For those of you reading this who are on this struggle bus I send you hugs and love and all the good vibes. I hear from and know so many people fighting this battle of preceptor acquisition. I hear the stress, the fear of delaying graduation, the frustration, the shock that this is even a problem. It’s a national issue and yes it is incredibly sad. Nursing has always been an eat the young training model and this didactic portion should absolutely be provided by your school. It should not be incumbent upon you to secure your own training sites - isn’t this what you are paying your school for??? I’m no longer a student but I am angry for you that our education system is failing you. It should not be like this. But if you know me at all, you know I deal in reality which could come across as brash or hard to hear. The reality is - you are likely on your own here. In this article I’m going to try to help you help yourself by sharing insight from the preceptors vantage - use these tips to find a preceptor and graduate on time.

Options With The School

In reading this I’m assuming you have already exhausted efforts with your school for assistance. If you are not receiving proper support then you need to 💪🏻 arm yourself with some leverage to fight for what you need. While there are some standards the schools are required to provide in order to maintain accreditation, there is a lot wiggle room and this is how they avoid getting in trouble. No where does it suggest that schools are required to secure clinical placement. Instead verbiage like “the NP Program has a written plan to address current and anticipated needs for clinical placement sites” is used as criterion for compliance.

Schools are evaluated for accreditation by the CCNE every 5 years. You can find the 2023 CCNE Worksheet to Demonstrate Compliance here. This is a document which outlines school requirements, as suggested by the National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education for criterion of evaluation. The NTF is a conglomerate of credentialing, accrediting, and national certifiying bodies like the AANC, ANCC, AACCN, NONPF and many more who gather periodically to suggest a consensus on standardization of NP educating institutions. Here is the 2022 report.

The loopholes that lead to the current state of widespread variability in what schools provide for clinical support are such:

• The criterion are vague.

• The criterion focus heavily on evaluation of sites and the clinical placement faculty and less so on the actual attainment of sites for each student.

• The criterion include the phrase “Provide a brief explanation with examples demonstrating how the program complies or does not comply with this criterion. If the program does not meet the criterion, please explain how the program is working to remedy the issue.” Which allows them to utilize creative writing strategies of avoidance.

I highly suggest you download both of these PDF’s and keep them in your arsenal in the event you need to utilize some leverage with the school. Sometimes simply letting them know you are aware of what their obligations are is enough to strong arm them. In the event it is not, you can and should take the time to contact the ARC (accreditation review committee) board at:

CCNE Complaints Administrator

655 K Street NW, Suite 750

Washington, DC 20001

Networking Strategy

Utilize your resources, and I’ll get to where those potential resources can be found, but first we need to discuss the manner in which you go about networking. You are going to approach people you know differently than you would those you do not. I know it sounds obvious, but I bring attention to it because there are those who do not know how to handle the art of the “cold call.” Here is the step wise approach I suggest: .

1. Create your elevator pitch. This is a 1-2 minute speech, a short paragraph basically, that you craft highlighting you as a potential employee. The concept is, if you were on a quick elevator ride with the preceptor of your dreams, how would you introduce yourself and let them know you want to train with them. The goal is concise and highly effective communication delivery that peaks their interest. If you want more details or examples just search YT for videos of sample elevator pitches. Practice this speech over and over so you are prepared when lightening strikes. This technique is crucial for those who are approaching preceptors they do not know.

2. Dust off your resume. I advocate for having many versions of your resume, regardless of the purpose. Whether it is for school or job applications you want to submit the resume that best illustrates the you that is best suited to that role. Everyone has multiple talents, but some talents will be desired above others depending on the role for which you are applying. But I digress, the salient point I want to illustrate in this section is that you may very well need to submit a resume to the preceptor or placement coordinator, so have a current resume ready to go. It is also super helpful to make a parceled down resume with an objective of illustrating your education, training and background for potential preceptors to peruse quickly. I’ve seen people post these on social media and tend to get favorable response because it is well organized and shows initiative.

3. Create a calling card. This is not a proprietary name, it’s just what I call this thing - for lack of a better term. It is similar to a business card but larger, post card size. On the front you have a good headshot, your name, title and a sentence about what your NP goal is. On the back there are a few more details about your program, what rotations you have completed, still need, how many hours required and which semesters. It will have your contact info on it. The purpose of the card is to either augment your elevator pitch, or for those paralyzed by fear of social interactions, to replace the elevator pitch. An example of how you would handle this would be something like this. You walk into a pediatric clinic, notify them you are a nurse practitioner in training and ask if you could speak to the clinic manager for a moment or two. You then introduce yourself and state “I am an FNP student in need of 60 clinical hours this fall, may I leave my card for you and your providers to review? Any help would be wholeheartedly appreciated.” Quick, straight forward, won’t put them in a position to turn you down and gives them something to hand off to the NPs in the back later so he or she feels absolved of obligation. Here is an example of the type of calling card I would have made for job seeking, if I had known this was an option when I was in the market for a job. Simply edit this to focus on preceptor attainment. It was created on Canva - you can register for a free account. *Side note: Make sure your school is on this flyer.

