Arizona and Gonzaga's online NP tracks: board approval, licenses and Valley systems
Arizona residents qualify for Gonzaga's online FNP and PMHNP tracks, and their practicums take place at Arizona sites. Arizona's nursing board wants any APRN school based beyond its borders cleared by the Board before students start clinical work in the state, and Gonzaga's standing on that list could not be confirmed, so it belongs at the top of your questions for Gonzaga.
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Tell us your Gonzaga program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Gonzaga course.
Your Gonzaga options as an Arizona resident
Arizona is one of the ten western states whose residents Gonzaga admits to its nurse practitioner MSN, and the practicum follows the license, so an Arizona nurse precepts in Arizona. Here is how each Gonzaga program lines up for someone living in Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott or Lake Havasu.
| Program | Open to Arizona residents? | Where the practicum happens |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Family Nurse Practitioner | Yes, Arizona is on the ten-state list | Arizona primary care sites, from NURS 601 onward |
| MSN Psychiatric-Mental Health NP | Yes | Arizona psychiatric and behavioral health settings |
| Second MSN (FNP or PMHNP) | Yes | The MSN's specialty practicums |
| Post-Master's DNP | No residency limit on its pages; confirm with Gonzaga | Project hours guided by an agency liaison |
| BSN and Accelerated BSN | Spokane campus programs | Spokane |
AZBN's approval step for programs based elsewhere
AZBN's oversight covers pre-licensure and APRN education alike, including schools headquartered in other states. Under the Board's APRN advisory opinion, last revised in November 2020, a school outside Arizona files with the Board and wins approval first; only then may any of its students begin clinical work at Arizona sites.
Established schools get a quicker lane. If a program's home board has approved that particular APRN track, and the school holds national accreditation without problems, AZBN's review is streamlined. Gonzaga's nursing programs appear on Washington's approved list and carry CCNE accreditation through June 30, 2030, as the accreditation guide explains. Once approved, a school monitors the licenses held by its program director, faculty, preceptors and students, keeps a record of where students are placed, and answers the Board's yearly survey or any audit.
Gonzaga's place on AZBN's out-of-state APRN list could not be confirmed: the Board's website refused every request during this review. AZBN says the lists change after each of its meetings.
Before an Arizona preceptor blocks out a semester for you, ask the Clinical Placement Team to confirm Gonzaga's AZBN standing for your track.
Your license and your preceptor's in Arizona
Arizona joined the Nurse Licensure Compact early, with multistate licenses in effect since January 19, 2018. AZBN's opinion asks an out-of-state APRN student to carry an unencumbered RN license that is either Arizona's own or multistate, which an Arizona resident's home-state license normally covers. Arizona has not adopted the APRN Compact, and AANP lists it as a full practice state.
Preceptors meet Arizona conditions too. A nurse practitioner precepting in Arizona holds Arizona APRN certification on top of an RN license, Arizona or multistate, with no encumbrance; a physician precepting there holds an Arizona medical license in the same clean standing. Gonzaga's rules sit on top: a year in the clinical area, board certification documented, and for FNP students at least half the hours with a nurse practitioner, as the NP hours rule page sets out.
Phoenix and Tucson systems and how requests reach them
The Phoenix metro counted 5,228,938 residents in 2025 and Tucson 1,074,685. HRSA designates 227 primary care and 212 mental health shortage areas in Arizona, with 50 and 37 touching Maricopa County and 29 of each in Pima County. The systems below are examples of Arizona settings and their published routes; almost all of them take requests from the school rather than the student.
| System | What its student pages describe | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Banner Health (Phoenix, Tucson) | A central Center for Health Careers, onboarding in myClinicalExchange, school faculty contacting Banner's coordinator, and students and schools finding their own preceptors; cold calls discouraged | Not published |
| HonorHealth (Scottsdale) | Center for Clinical Excellence; agreements reviewed on strategic initiatives and business need | Request 30 days ahead; onboarding done three weeks before |
| Dignity Health Arizona (St. Joseph's, Chandler Regional, Mercy Gilbert) | NP rotations arranged by the school's placement coordinator with Dignity's team; contacting St. Joseph's staff for a rotation discouraged | Application 45 days before the start |
| Valleywise Health (Maricopa County) | An affiliation agreement required; limited availability for NP rotations | Four weeks ahead |
| Tucson Medical Center | Preceptorship requests to a clinical student placement mailbox | Not published |
Phoenix Children's and Mayo Clinic in Arizona are also major Valley systems; their NP student routes were outside this review. For Banner, Dignity and Valleywise, the details come from indexed copies of their official pages, so confirm them with the system before relying on them.
