EKU clinical systems and rules, guide by guide

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the EKU Preceptor placement team

These guides break Eastern Kentucky University's clinical process into the pieces you actually handle: how Kentucky's preceptor rule works and where your input fits, the preceptor information EKU asks for, NSC 800 and the internships, liability insurance and site clearance, attendance and progression, 7-week terms and EKU's state rules. Each one is written from EKU's catalog, program pages and handbooks, and each says where EKU's own sources disagree.

Get matched Chat now

Get your placement plan

Tell us your EKU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your EKU course.

EKU clinical systems and rules, guide by guide. These guides break Eastern Kentucky University's clinical process into the pieces you actually handle: how Kentucky's preceptor rule works and where your input — Every EKU clinical guide in one place: Kentucky's preceptor rule, your input, the preceptor form, NSC 800 and the internships, insurance, states.

Where EKU's official detail lives

EKU's 2026-27 catalog sets credits, course numbers and progression rules, and the program pages add the headline clinical figures, such as the 750 direct patient care hours in the MSN FNP. The working detail of clinicals, from preceptor paperwork to attendance, sits in the MSN Student Handbook and the DNP handbook, which EKU gives to enrolled students. Its most recent public versions are archived copies, so these guides give their year and point you to the current edition.

Kentucky's Board of Nursing adds a rule that shapes everything: Kentucky programs secure their students' preceptors, and students may have input. Start with the placement process and the Kentucky rule, then read who does what.

How your placement advisor uses these guides

Your placement advisor works from the same rules. Before we help you put a preceptor forward for NSC 800 or NSC 876, we check the specialty, the license and the site details against these pages, so the option you bring to EKU is complete and fits the course.

Preceptors and the Kentucky rule

Clinical placement processHow clinical placement works for EKU nurse practitioner students: Kentucky's preceptor rule, your input, EKU's approval, NSC 800 and the internship.Kentucky preceptor ruleKentucky's 201 KAR 20:062 makes EKU secure preceptors for its NP students and lets students have input. The full rule text and what it means for you.Your input on preceptorsKentucky law lets EKU NP students have input on preceptors. Why students propose one, what makes a proposal strong, when to raise it and how we help.Preceptor information formEKU's clinical contract and preceptor information form, Clinical Waiver, Telehealth Checklist, site documents and the DNP site approval request, explained.Preceptor requirementsKentucky's preceptor definition in 201 KAR 20:062, specialty fit for EKU's FNP and PMHNP courses, licensing where the site is, and what EKU checks.Clinical Placement CoordinatorWhat EKU's handbooks say the Clinical Placement Coordinator does: DNP site approval by email, the MSN Clinical Coordinator, faculty roles, what isn't public.Clinicals where you workCan EKU NP students do clinicals at their own workplace? What EKU has said, what makes a workplace site work, and what to confirm with faculty first.Clinical agency agreementsHow clinical contracts between EKU and agencies fit your placement, what sites ask of students, why agreements take time, and EKU's out-of-state site notes.

Hours and clinical courses

Clinical hours by programClinical hours for EKU's MSN FNP, PMHNP, post-MSN certificates, DNP and RN to BSN: the figures EKU publishes, the gaps, and where to confirm yours.FNP 750 hours explainedEKU's MSN FNP asks for 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis. How they likely split across NSC 800 and NSC 876, and how to plan your weeks.NSC 800 Advanced Practice RoleEKU's NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role: 1 to 9 credits per enrollment, 8 in total, paired with FNP I-III or PMHNP I-III, plus the preceptor each stage needs.NSC 876 FNP InternshipEKU's NSC 876 FNP Internship: 6 credits, a concentrated rural primary care practicum, the final 300 synthesis hours, prerequisites and planning your preceptor.NSC 886 PMHNP InternshipEKU's NSC 886 PMHNP Internship: 5 credits after PMHNP III and NSC 800, the prerequisite lines that conflict, psychiatric settings and preceptor timing.PMHNP clinical hoursEKU publishes no PMHNP clinical hour total. What is known about NSC 800 and the 5-credit NSC 886, what listings show, and where EKU students confirm theirs.Health assessment before NSC 800EKU's archived MSN handbook asks FNP and PMHNP students to show advanced health assessment mastery the semester before NSC 800. What it means for your timing.DNP clinical hoursEKU's DNP requires 1,000 clinical hours beyond the BSN. How the hours owed at EKU are set at admission, the site approval form, the log and project courses.RN to BSN clinical (NSC 442C)EKU's one RN to BSN clinical, NSC 442C Complex Health Systems Clinical: the archived 60-hour figure, the setting and mentor, and doing it at your workplace.

