Who does what in a Lewis NP practicum
Four parties carry every Lewis NP practicum: you, who identify the preceptor; the Clinical Placement Office, which facilitates and handles contracts; Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty, who approve; and the clinical agency, which signs and clears you. Course faculty, advisors and a few university offices step in at particular moments. Here is who handles what, and where to take each question.
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The four parties in every practicum
- You. Identify the preceptor and site, keep communication moving, file the contract request from an account made with your Lewis email, keep CastleBranch current and pay the compliance fees. The identifying preceptors page reads Lewis's FAQ on the student's side line by line.
- The Clinical Placement Office. Lewis's facilitator and your main contact through the placement cycle, the office the portal names for request questions, and the second recipient of any paperwork an agency asks you for.
- Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty. They approve the preceptor and the site for the specific course.
- The clinical agency. It signs an affiliation agreement if Lewis needs one, confirms you are cleared to begin and may ask for documents of its own.
Lewis's status legend also says contract requests go to "administration" for review, without saying who that is. In practice the Clinical Placement Office is your window into that review, and its own page covers what to bring to it.
Placement and track titles, as Lewis lists them
Lewis's two public staff lists name the placement and track roles differently. Both are shown so you can spot the right person on either one. Titles outlast the people who hold them, so look up the current holder on Lewis's faculty and staff page or in your course site.
| Area | Faculty and staff page | Spring/Summer 2026 directory |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical placement | Coordinator of Clinical Placements (two positions); Community Partnership Coordinator | Director Clinical Placements and Community Partnerships; Scheduling and Clinical Compliance Coordinator; Administrative Assistants Clinical Placement Office |
| Primary care NP | Primary Care Track Nurse Practitioner Coordinator | FNP Track Coordinator; AGACNP/AGPCNP Tracks Coordinator |
| Acute care NP | Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Track Coordinator | AGACNP/AGPCNP Tracks Coordinator |
| Psychiatric NP | School Nurse Track Coordinator and PMHNP Track Coordinator, one role | PMHNP Track Coordinator |
| Education and leadership | Nurse Educator Track Coordinator; Healthcare Systems Leadership and HSL/MBA Track Coordinator | Not among the directory titles reviewed |
| Program support | Administrative Assistant, Graduate Nursing (two positions) | Co-Coordinators of Skills Lab |
Who to ask about what
| Your question | Start with |
|---|---|
| Is this preceptor right for my practicum course? | Your track coordinator or track lead faculty |
| How does the contract portal work, and why is my request still in review? | The Clinical Placement Office |
| The agency wants more documents. Where do they go? | The agency and the Clinical Placement Office, both |
| Which immunizations, titers or screenings do I need? | Your CastleBranch package and the agency's onboarding |
| How are my clinical hours logged and verified? | Your course faculty and syllabus |
| Can I take an Incomplete in a practicum? | Your course instructor, with the Incomplete Grade Form |
| Can I do my practicum outside Illinois? | An academic advisor in your program, plus the board of nursing where you would train |
| Will a course from another school transfer? | The Graduate Nursing Chairperson |
| Can I take a semester off? | The Program Director, with a Leave of Absence form |
| I need an accommodation in clinicals. | Disability Support Services |
| myLewis, Blackboard or Lewis email is not working. | The Office of Technology Service Desk |
| Who will precept me? | You, or our placement desk on your behalf |
One detail saves time: Lewis built the contract portal with its own accounts, separate from your network and Blackboard sign-ins, so send portal trouble to the Clinical Placement Office rather than the Service Desk.
Academic offices you meet at key moments
Several offices never touch a placement directly but decide what happens around it. Course instructors grant Incompletes: you must be passing when you ask, and the work is due by March 1 for a fall course, by July 1 for spring and by October 15 for summer, or the grade turns into an IF. With no In Progress grade available at Lewis, a practicum that is running behind calls for an early talk with the instructor. The grades and time limits page has the detail.
The Graduate Nursing Chairperson rules on transfer credit, up to 12 credits. The Program Director receives Leave of Absence forms, and a leave does not extend the 5-year limit for MSN and DNP students. Academic probation comes from the Associate Provost for Graduate Studies when a cumulative graduate GPA falls below 3.0.
Two more matter before clinicals. The Student Wellness Center collects immunization records from students taking six or more credit hours on the Romeoville campus. Disability Support Services says eligibility can take two to three weeks after an intake meeting, and the University Student Handbook's service animal section asks students in clinical placements to meet with that office and the clinical or lab coordinator before the course.
Outside Lewis: agency, preceptor, CastleBranch and IDFPR
- The clinical agency signs the affiliation agreement, runs its own student onboarding and confirms your clearance. Larger systems often use a student office or a myClinicalExchange process of their own.
- The preceptor supervises your clinical work for the semester and is named on your contract request. The preceptor agrees to host you; faculty decide whether the match fits the course.
- CastleBranch holds your background check and your health and clinical documents. Lewis's legend lists a lapse in CastleBranch requirements as grounds for denying a contract, and the CastleBranch page covers the Lewis package.
- IDFPR licenses Illinois nurses and keeps discipline records. Lewis's legend treats IDFPR discipline against a preceptor as a reason to deny, and after graduation IDFPR is the agency that issues your Illinois APRN license.
Where our placement desk fits
We sit at the front of the chain, in the one role Lewis gives to students: identifying. Your placement advisor searches your community for a preceptor who fits the course, confirms the semester, gathers the details the contract request needs and stays with you through review and onboarding. When a question belongs to Lewis, we tell you which office or title from the tables above to ask, and what to have in hand when you do.
Lewis's offices keep every decision that belongs to them: contracting, approval and clearance. That division keeps the process clean and gives faculty a complete request to judge. The placement process page shows how the pieces connect, and you can talk to the placement desk about your next practicum.
Questions Lewis students ask
Are the placement office and my track coordinator different people?
Yes, and they do different jobs. The Clinical Placement Office facilitates placements, handles contract requests and is your main contact for the placement cycle. Approval of a preceptor and site for a course sits with the faculty approvers, a group that can include your track coordinator. Process questions go to the office; questions about fit go to your track.
Who do I contact when my contract request seems stuck?
The Clinical Placement Office. Lewis's portal directs request questions to a member of that office, and the status legend explains that a request can stay in review while an affiliation agreement waits for the agency's signature. Have your request details ready and ask whether anything is needed from you or from the agency.
Who do I tell if my preceptor cancels?
Both the Clinical Placement Office and your course instructor need to hear it quickly. A cancelled contract shows as inactive in Lewis's system, and your course decides how the semester continues. If you work with us, tell your placement advisor as well, so the replacement search starts right away.
Does my course instructor approve my preceptor?
Lewis names Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty as the approvers, not course instructors as such, though one person can hold both roles. Your course instructor handles course matters such as Incompletes and how clinical hours are documented. If you are unsure who approves in your track, ask the Clinical Placement Office.
Who answers questions about studying from another state?
Lewis's FAQ recommends that out-of-state students speak with graduate admissions, and the catalog sends anyone weighing a placement beyond Illinois to an advisor in their own program and to the licensing agencies involved. The board of nursing where you would train answers the licensing side.
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
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