Start your Lewis placement request

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

Whatever you send through the form here lands with our placement desk. Give us your Lewis program, your next practicum course, where you live and when the semester starts, and a placement advisor replies to plan the search with you. The chat and, on phones, the WhatsApp and text buttons connect you with those same advisors.

Get matched Chat now

Your placement request

Program, city and practicum start are enough to begin. Put your course number and anything else we should know in the message box.

Numbered steps. What happens after you send it: 1 A placement advisor replies.; 2 You receive a written quote.; 3 The search runs.; 4 You get the details for your contract request.; 5 We stay with it to day one and beyond.. — What happens after you send it: 1 A placement advisor replies.; 2 You receive a written quote.; 3 The search runs.; 4 You get the details for your contract request.; 5 We stay with it to day one and beyond..

What to send

The form asks for your program, your clinical start window and your city and state, and the message box is where a good request becomes a fast one: the more exactly you describe the practicum, the sooner we can choose the right practices to call.

Worth including in your message

The practicum course number and title, such as NURS 61800 or NURS 63500, and the semester you are requesting
Your route: MSN, Certificate of Advanced Study, BSN to DNP or post-master's DNP
Your ZIP code or neighborhood, and how far you can drive on a clinical day
Each state that has issued you an RN license
Which weekdays or weekends you can give to clinicals across the 16 weeks
Any leads you already have, and practices that have already said no
Whether you want to consider your own employer, which raises its own questions at Lewis (clinicals where you work)
For a practicum already underway, the hours you still need and the date the course ends

What happens after you send it

A placement advisor replies.We read your request, check your course against the current Lewis catalog and reach you by email, phone call or text to confirm the details.
You receive a written quote.It covers your placement and lists what is included; cost explains what shapes it.
The search runs.We call and write to practices near you whose patients match the course, and confirm each preceptor's license, specialty and open days across the semester.
You get the details for your contract request.Preceptor, license and site information arrives organized for Lewis's portal, and you file the request under your Lewis email.
We stay with it to day one and beyond.While Lewis reviews your request and the agency completes its signature and clearance, we keep in touch with the site, and we remain on call through the semester if anything changes.

The same path is laid out in more depth on how it works.

Writing from outside Illinois

Lewis's March 2026 disclosures list 18 jurisdictions where online graduate nursing students may enroll: Illinois and its neighbors Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin; Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia; Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia; New Mexico and Washington; and Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tell us where you live and every RN license you hold, and we plan the search around both.

Two points deserve attention before you settle on a site at home. Lewis's NP tables mark some authorized states as not meeting licensure requirements: Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts and Mississippi for the MSN and BSN to DNP, and Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Mississippi for the certificates. Lewis's academic policy also says a placement outside Illinois may need extra permission, from Lewis itself, from the state where the site is, or from Illinois licensing boards.

Lewis's FAQ adds an option for out-of-state students: getting an Illinois license and completing the practicum in Illinois. The outside Illinois guide and the state guides cover each case.

A practicum only weeks away

Choose the earliest start option on the form and flag it at the top of your message, with the course number and the date the semester begins. We put the search to work at once and look first at practices where the paperwork can move quickly, such as sites with a Lewis affiliation agreement already in force.

Plan with the real calendar in mind. Lewis's review takes at least two weeks and the agency still has to clear you. With no In Progress grade at Lewis, hours that run past a course's end fall under the Incomplete rules and their fixed deadlines. Talk to your course faculty early, and read what to do this week while we search.

Chat, WhatsApp and text

Prefer to ask a question first? The chat bubble, present on every page, connects you with the placement desk, handy for a quick check on a course, a state or your timing. On a phone, the WhatsApp and text buttons in the lower corner of the screen start a message to the same desk, already addressed and ready to send.

Whichever route you choose, lead with your Lewis program and your next course, so the first reply can be specific. Clinicians open to precepting a Lewis student can send the same form with the preceptor option chosen under Program; the page for preceptors explains what hosting involves.

Questions Lewis students ask

Do I need a preceptor lead before I contact you?

No. Your program, your city and your next course are enough, and a search can start from exactly that. If you do have a lead, include the practice name and what they told you, and we check whether the practice fits the course before you spend more time on it.

How early can I send a request?

As soon as you are accepted. Lewis's FAQ tells NP students to start planning their practicums once accepted, and your first practicum follows the NP specialty core, plus the MSN core for master's students, which leaves time to plan every practicum in your track. An early request also leaves room for Lewis's review and any new affiliation agreement.

My preceptor just withdrew mid-semester. What should I send?

Send the course number, the hours you have completed, the date the course ends and the site you were at. Tell the Clinical Placement Office as well, because a canceled contract goes inactive in Lewis's portal and the replacement needs its own request. We start looking for your next preceptor as soon as your message arrives.

What is the fastest way to reach the placement desk?

Use the form on this page for a full request, the chat for a quick question, or the messaging buttons on your phone. A placement advisor then answers by email, a call or a text, whichever the details you share make easiest, and the conversation carries on there.

Placement helpHow it worksHow our placement desk finds a Lewis NP preceptor near you, prepares the details for your contract request and stays on call through onboarding and the term.Placement helpCostWhat shapes a quote for a Lewis preceptor search: course, location and timing, plus the costs Lewis's own rules set, from CastleBranch to clinical insurance.Placement helpNo preceptor yetA Lewis practicum is close and you have no preceptor. This week's plan: the Clinical Placement Office, your track coordinator, a tight search and your options.Lewis systemClinicals outside IllinoisDoing a Lewis practicum outside Illinois: extra permissions, the 18 jurisdictions Lewis enrolls from, licensure gaps by track, and the Illinois license option.Placement helpFor preceptorsWhat precepting a Lewis University NP student involves: the 16-week practicum, Lewis's contract and approval steps, and Illinois CE credit for APRN preceptors.Placement helpFAQShort answers for Lewis nursing students on preceptor placement: who finds preceptors, approval, timing, other states, cost and how to start, each with a link.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.

Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.

Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.

Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for NURS 61100 and NURS 61800, acute care for NURS 62500, psychiatric care for NURS 63300
Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid

Start your placement plan

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