The Gonzaga clinical placement process, start to finish

A shared process with a clear starting point

Gonzaga's graduate FAQ says clinical placements are "secured through a process shared by staff, program directors, students, faculty and clinical agencies." Each of those parties owns a different piece. You find and propose the preceptor. Faculty judge whether the preceptor and site fit the course. The Clinical Placement Team closes out the placement along with its contract paperwork, and the site's own education office decides whether it can host you.

The order matters because each step leans on the one before it. A preceptor who agrees informally still has to clear faculty review; an approved site still needs an active agreement; an agreement still needs your compliance record to be current. Both MSN nurse practitioner tracks follow this pattern, as does the Second MSN, while Post-Master's DNP students follow a project-based version with an agency liaison. The Clinical Placement Team guide explains which role handles what.

Clearing to start: agreement, compliance and the first contact

Approval gives you a yes on paper. Four more pieces turn that yes into a practicum where hours can be logged.

1. An active affiliation agreementGonzaga and the site need a current agreement before any practicum experience begins. Plenty of sites in the West are already under contract with Gonzaga; one that has never hosted a Gonzaga student needs a contract processed first. The affiliation agreement guide covers existing versus new sites.
2. CPNW and compliance clearanceGonzaga's FNP packet ties hour accrual to following CPNW and meeting its compliance items. BLS, immunizations, a 10-panel drug screen and a background check have been tracked in CastleBranch, with Gonzaga moving students into CORE by spring 2026.
3. Schedule and first-day materialsAbout two weeks before the rotation, confirm the schedule with your preceptor, built around their availability. Hand over your CV or resume plus your written semester goals; the FNP guide also asks for week-by-week objectives.
4. Point of contact oneEarly in the semester you arrange a short phone or video call with your preceptor and clinical faculty to review your goals. It is the first of three contacts that Washington's WAC 246-840-533 requires.

What has to be true before your first hour counts

Gonzaga's FNP clinical faculty packet lists the gates in one sentence. Run through them before you walk into clinic on day one.

• The semester's official start date has passed.
• You are following CPNW and current on every item it requires.
• Faculty have approved the site and the preceptor.
• Gonzaga has confirmed an active affiliation agreement with the practicum site.
• You are working with an approved preceptor, one of no more than two for the semester.

Hours logged outside these conditions may not count, and the packet warns that breaking the rules can lead to dismissal from the program. That risk is why the order above matters more than speed.

Why Gonzaga students choose us for this process

Our service is built around Gonzaga's own sequence. The placement desk searches your state in person for a preceptor and site that fit the specific practicum course, then confirms the details Gonzaga's faculty and Clinical Placement Team rely on: the preceptor's license, board certification and experience, who signs contracts at the site, the clinic schedule and how it maps to the course.

You submit a complete request early instead of chasing missing pieces the week before term. If a preceptor withdraws, we start a replacement search right away. Gonzaga's faculty give the final approval; our job is making sure everything that reaches them is complete and fits the rules on the first pass. Tell us your track, course and state with the form below, and the search starts from there.