UC nursing clinicals in Washington State

Where your UC track lands in Washington

Washington is the one state UC opens to its master's and certificate clinicals but closes to its doctoral programs. The FNP shows the effect best: an MSN FNP student can log ANNP8070 hours in Seattle, while a BSN-to-DNP FNP student in the same course can't. Where UC allows clinicals has the national list.

The commission's list and the PMHNP question

UC's licensure disclosure page shows the Washington Nursing Commission approval list: nursing education, women's health, nursing administration, nurse-midwifery, family NP and adult-gerontology primary care. PMHNP, PNP-AC, AGACNP and NNP are absent. UC's residency rule already keeps Washington residents out of AGACNP and the PNP-AC certificate, so the live questions are the PMHNP certificate and the NNP MSN. UC authorizes both levels here, yet the list is silent on those tracks, so get a written answer from constateauth@uc.edu before approaching a Washington preceptor.

UC's DNP programs don't take applicants from Washington either. If you're a DNP student moving here, your clinicals would have to happen in another authorized state, and UC decides whether that works; raise it with your CSC before the move. BSN-to-DNP explains how those tracks are built.

WABON's rules for out-of-state programs

Washington regulates distance programs closely. The governing rule, WAC 246-840-571, makes a program from another state win WABON approval before any student starts a Washington clinical, show its standards match Washington's, supervise and evaluate students in the state, keep national accreditation and report every year. That's UC's work; you feel it as lead time. WABON adds that the out-of-state placements it approves are meant for Washington residents, with anyone else handled as an individual exception.

The same rule reaches your preceptor. Someone precepting an ARNP student can't be related to you or be your personal friend, and must hold an ARNP, MD or DO license, active and unencumbered, from Washington or elsewhere. WABON filed a CR-101 on December 5, 2025 to reopen its education rules (WAC 246-840-500 to -571), with clinical-placement barriers among the topics, so expect possible changes.

License, background check and the state grant

Washington's compact membership took effect January 31, 2024, so a multistate license issued by any other compact state is honored here; UC's requirement is a license valid where you train, covered in RN license for clinicals. Washington also sits on UC's supplemental background check list, for MSN and certificate clinicals only. See background checks.

Leave the Washington State Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant out of your pitch. WABON runs it for ARNP, RN and LPN preceptors, but students of out-of-state programs don't qualify, even with every hour spent in Washington.

Finding Washington preceptors, and where we fit

AANP rates Washington as full practice. Physician assistants aren't an option, since Washington isn't on UC's PA list. Clinicians cluster around Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Spokane, Kennewick-Richland and the Washington side of the Portland-Vancouver metro. Providence, including Providence Swedish, plus UW Medicine, MultiCare, PeaceHealth and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health employ many of the state's clinicians; treat them as a starting map, not a list of UC partners.

We look for Washington ARNPs and physicians who satisfy WABON's preceptor rule and UC's, check your track against the commission's list with you, and help with the Preceptor Application. Every approval remains UC's call. To begin, use the form on this page.