Questions Lewis students ask about preceptor placement
Short answers to the questions Lewis nursing students bring us, each linked to the page that covers the topic in full. For anything about your own course, contract or timing, the chat and the form on this page reach the placement desk directly.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Lewis program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Lewis course.
About our service
What does Lewis Preceptor do? We find a preceptor and clinical site near your home that fit your Lewis practicum, confirm license and availability for the semester, and prepare the details your contract request needs. How it works shows the steps.
Which Lewis students do you help? Graduate students first: every NP track (FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP), whether you entered through the MSN, a Certificate of Advanced Study or the BSN to DNP. We also help School Nurse, Nursing Education and Healthcare Systems Leadership students, and doctoral students in a residency, who need a site or a preceptor. Each route is on the programs page.
What about BSN students? Lewis places traditional and accelerated BSN students with affiliating agencies in clinical groups of up to eight, so the BSN clinical path works differently. The BSN clinicals guide explains it.
Lewis's placement process
Does Lewis find NP preceptors for students? Lewis's graduate FAQ places the identifying with NP students themselves. The Clinical Placement Office facilitates, and faculty decide on approval. The passage is quoted in full on identifying preceptors.
Who approves a preceptor and site? Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty, who weigh each match against the course it serves. The approval guide explains what they look at.
Where does the request go? Into Lewis's Requests for Initiation of Agency Contracts portal, which every student entering a clinical practicum must use. The portal guide covers the account and each status.
How long does review take? At least two weeks by Lewis's own legend, and longer when your site needs a new affiliation agreement signed. See affiliation agreements.
Timing and hours
When should the search start? From the day you are accepted, which is when Lewis's FAQ says practicum planning should begin. The planning timeline counts back from each 16-week practicum.
My practicum starts in a few weeks and I have no preceptor. Write to us today with the course and its start date, then read the steps for this week.
How many clinical hours do I need? At least 630 in the FNP and at least 540 in the AGACNP, AGPCNP and PMHNP, with DNP residency hours on top for doctoral students. The clinical hours guide breaks them down by course.
I'm falling behind on hours. Lewis offers no In Progress grade; an unfinished course becomes an Incomplete, with firm dates to resolve it. Behind on hours covers your options.
Preceptors, sites and paperwork
Who can precept me? Lewis publishes no credential table by track. Faculty judge fit for the course, and IDFPR discipline against a preceptor can stop a contract. See preceptor requirements.
Can I do my hours where I work? Lewis has published nothing specific on precepting at your own employer, so plan it with your track coordinator. Clinicals where you work shows how to approach it.
Why does CastleBranch matter for my contract? Falling out of compliance with CastleBranch is one of the grounds on which Lewis's legend says a contract can be denied. The CastleBranch guide covers what to keep current.
Who do I ask when my request seems stuck? Portal questions go to the Clinical Placement Office, and questions about course fit go to your track coordinator. Who does what maps every Lewis role in a practicum.
Living outside Illinois
Can I do my practicum in another state? Lewis enrolls online graduate nursing students from other states, and its academic policy flags that clinical sites beyond Illinois can require extra sign-off, whether from Lewis, the state where the site sits or Illinois licensing boards. See practicums outside Illinois.
Which states does Lewis enroll from? Eighteen jurisdictions in Lewis's March 2026 disclosures: sixteen states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. The full list and the licensure notes by track are on the state authorization page.
Which RN license do I need? MSN admission calls for an unencumbered RN license in Illinois or wherever you practice, and DNP students need one in the state where the residency happens. The RN license guide covers each program.
Cost and getting started
What does a placement cost? Each quote is written for one placement, based on your course, location and timing. Cost explains what shapes it and which costs Lewis's own rules set.
How do I start? Use the form with your program, city and next practicum course, or send the same details by chat, WhatsApp or text. The contact page lists what else helps.
I'm a clinician thinking about precepting. Start with our preceptor page, which covers the semester, Lewis's approval steps and Illinois CE credit.
Questions Lewis students ask
Is using a placement service allowed at Lewis?
Lewis's public pages take no position on outside placement help. Its review looks at the request: whether faculty approve the preceptor and site for the course, and whether the agency signs off and clears you. A preceptor our desk finds is judged by those same standards, through the same portal.
Do you work with Lewis's Clinical Placement Office?
The Clinical Placement Office is your contact at Lewis, and the contract request goes in under your own account. We prepare its contents so the office receives a complete, course-matched request. Status questions go to the office directly, and we help you frame them clearly.
Will my preceptor be near where I live?
That is where every search starts. We work outward from your address, because Lewis's student handbook treats getting to clinicals as the student's own job, and a long drive on top of shifts wears thin over 16 weeks. Tell us how far you can travel on a clinical day, and we plan around it.
Can you help after Lewis denies a contract request?
Yes. Lewis's legend lists grounds such as incorrect or incomplete details, IDFPR discipline against a preceptor and CastleBranch lapses. We help you pin down which one applied, and when a new preceptor or site is the answer, we start that search. The denied contracts page covers each ground.
Do you find DNP residency preceptors?
Yes. NURS 79600 residencies happen in person at a practice setting, where the student works with a preceptor and a faculty member under an individualized learning contract. Lewis requires an RN license in the state of the residency. The DNP residency guide shows how the hours add up.
Related pages
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 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 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.