Still no preceptor for your UofM practicum
A stalled search has causes you can name, and each one has a fix. However your placement comes together at UofM, our work stays the same: a preceptor and site near home that satisfy Loewenberg College of Nursing's rules, with the approval details ready well before day one. Below is why searches stall, what to settle with the college, and how to get moving again.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UofM program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UofM course.
Why the search stalls
Most stalled searches trace back to rules that shrink the list of workable clinicians before the first call is made. The Academic Bulletin requires every nurse practitioner track to include a rotation precepted by a nurse practitioner. FNP students also need a family practice rotation, AG-ACNP practicums call for a preceptor whose practice includes inpatient care, and the PMHNP sequence shifts from outpatient work in NURS 7614 to inpatient work in NURS 7616.
The clinic where you work now usually drops off the list as well. UofM only allows hours at a current employer when it finds "compelling circumstances," and faculty and program administration then have to sign off and document the arrangement.
Health systems add gates of their own. Baptist Memorial wants a graduate preceptorship application in hand three months ahead of the start date, with the preceptors already named on it. Regional One Health requires an executed affiliation agreement before a student arrives. Christ Community Health Services reviews NP student requests against fixed application deadlines with limited slots, and Church Health says it offers no practicums to graduate nursing students.
Settle what your course requires
A search aimed at the wrong setting burns weeks you may not have. Before calling another clinic, get clear answers to the points below.
Have these answers in writing before you restart
- The practicum course number, its hours in your plan of study and the term it falls in.
- Which rotation rule this course has to cover: the NP-precepted rotation, the FNP family practice rotation, or a specific setting such as inpatient psychiatry.
- What support UofM offers for your track this term, straight from your track coordinator or clinical faculty.
- Your clearance status in DISA Complio, because site approval in myClinicalExchange waits until every required item has been accepted.
FNP students should also read their track's advising site closely. UofM's faculty handbook describes it as the place where information on clinical placements, preceptors and affiliation agreements is posted, and students are held responsible for everything on it.
Widen the net without breaking a rule
Once the requirements are fixed, the pool can grow in directions that still clear UofM's review.
- Stretch the radius. MSN clinicals happen in your local area, and for many students that area reaches from Memphis toward Jackson, DeSoto County or West Memphis. Our guides to Memphis and Shelby County, Jackson and West Tennessee and north Mississippi map each one.
- Look past the largest networks. Independent practices and smaller groups make their own decisions, without the layered applications a big system runs.
- Match the setting to the course rather than the job title.
NURS 7626describes hospitalist and intensivist practice, so an AG-ACNP search can include those teams. - Check licensing before crossing a state line. UofM expects an RN license valid where your clinical assignments take place, and its own state lists disagree in places, as our state authorization guide explains.
HRSA designates primary care shortage areas across West Tennessee, north Mississippi and east Arkansas. Clinicians there teach alongside heavy patient demand, so a clear, complete request from a well-prepared student stands out.
The shortcut that costs the course
When the calendar tightens, some students begin hours with a willing clinician and plan to sort out the paperwork afterward. UofM's sequence runs the other way. The Office of Community Partnerships and Practice approves the preceptor agreement form before your first clinical day, clinical faculty approve the schedule you hand in by Monday of the second week, and site onboarding has to be complete and accepted.
Later changes follow the same logic. Moving to a new site needs written approval from your clinical faculty and the clinical coordinator, and schedule changes reach faculty in writing a week ahead. Our agreement form guide walks through the approval step.
Hours worked before faculty approval put the whole course at risk: UofM treats clinical practice without prior approval as grounds for dismissal from the course.
How we restart a stalled search
- A fresh intakeYou share your course, term, home area, driving range, employer and every lead already tried, so the new search begins where the old one ended.
- A search built on your rotation ruleYour placement advisor approaches clinicians whose practice fits the course: family practice for FNP, inpatient care for AG-ACNP, the right psychiatric setting for PMHNP, a suitable immersion site for Education or Leadership.
- A confirmed yesBefore you hear a name, the preceptor has agreed to your term and to hours spread over at least seven weeks, and the site's student process is known.
- An approval-ready fileWe collect the preceptor's license, certification and practice details for the agreement form and check your Complio and myClinicalExchange items against the placement dates.
- A backup in reserveA second candidate stays identified, so a late withdrawal becomes a quick switch rather than a fresh emergency.
Why stuck UofM students choose us
A stalled search needs momentum and precision at once, and that is what we bring: a full-time search run by people who know UofM's Academic Bulletin line by line, and a file built to pass review on the first look. UofM's faculty keep the final word, and everything that reaches them is complete and matched to your track.
Tell us where things stand today, including the clinicians who already said no, through the form below or our contact page. Your placement advisor comes back with a plan built around your course, your town and the date your hours need to begin. If your semester is close, the fast-track guide shows what can still happen in the weeks you have left.
Questions UofM students ask
Is it too late to find a preceptor this semester?
That depends on how many weeks remain. UofM requires a course's clinical hours to span at least seven weeks, the agreement form must be approved before your first clinical day, and your schedule goes to faculty by Monday of week two. Ask your clinical faculty now what the term still allows, and read our fast-track guide for the order of steps.
What if a clinician agrees but the health system says no?
It happens, because many systems sit above an individual clinician's yes. Baptist Memorial gives final approval at the administration level, and Regional One Health needs an affiliation agreement signed before arrival. Ask any willing clinician how their organization handles NP students before counting on the offer. We check that process before a preceptor's name ever reaches you.
Can my preceptor practice in Mississippi or Arkansas?
Yes, within limits. Both states appear on the list of states UofM's partnerships office names as authorized, and both share the Nurse Licensure Compact with Tennessee. UofM's lists disagree for some other states, so confirm your plan with the college first. Our east Arkansas guide covers West Memphis and Jonesboro.
Should I keep contacting clinics while you search?
Tell your placement advisor about every contact you make, and keep going if you have a promising lead. Two parallel searches work well when they stay coordinated, and they cause confusion when a clinic hears about the same student twice from two directions. Shared notes keep each call purposeful and keep your reputation with local practices intact.
What should I send to get started?
Your concentration, the practicum course and term, your home town and how far you will drive, your employer, and the clinicians or sites you have already approached. That last list matters: it keeps the new search from repeating calls that ended in a no, and it shows your placement advisor which settings to try next.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UofM's 2026-27 catalog, the LCON Academic Bulletin, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your clinical faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UofM helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UofM concentration, your next practicum and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and prepare what the preceptor agreement form needs, early enough for approval before the first clinical day.
- Preceptors matched to the rotation rules: an NP preceptor, family practice for FNP, inpatient and critical care for AG-ACNP
- License, certification and site details ready for the preceptor agreement form, with your Complio items in order
- Across the Mid-South, Tennessee and the states UofM serves
Start your placement plan
Your concentration, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.