Compliance and clearance

Professional liability insuranceEKU nursing students buy professional liability insurance through EKU for clinical courses. The coverage year, when to register, what it covers, why sites ask.Clinical compliance requirementsWhat EKU nursing students clear before clinicals: CPR, MMR and other immunity, background checks, drug screens, site extras, and Complio or CastleBranch.RN license and NursysEKU asks for an unencumbered RN license in every state where you hold one, Nursys e-Notify at admission, and a license valid in the state where you train.

Grades, attendance and progression

Clinical attendanceEKU clinical attendance: notify your preceptor and faculty at least an hour ahead, the more-than-two missed clinicals rule, making time up, live class sessions.Grades and progressionEKU graduate nursing needs a B or higher in every required course and a Satisfactory in clinicals. Probation, repeats, incompletes, dismissal and appeals.Clinical evaluationsHow EKU grades clinical work: Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, the preceptor and faculty roles, unsafe practice rules, what is not public, and preceptor rapport.

Terms, tools and states

7-week terms and datesEKU online nursing runs two 7-week sessions each fall and spring and two 6-week sessions in summer, while clinicals run longer. Dates, starts, deadlines.EKU online student toolsmyEKU, Canvas, myMail, Degree Works, the Colonel's Compass, Big E Central, the IT ServiceDesk and EKU Libraries: what each does for an online EKU nurse.State authorizationWhich states EKU enrolls online FNP, PMHNP and certificate students from, the eight it does not, conditional states, Mississippi's 2026 change and clinicals.Who does what at EKUEvery EKU role that touches an NP clinical course, from course faculty and program coordinators to Big E Central and the IT ServiceDesk, and what to ask each.Accreditation and approvalEKU's CCNE accreditation runs to December 31, 2028 with a spring 2028 visit; ACEN for the AAS; Kentucky Board approval; SARA; and what each means for licensure.EKU's rural health focusWhy EKU markets a Rural Health FNP and a Rural PMHNP, what the rural primary care internship asks, and which rural clinics and preceptors suit EKU clinicals.

Questions EKU students ask

Who finds preceptors for EKU nurse practitioner students?

Kentucky's regulation 201 KAR 20:062 makes Kentucky APRN programs, including EKU, responsible for securing their students' preceptors, and says students may have input into the process. EKU's handbooks show that input in practice through the preceptor information it collects. See the Kentucky rule.

Where is EKU's MSN Student Handbook?

EKU's program pages refer to the MSN Student Handbook, which is given to enrolled students; the most recent public copy is a 2021-22 edition that survives only in web archives. Ask your faculty or program coordinator for the current version before relying on any archived detail.

How many clinical hours does EKU's FNP require?

EKU's MSN FNP page says graduates obtain 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 of which allow synthesis of prior courses. EKU does not publish a per-course split or a PMHNP total. The clinical hours guide compares every program.

Does EKU need me to come to campus?

No. EKU's online FNP, PMHNP, post-MSN certificate and DNP pages all say no campus visits are required, so your clinicals happen where you live. The state you live in still matters: see state authorization.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against EKU's own catalog, program pages and handbooks, and Kentucky's regulations. The current MSN Student Handbook, your course and your faculty have the final word.

EKU secures your preceptor. Your input decides how well it fits your life.

Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.

Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for NSC 800 and NSC 876, psychiatric care for NSC 886
Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.