Finding a nurse practitioner preceptor in Spokane and the Inland Northwest
Spokane is Gonzaga's home city, and it is also a clinical market several nursing programs draw on at once. The health systems here take NP students on their own terms, usually through a school agreement and an onboarding process that runs weeks ahead. This guide shows where Spokane-area preceptors practice and how each system brings students in.
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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.
Why Spokane takes planning
Gonzaga NP students who live in Spokane start with two advantages. Faculty site visits happen at your own clinical site, since Washington is inside Gonzaga's four-state site-visit region, and the on-campus immersions are a short drive away. For site visits elsewhere in the region, see faculty site visits.
The challenge is competition. WSU's College of Nursing runs DNP nurse practitioner tracks in Spokane, Gonzaga's own BSN students and the Accelerated BSN arriving in 2027 train in Spokane hospitals, and Gonzaga's nursing news has noted limited clinical rotation capacity in local hospital settings. The answer is to look wider than the two hospital systems and to start early, because a Spokane preceptor who says yes to you in the fall may already be spoken for by spring.
Spokane health systems and how they take students
| System | What it includes | How students get in |
|---|---|---|
| Providence Inland Northwest | Sacred Heart Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital, Providence Medical Group East, and hospitals in Colville and Chewelah | The school needs a Clinical Education Agreement; rotations are arranged through the Professional Development Coordinator; a CPNW partner |
| MultiCare Inland Northwest | Deaconess Hospital, Valley Hospital, Rockwood Clinic | Affiliation agreement required; an older MultiCare student page pointed to CPNW for onboarding, and the current route should be confirmed |
| CHAS Health | The region's largest community health center, with primary care, behavioral health and school-based clinics | Public pages describe its residency for new NP graduates; schools contact CHAS directly about student rotations |
| VA Spokane (Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center) | Medical center and community clinics serving veterans in eastern Washington and northern Idaho | VA training requires an academic affiliation with the VA; listed as a CPNW partner |
| Eastern State Hospital, Medical Lake | State psychiatric hospital | A CPNW healthcare partner |
Whether a given site holds an active agreement with Gonzaga is a question for Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team. A clinician's willingness opens the door, and the agreement lets you walk through it; the affiliation agreements page explains why systems insist on one first.
Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho
Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene is North Idaho's main system and a short drive east of Spokane. Its placement page sets out three steps: an affiliation agreement with the school, then eligibility, then placement. The school supplies a faculty contact, and requests are accepted no more than 90 days and no less than two weeks before the start date. Onboarding is handled inside Kootenai rather than through an outside portal.
Its requirements include immunizations, a background check, a flu shot, AHA BLS, and Idaho Health and Welfare fingerprinting for behavioral health units, which matters for PMHNP students. Idaho is a Nurse Licensure Compact state inside Gonzaga's site-visit region. Before planning hours across the state line, check your license and Gonzaga's rule on precepting where you are licensed with the RN license guide and the Idaho guide.
Rural hospitals and clinics within reach
Some of the strongest FNP placements around Spokane are outside the city. The Washington Department of Health lists critical access hospitals across the region, among them Newport Hospital and Health Services, Providence Mount Carmel in Colville, Providence St. Joseph in Chewelah, Ferry County Memorial in Republic, Lincoln Hospital in Davenport, Odessa Memorial, East Adams Rural Healthcare in Ritzville, Whitman Hospital in Colfax, Pullman Regional and Tri-State Memorial in Clarkston.
Each runs its own affiliation process and none publishes an NP student portal, so the way in is usually a direct conversation with a clinic lead. Rural primary care tends to bring a wide range of ages and conditions into one clinic day, which suits Gonzaga's FNP courses, and a clinic with a nurse practitioner on staff helps with the rule that at least half of FNP hours are spent with an NP.
What Spokane sites expect before day one
Expect two layers of clearance. Gonzaga requires compliance in CPNW, the regional clearance used across Washington and North Idaho, and Providence's Spokane facilities, VA Spokane, Eastern State Hospital and Odessa Memorial all appear on CPNW's healthcare partner list. Each system then adds its own onboarding: Providence wants its packet at least four weeks before a start and its Clinical Passport forms at least two weeks before, and it offers no job shadows in Spokane or Stevens counties.
Build those lead times into the term. Gonzaga counts an hour only after faculty approve the site, the affiliation agreement is active and your CPNW compliance is complete, so a late onboarding packet can cost real clinic days. CPNW clearance explains the regional side.
How we search Spokane for you
We know how each Spokane system brings students in, so your search goes to the right door: the coordinator route for Providence, a clinic lead at a rural hospital, a practice owner at an independent NP clinic. We look past the two hospital systems to community clinics, specialty practices and rural sites within your driving range, and every preceptor is screened against Gonzaga's rules before you see a name. Give us your radius and the days you can keep, and the search stays inside them.
You receive a request packet built for faculty review and a timeline that respects each system's onboarding window. For placements in Seattle, the Tri-Cities or Vancouver, see Washington NP preceptors.
Questions Gonzaga students ask
Does Providence Sacred Heart take nurse practitioner students?
Providence's Spokane student portal describes placements for students whose school has a Clinical Education Agreement, arranged through its Professional Development Coordinator with an onboarding packet due at least four weeks ahead. Whether a Gonzaga placement is possible at a given Providence site is a question for Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team and the Providence coordinator.
Can I do Gonzaga hours at CHAS Health?
CHAS Health is the Inland Northwest's largest community health center, with primary care and behavioral health sites across the region. Its public pages focus on a residency for new NP graduates rather than student rotations, so a student placement starts with a direct request from the school, and the affiliation agreement comes before any hours.
Does a job shadow at a Spokane hospital count toward my hours?
Gonzaga counts only hours with your approved preceptor, inside the semester and after approval, the agreement and CPNW clearance. Informal shadowing adds nothing to that total, and Providence offers no job shadows in Spokane or Stevens counties in any case. Put the time into securing an approved preceptor instead.
How far ahead should I plan a Spokane placement?
Plan a full term ahead. Kootenai accepts requests starting 90 days before a start date, Providence wants onboarding papers four weeks ahead, and a site without an active Gonzaga agreement needs time for one. Gonzaga's own faculty approval and your CPNW clearance sit on top of those windows.
Can I use VA Spokane for PMHNP hours?
VA Spokane serves veterans across eastern Washington and northern Idaho and runs a mental health nurse practitioner residency. Student training at a VA facility requires an academic affiliation between the school and the VA, so ask Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team about that route before approaching a clinician there.
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.
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