you've worked beside and practices near you. UC also suggests the ANCC's Preceptor Connect group on Facebook as an extra channel, and if the search stalls, your CSC has names of past UC preceptors and alumni living in your state. UC placement help covers what else the CSC can offer.

Some systems aren't for cold outreach. UC names eight systems, among them Cleveland Clinic, Norton and Summa Health, where you must check with your CSC before pursuing a preceptor; site onboarding has the whole list. Send nothing to a clinician at those systems until your CSC says how to proceed.

Large Cincinnati-area systems run their own student processes. Cincinnati Children's, for example, uses an APRN Clinical Placement Interest Form and asks for an active Ohio RN license. Cincinnati clinical sites covers the local systems one by one.

The questions UC suggests you ask

UC's networking suggestions give students a list of interview questions for prospective preceptors. Ask them in the first real conversation, before either of you spends time on paperwork.

• How many hours a week can you precept, and on which days?
• What is your patient volume, and what kinds of patients would I see?
• Does your site need an affiliation agreement with UC, or does it already have one?
• Which onboarding platform does your site use, such as ACEMAPP or MyClinicalExchange?
• Do you or your site charge a fee to precept, and what are the refund terms?

UC's networking document is dated 2022, and one line in it is out of date: it says UC doesn't require an affiliation agreement. UC's current Clinical Planning page says an agreement is required for every clinical rotation and must be in place before you start. Ask the agreement question as "who signs for the site," not "do we need one."

What to tell a preceptor about UC's expectations

Clinicians say yes more easily when they know the workload. Be plain about what UC expects: hosting you one to two days a week, verifying your time logs in eMedley every 14 days, completing a midterm and a final evaluation, and conferring with your faculty and you at least twice a semester. You schedule those meetings, not the preceptor.

Tell them what UC provides too. Faculty send the syllabus and an introduction letter. Your CSC handles the agreement and can send the site a Letter of Good Standing and verification of your malpractice coverage, which UC carries from enrollment. Preceptors don't sign off case logs in eMedley.

Be honest about compensation. UC doesn't pay preceptors; it offers continuing-education webinars through the year and recognizes preceptors with annual APRN Preceptor Awards, one for the tri-state region and one outside it. Precepting UC students is the page to share with a clinician who wants detail.

After a yes: what to send, and in what order

1. Tell your CSCShare the preceptor's name, credential, site and state so any system-specific rule surfaces early.
2. Complete your section firstFill in the student section of the Preceptor Application (revised October 2025): your RN license and state, whether it's a compact license, whether you work for the organization, your CastleBranch status and the terms you plan to train with this preceptor.
3. Pass it to the preceptorThe preceptor adds licenses, certification, years in the field, graduate education or a CV, site details and the site's administrative contact for the agreement. Nurse-midwifery preceptors must attach a CV.
4. Confirm where the packet goesUC's documents list different addresses, so have the preceptor email the packet to the address your CSC gives you.
5. Add a state form if neededFor California, North Dakota or Wyoming, the extra state form goes separately to constateauth@uc.edu.

Each term has a packet deadline; see packet deadlines. Field-by-field help is on the Preceptor Application page.

Keep a contact log, and follow up

Outreach goes better when you can see all of it at once. Keep a simple log of every contact: name, practice, date, channel, answer and next step. It stops you from asking the same clinic twice, and it gives your CSC a clear picture if you need help later.

Follow up once, politely, if you hear nothing, and thank anyone who declines. A clinician who can't take you this term may fit your next practicum. UC's Academic Netiquette guidance is a sensible model for tone.

If you'd rather have help with the search itself, we look for preceptors who fit your UC track and help you prepare what your CSC reviews. UC still vets and approves every preceptor. Use the form on this page to start.