4. Be able to articulate what you need and what you offer in return. Are you all on any facebook NP specific forums? If not you should search for some in your area or in your specialty. They are a goldmine for resources and networking. I’m on quite a few. It is almost a daily occurrence that a member posts something along the lines of “Hey guys, please delete if not allowed, but I’m in need of a preceptor for the fall. Can anyone help me out?” While at first glance you may be thinking, I see nothing wrong with this Bree, I’m going to show you why this is annoying and how you can avoid being annoying. Imagine you are a practicing NP and these posts come across all the time. You, like the majority of the other members are not on the site to get hit up for more work. And make no mistake about it, precepting as a nurse practitioner is a LOT of work. So much so that most people won’t do it. It’s 180 degrees different that precepting nurses. Again I digress. On top of being hit up all the time, you get these super vague (and dare I say lazy) posts that do nothing to help you determine, that if should you want to help, you would be able to help. Are they FNP, PMHNP, AGACNP? You can only precept like students. Not all students are appropriate for all settings, even if it is the same certification program. What is their background? What are their aspirations? What school are they attending? All of these factors are crucial in order to make a decision to accept a student. Therefore, a blanket request addresses none of these and forces the potentially interested NP to dig for the details. Can you see how it’s already a hassle from the get go. Not many people are going to be takers here. If you are wanting someone to do you a massive favor you need to relay your needs clearly and make it easy for them to help you. Here is an example of a well worded post. “Hi, my name is Bree and I am an AGACNP student in my first semester at ABC university in Georgia. I dream of becoming a FNP with a focus in cardiology. As such, I am in need of 100 hours of clinical rotations within a pediatrics field of practice this fall. I bring 4 years of experience as an RN, am a great listener, easily redirected, and offer you a committed, passionate student from a state university which qualifies you for the preceptor tax incentive program. I can provide references from previous preceptors on request. Thank you for your consideration.”

Networking Options

1. School.

   • Ok, you’ve already exhausted the school itself. But what about classmates? See if they can recommend someone. What about people who graduated last year? Most schools have a private FB group. Hit up alumni themselves or see if they can recommend someone they used.

   • What about your teachers? Do any of them take students?

2. Work

   • Hit up people you know and ask around for others who are in school and working as an RN still - who they may have used. Don’t be afraid to ask providers you don’t know very well. Use the calling card technique above. Most people have a harder time saying no in person.

3. Personal life

   • Friends, family - ask around, post an open season; no shame cry for help. You’d be amazed at how frequently someone you know also knows a nurse practitioner.

   • Ask your personal doctor. Or your family members doctor. Especially, if they have met you before if you’ve maybe gone in to clinic with them before.

4. Facebook forums

   • This is my favorite for cold calling preceptors. Once you’ve exhausted all the personal connections above you have to expand your radius to include people who have no clue who you are. This is cold calling. And the net is cast much wider on virtual platforms. Search for groups with the terms Nurse practitioner, Atlanta, Ga. or Nurse practitioner AGACNP, etc etc. Try to find geographic specific groups. Once in the group, utilize the search function to see what has been posted before about preceptors. This gives you an insight into what has been tried before and which posts get responses. Use the sample script I shared above or share your calling card or share your resume. Whatever works for you. But make sure it is professional and well worded. You likely only have one shot here. After that people may not respond as much.

5. Linked In

   • Similar to the forums, this is a great platform to use to search for NPs who work in your area. You could then either reach out via Linked in or you could call their practice, stop by, etc.

6. Local chapters

   • See if there are any regional chapters of AACN or AANP or other specialty specific interest groups. Start going to meetings. This is a gold mine for networking!

7. Current or former preceptor

   • I became a preceptor one time when I really didn’t want to be (because of time constraints) because I was put on the spot. Is this ideal, nope. But - it worked out well for the student, lol. A colleague from another service and her student were having lunch with me. During the conversation the other NP asked me if I still precept, to which I answered yes. To which she said, do you have a student next month, to which I said no. You guessed it, the student was in a bind and needed a few shifts. At that point I was obliged to take her. It worked out well and I’m always happy to help when I can. But, if she had cold called me it would have been a no as I was seeking a break during the short summer semester when I had several vacations planned. The takeaway - if you relay to a preceptor who likes you that you need help next semester or with a certain specialty - a recommendation from a preceptor goes a looooooonnnnngggg way toward getting you what you need.

8. Lastly, pay for one

   • I know, not a popular suggestion. But highly effective, quick, and can save you if you’re in a bind. I know some students who choose schools knowing the clinical placement will be tough, but since the tuition is fairly low, they factor in paying a third party preceptor which offers tremendous peace of mind. I would not advise seeking a paid preceptor “buy owner” like searching on craig’s list or such. You want the protection of a third party who guarantees placement and takes care of the legalities with your school. I think they can be fairly pricey, but may be an easy option. NP Hub is one such company, but there are many out there.

Good luck friends!!!