DNP preceptor questions, answered

AACN sets a floor of 1,000 supervised practice hours post-baccalaureate, at least 500 in a supervised academic setting. Most online programs land between 1,000 and 1,140 total; BSN-to-DNP tracks are highest, post-master's tracks transfer prior hours and add the balance.

Usually no. Most online DNP programs are self-source: you find and propose, the school approves. Walden, South Alabama, Arizona State outside Maricopa County, Chamberlain, Capella, Purdue Global, Grand Canyon, Aspen and TESU all put the finding on you. Herzing and Rasmussen assist. WGU, SNHU, Excelsior and ACE don't offer a DNP at all.

Yes. Purdue Global has an online, CCNE-accredited, post-master's DNP requiring 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours, with up to 500 prior supervised hours accepted. You select the practice site and Practice Mentor and the school approves both. Some older comparison guides wrongly list Purdue Global as having no DNP.

No. We never guarantee a placement and final approval always rests with your program. We source approvable matches, prepare the paperwork, and only bill when a match is confirmed.

No. The 1,000 is cumulative post-baccalaureate. Your prior NP hours (typically 500 to 650) transfer, and the DNP adds the remainder, often tied to your DNP project. Programs cap the transfer, Purdue Global, for example, accepts at most 500 prior supervised hours.

Often yes, within your school's guardrails. Walden requires a different setting outside your current department and normal working hours, with a preceptor who is neither your supervisor nor your direct report; Chamberlain's guidance requires a different department and a non-supervisor preceptor; Capella's NP practicum materials name your current employer as a sanctioned option. Confirm your own handbook's current rule for your DNP track.

Almost certainly not. Conflict-of-interest rules are standard, Walden's list, for example, excludes your supervisor, direct report, relative, significant other, roommate, personal friend, your own primary care provider and fellow students, and violating it can mean rejected hours or academic-integrity sanctions. Assume your program checks something similar.

Many programs require your own professional liability policy before approval, separate from any employer coverage. Walden's published minimum is 1 million dollars per incident and 3 million aggregate, covering the entire practicum term. Check your handbook for your school's amounts and proof requirements.

Earlier than most students expect. Walden's deadline is the first day of the month roughly three months before the term, its review runs in submission order and can take three months or longer, and applications not approved by the Friday before the term are closed. Other schools publish their own deadlines; the safe pattern everywhere is to start a term ahead.

Before your DNP project touches data. Most programs require an IRB or quality-improvement determination before project data collection, and hours tied to the project usually cannot start until clearance and site approvals are on file. Build those weeks into your timeline.

Generally not at the doctoral level. Programs expect supervised direct-care and project practice hours; simulation typically doesn't substitute. Confirm any exceptions with your handbook.

PMHNP, pediatrics and women's health, because their qualified-preceptor pools are much smaller than primary-care FNP. Those are the tracks where a sourcing service most often changes the outcome.

Before your practicum term, not during it. Thin-market and specialty placements need lead time, and your school's own review adds weeks to months on top; the earlier you start, the better the match.

For NP tracks, typically a clinician with a graduate degree, an active unencumbered license in your specialization, and defined postgraduate experience, Walden requires at least one year unsupervised and one-to-one supervision, with at least one NP among your preceptors. Leadership and systems tracks accept a qualified practice mentor with organizational standing instead. Your handbook publishes the exact bar.

Usually yes, and lifespan specialties like FNP often require it, since one clinic rarely covers pediatrics through geriatrics. Each preceptor and site is approved separately, some schools by separate application, so a split footprint means running the paperwork more than once. Plan the split before the term, not after it stalls.

Nothing to request, and nothing until a match is confirmed and approved. Price depends on specialty, hours, market and how many sites your track needs.

Preceptor DNP is a placement service for doctoral students who need a practicum preceptor or project mentor. Send us your school, your DNP focus, and your state, and we match you with a doctorally prepared mentor or practice expert aligned to your project. We manage the outreach and the site agreement for you.

Yes. We are an independent matching service for DNP practicum and scholarly project placements, not a university office and not a listings board. Students come to us when a qualified mentor is hard to find, and we vet, coordinate, and confirm the match before you rely on it.

Both work for many DNP projects. We look for a local practice, health system, or organizational site that fits your project first. Because doctoral project work is often organizational rather than bedside, supervised remote mentorship is common, so we can arrange a compliant virtual arrangement wherever your program allows it.

Engage us early in your project planning. When you share your DNP aims and required hours ahead of time, we align a mentor to your focus, confirm the setting and the supervision, and finish the paperwork before your term, rather than leaving the search to the last quarter.

We place. We confirm the mentor will support your project for your timeline and hours, then take the site agreement to signature. You start your practicum with a confirmed DNP placement instead of a name to pursue on your own.