NP Preceptor FAQs

Before the students start their clinical rotations, all students have completed the following courses:

• Advanced Pharmacology
• Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology
• Advanced Health Assessment
• Mental Health and Wellness in Acute and Primary Care
• Evidence Based Practice for Nurse Practitioners
• Population Health
• Diagnostic and Clinical Reasoning
• Professional Roles

Notably, students in the Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic and Clinical Reasoning Courses come to URochester campus for several, two-day clinical intensives. Some specialty programs, such as Pediatric/Neonatal NP and Psychiatric Mental Health NP have additional prerequisites or co-requisites for their specialty clinical sequence. 

The clinical course sequence is:

• First clinical course: Summer semester
• Second clinical course: Fall semester
• Third clinical course: Spring semester

Students in their first course will have less experience than those in their third clinical course, but all students present to clinical with a strong foundation in advanced practice. 

At the beginning of the semester, you will receive detailed information about the clinical course your student is enrolled in, including course objectives. This serves as a guide for you and the student throughout the semester.

NP students may be responsible for various clinical activities, including:

Patient assessment and management

• Conducting complete and focused health histories
• Performing physical examinations
• Formulating differential diagnoses
• Creating patient management plans, including ordering diagnostic studies, medications, and treatments

Communication and collaboration

• Providing patient education
• Presenting patient cases to preceptors
• Participating in team meetings
• Communicating effectively with patients, families, and other members of the healthcare team
• Engaging in clear and concise handoffs
• Learning how to handle challenging patient and professional interactions.

Documentation and ethics

• Documenting patient encounters in the electronic health record
• Utilizing health information technology and clinical guidelines in practice
• Participating in ethical decision-making
• Understanding limitations, including not having the authority to write prescriptions independently
• Practicing professional behaviors, role specific responsibilities and receiving feedback
• Translating evidence-based knowledge into practice
• Advocating for patients and the profession

Yes, provided you are credentialed by your organization to perform the procedure and you directly supervise the procedure. 

Many approaches can be used to achieve the outcome of an effective exam. Preceptors should assess if student techniques meet current practice standards and ultimately achieve desired outcomes. Students are taught classic techniques and strategies using the Bates Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking; it is helpful if these are reinforced in practice. Any serious concerns should be addressed with course faculty or the clinical site visitor.

Students should be prepared for clinical. You should feel free to assign readings or materials that will prepare your student to participate fully in the clinical experience. 

Students should arrive prepared for clinical practice including having their stethoscope and other appropriate clinical tools needed in your practice.

Students are expected to behave professionally: arriving promptly and staying for the entire shift, being respectful and courteous in all communications, collaborating effectively with all colleagues, honoring professional boundaries, and communicating clearly and consistently about their needs. 

Students are expected to adhere to quality and safety standards.

Students are expected to use evidence-based standards and relevant clinical guidelines to inform their practice.

Students are expected to dress professionally, wear their student ID, adhere to professional grooming standards, and comply with any requirements/policies for your practice site. Most students wear a lab coat, but we do not expect them to purchase scrubs or uniforms unique to your practice site.

Our School of Nursing student handbook outlines our student code of conduct.

AACN also outlines its expectations related to student professionalism.

All students are expected to comply with site requirements prior to placement, and our Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator works directly with students to assure this.

We hope that you will be able to provide ongoing verbal feedback to the student.

We also request that you complete a formal evaluation at the end of the semester. Your evaluation is very important to their final clinical grade for the course but is not the only consideration in the final grade. The decision about a student’s performance is the decision of the course faculty.  We appreciate your honest assessment and want to reassure you that you should not feel pressured or solely responsible for a student’s success. 

Prior to the beginning of the semester, the Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator requests that students submit their clinical areas of interest. In addition, The CSPA is in close communication with clinical site contacts and individual preceptors, as appropriate, to discuss clinical placements. The CSPA meets with program and course faculty to verify that the placement is appropriate to the course, the preceptor, and the student. If you are new to precepting, the CSPA will reach out to you to talk about your needs.

The Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator will send out an email confirmation letter to both the preceptor and the student notifying them of the clinical arrangement. This letter will include the course information, semester dates, number of clinical hours needed, assessment requirements, and course faculty contact information.  

If you have questions or concerns about a student being a good "match" for you or your practice, behaving unprofessionally, or otherwise not meeting expectations, contact the course faculty or the Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator. This contact information is available in your confirmation letter.

The University of Rochester provides student malpractice insurance. All placements require a memorandum of understanding between URochester and the site prior to the student placement, available through our Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator.

Our accreditation criteria require us to have preceptor credentials on file. We try to make this as easy as possible for you. Please contact our Clinical Site & Preceptor Administrator Karen Kirkey with questions at Karen_Kirkey@urmc.rochester.edu.

Current standards for graduate programs require that students have a minimum of one visit by faculty or site visitor from the program during the clinical. This provides an opportunity for the faculty to meet the preceptor, assess the student/preceptor working relationship, ensure the site has the variety of experiences to meet the student's learning needs, and assess the student's progress. The student and preceptor also have the opportunity to discuss any issues and determine if additional site visits are needed. These visits can be in-person or virtual at the discretion of the faculty.