What shapes the cost of a Lewis placement

What moves a quote

• The course. Primary care practicums such as NURS 61100 and NURS 61800 draw on a broad field: in a 2024 statewide survey, just over half of the Illinois APRNs responding (53%) worked in ambulatory outpatient care and about a third (32%) in hospital acute care. A separate survey of full practice authority APRNs put 16% in psychiatric and mental health, so a NURS 63300 search starts from a smaller pool.
• Where you live. Cook and the collar counties hold many practices, and many schools' students ask them; Endeavor Health says it hosts more than 3,300 nursing students a year. Downstate, the search radius grows with the distance between practices.
• Your state. Online graduate nursing enrollment at Lewis is authorized in 18 jurisdictions, and a site outside Illinois can need extra permission before you start.
• Time before the semester. Lewis's review takes at least two weeks, and a site with no current affiliation agreement waits on the agency's signature. The fewer weeks remain, the more of the search has to run at once.
• How many practicums. The FNP has four practicums and the other NP tracks three each. You can ask for one course or plan the whole sequence.
• The site's own process. Hospital practicums add steps. Northwestern Medicine's north and northwest suburbs page asks for a minimum of 4 to 8 weeks and takes APRN students only from schools with a current agreement, and Advocate routes NP requests through myClinicalExchange.
• What you already have. A preceptor who said yes at a site lacking an agreement, or a list of practices that already declined, changes where we begin.

Costs set by Lewis's own rules

Some practicum costs are fixed by Lewis and sit outside any quote from us. Lewis's graduate FAQ and catalog make students responsible for every fee tied to background checks and health and clinical documentation before clinical experiences. The contract legend lists a lapse in CastleBranch compliance among the grounds for denying a contract, so budget for it early; the CastleBranch guide shows what the record holds.

On the other side of the ledger, the same FAQ states that student clinical insurance is paid for by the University, so liability coverage for the practicum comes from Lewis. The insurance page explains what that means at your site. Tuition and course fees follow Lewis's published rates.

Other practicum costs worth planning for

• Travel. The University Student Handbook treats nursing clinicals as trips students make on their own, so distance to the site is a cost to weigh.
• Site onboarding. Some agencies run their own checks; Morris Hospital's student page, for example, makes a rotation contingent on a background check and drug screening.
• Campus immunization rules. Romeoville-campus students carrying six credit hours or more must file immunization records by Lewis's deadlines, and a late filing means a medical hold plus a late fee.
• Time. Every practicum hour is spent on site, and the 16-week semester sets the pace for your work schedule.

Getting your quote

Send your Lewis program, your next practicum course, your city and the semester through this page's form or the chat window. A placement advisor confirms the details with you and sends a written quote for your placement. It names the course or courses covered and the semester, so you can check it against your plan of study before anything starts.

Any seasonal offer that is live shows in this site's pop-up.

Weighing your options first? The checklist for choosing a service lists the questions to put to any provider, and your own search or ours sets the hours a solo search takes beside handing it to a placement desk.