What Arizona preceptors are offered
Gonzaga says plainly that it is unable to pay preceptors. What it offers instead: a chance to become Gonzaga adjunct faculty, a signed certificate of precepting hours for board or license renewal, access to Gonzaga's DynaMed Plus account, recognition awards such as Preceptor of the Month, and continuing education opportunities listed as coming soon. The Preceptor Portal guide covers them.
Arizona has also written its own incentive into law. A.R.S. ยง 36-1806 set up a preceptor grant, administered by the Department of Health Services, for volunteers who precept graduate students, APRN students included. Rural primary care preceptorships come first, and the grants flow through the state's biggest professional nonprofits, the Arizona Nurses Association among them. Money is the catch: the budget committee's FY 2027 report lists nothing for FY 2026 or FY 2027, so the grant looks dormant.
Spokane visit days from Arizona
Gonzaga's faculty travel to clinical sites only in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. Arizona FNP students instead book one extra on-campus day in Spokane, beside an immersion, during each practicum course, and the faculty visit happens there. With six FNP immersions (five for PMHNP), plan those trips around your Arizona preceptor's calendar well before each semester. PMHNP students should ask course faculty whether their visit is in person or by telehealth, which the PMHNP packet allows.
Why Arizona students choose us
We search Arizona for preceptors who meet both sets of rules: Gonzaga's course requirements and Arizona's license and certification conditions. We prepare what the Practicum Site Placement Request needs, including the preceptor's credentials, the site and agreement contacts and a schedule that leaves room for your Spokane days, and we raise the AZBN question at the start. Final approval stays with Gonzaga's faculty, and the file we hand over is complete and matches their rules the first time. See how the search works.
Questions Gonzaga students ask
Does Gonzaga hold AZBN approval for NP clinicals in Arizona?
That could not be verified. AZBN wants an out-of-state APRN program approved before its students begin clinicals in Arizona, and it refreshes its program lists after Board meetings, but its website blocked review. Ask Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team to confirm the approval covers your FNP or PMHNP track before you settle on a site.
Does my Arizona multistate license work for a Gonzaga practicum?
AZBN's opinion requires the student's RN license to be Arizona's own or a multistate one, without encumbrance, so an Arizona-issued license in good order satisfies it. Gonzaga also places practicums in the state where you are licensed to practice, and for an Arizona resident that is Arizona.
Can I contact a Banner nurse practitioner about precepting me?
Banner's student pages describe a route in which school faculty contact Banner's student coordinator, and they discourage students from cold-calling for a preceptor or rotation. The same pages say Banner's coordination inbox does not locate preceptors, so the school and student bring one. Talk to the Clinical Placement Team before reaching out to anyone inside Banner.
What does an Arizona nurse practitioner need to precept a Gonzaga student?
Arizona APRN certification, backed by an RN license from Arizona or another compact state with no encumbrance. Gonzaga adds at least one year in the clinical area, documented national board certification and a license in the state where you are precepted. The preceptor also cannot be your direct supervisor.
Is the Arizona preceptor grant available to my preceptor?
The grant is written into state law for volunteer preceptors of graduate students, and rural primary care comes first. Arizona's latest budget report lists no money for it in fiscal 2026 or 2027, so it appears inactive. Your preceptor can check the current status with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Gonzaga's catalog, FAQs, preceptor packets and Department of Nursing pages. Your course, the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
- Gonzaga University, State Authorization and Licensure Disclosures
- Arizona State Board of Nursing, Advisory Opinion: APRN Programs Approval for Clinicals in Arizona, Out-of-State Programs
- HonorHealth, Student Placement
- Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee, FY 2027 Appropriations Report, Department of Health Services
- AANP, State Practice Environment
Gonzaga asks you to find local preceptors first. Let us run that search.
Tell us your Gonzaga program, your practicum course and where you live and can travel. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, certification and site details your Practicum Site Placement Request needs, early in the semester before.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care across the lifespan for
NURS 661PtoNURS 664P, psychiatric care forNURS 661MtoNURS 663M, an agency liaison for the DNP - Credentials, license, board certification and site contact ready for your site request
- In Spokane, across Washington or wherever in the ten western states you are licensed
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