"Choose your preceptors": what Bradley's promise means once you enroll

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Bradley Preceptor placement team

Bradley University's online nursing pages list "Choose your preceptors" and "Complete clinicals locally" among the reasons to enroll. After admission, the promise turns into a task: you pick, recruit and schedule each preceptor and site, and Bradley approves them. Here is what the choice covers, where it stops, and how to run a search that ends in an approved packet.

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1 yearthe search lead time Bradley's 2017 FNP webinar advised before clinicals

Numbered steps. How to search well: a plan that ends in a packet: 1 Map your practicum courses first; 2 Start about a year out; 3 Work the people you already know; 4 Use professional directories; 5 Screen before you request documents. — How to search well: a plan that ends in a packet: 1 Map your practicum courses first; 2 Start about a year out; 3 Work the people you already know; 4 Use professional directories; 5 Screen before you request documents.

Where the promise comes from

The line sits under "With our online nursing degrees, you can:" on Bradley's online MSN-FNP page, and the online nursing hub and the nurse practitioner hub repeat it. The MSN, DNP and post-master's hub pages go further, describing clinical hours with approved preceptors the student chooses and recommending that each clinical focus area get its own preceptor. The Nursing and Healthcare Leadership page frames it as picking your site preceptors.

The approval half of the idea has held steady for a decade. Bradley's 2016 online FAQ said the university approves both the health care facility and the preceptor, and a current article on the online site describes students selecting preceptors pending Bradley's approval. So "choose" really means nominate: you bring the person and the place, and Bradley makes the call.

What the choice gives you

For working RNs, the practical value is control. You can train near home instead of commuting to a site someone else picked, fit clinical days around your shifts, and select a preceptor whose patients match the course. In Bradley's 2017 FNP webinar, a typical student spent one or two days a week in clinic and a few went faster, and that pace is something you settle with your preceptor.

It also lets you design a sequence. A busy family practice for NUR 676, a clinic heavy in chronic disease for NUR 677, women's health and pediatrics for NUR 678: each course can go to the preceptor who teaches that content best. Our preceptor requirements page lists the settings Bradley's catalog names for every track.

What the choice asks of you

The handbook makes the search your responsibility. Section III expects each graduate student to arrange and attend every scheduled practicum while steering clear of scheduling conflicts, wording that has stayed in the handbook since at least 2017. The FNP, PMHNP, AGACNP and AGPCNP welcome sites expect students to lead the hunt for both the clinical site and the preceptor, and the leadership welcome site adds that this happens with support from the Department of Nursing.

No public Bradley nursing page describes a placement office, a preceptor bank or a promised site. The support Bradley does describe is genuine: academic advisors, Student Support Coaches, course faculty who approve entries, and the Office of Online and Distance Education, whose job list covers packets and agreements. The recruiting, though, starts with you.

How to search well: a plan that ends in a packet

Map your practicum courses firstWrite down each practicum course in your plan of study, its setting and the semester it runs. Every packet falls due halfway through the semester before its course, so this list doubles as your deadline list.
Start about a year outBradley's 2017 FNP webinar told students to begin as soon as possible, roughly a year before clinicals. The current deadline is earlier than the one in that webinar, so the advice holds.
Work the people you already knowThe same webinar suggested coworkers, acquaintances and the providers you meet through your own job. A warm introduction usually earns a quicker yes than a cold message.
Use professional directoriesSigma Theta Tau and the provider databases kept by ANCC and AANP were the webinar's suggestions for finding NPs open to teaching.
Screen before you request documentsConfirm the credential, the setting and an active, unencumbered license before asking for a CV and malpractice certificate. A preceptor who fails approval costs weeks.
Learn the site's rules earlyLarge systems run their own student processes, some with long lead times. Ask who signs for students before you commit. See sites with their own processes.

Limits on the choice

Your pick has to clear these lines

State: your clinicals stay in the approved state where you were admitted or where you live, and any bordering-state plan gets discussed with your advisor or the chair ahead of the term.
License: your RN license must be active, unencumbered and valid in the clinical's state.
Credential: for nurse practitioner students, Bradley's 2017 webinar accepted NPs, MDs and DOs and ruled out PAs, CNSs and CNLs.
Relationships: relatives are off the list, and clinical hours are unpaid hours.
Record: an infraction on the preceptor's license can block approval.

Each line has its own page: who cannot precept you covers the exclusions, and the state disclosures page covers where each track can train. Inside those lines, the choice is wide open.

Choosing when you have no leads

Plenty of Bradley students start with nobody in mind, especially those new to a region or moving from inpatient work into primary care or psychiatric settings. A student essay posted on Bradley's online site describes finding preceptors through a personal network and cold calls, which is the honest picture: persistence, a clear ask and steady follow-up.

A clear ask names the course, the hours, the dates and what the preceptor will be asked to sign. Busy nurse practitioners agree more often when they can see the whole commitment up front, including the DocuSign packet and any evaluation forms. If your search stalls, our can't find a preceptor page lays out the next moves, and an early start leaves room for a second or third ask.

How we make the choice easy

Choosing your preceptors works best when someone handles the legwork. Our service is built to be the most thorough option a Bradley student has: we search for preceptors and sites that fit each course, near home and inside your approved state, confirm credential and setting before anyone is asked for paperwork, and gather what the DocuSign packet needs so it goes in complete and early.

You still choose. Your placement advisor brings you options, you decide who fits, and Bradley approves the final pick as it always has. We start on your next practicum while the current one is underway and stay on call if a preceptor backs out. See how it works or tell us your track, your state and your first practicum course in the form below.

Questions Bradley students ask

Does "choose your preceptors" mean Bradley gives me a list to pick from?

No such list appears in Bradley's public nursing material. The phrase means you nominate the preceptor and the site, and the university approves both before hours begin. Questions along the way go to your academic advisor or the Office of Online and Distance Education, and your track's clinical packet in MyOnline explains what the preceptor must provide.

Can I use a different preceptor for each practicum course?

Yes. Bradley's MSN, DNP and certificate hub pages encourage exactly that, one preceptor per clinical focus area, and the course settings make it natural. The 2017 webinar's limit of two reuses per preceptor points the same way, so most students plan on several preceptors across the program. Check your current clinical packet for today's reuse rule.

Can I choose a preceptor in a state where I do not live?

Usually not. The handbook keeps clinicals in the approved state of your admission or physical residence. A rotation across the line into a bordering state, approved or not, needs a word with your advisor or the department chair before the term, and possibly an RN license there. Students from New York or the District of Columbia are barred from clinicals in their home jurisdiction.

What if the preceptor I chose is not approved?

You find another one, and the clock keeps running toward the term start. Approval can fail on the preceptor's credential, a license infraction, the wrong setting or missing documents. Screening every candidate against Bradley's published rules before the packet goes out is the best protection, and it is the first thing we do for each preceptor we bring you.

Is it acceptable to cold-call clinics looking for a preceptor?

Yes, and many students do. A student essay on Bradley's online site describes cold calls alongside personal contacts, and Bradley's 2017 webinar encouraged reaching out to providers directly. Keep the first message short: your Bradley course, the hours needed, the semester and your state. Offer the packet details once the practice shows interest.

AdmissionPreceptors at applicationBradley University NP and DNP applicants name potential preceptors or practice mentors. What to list, how firm the names are, and what happens after admission.RulesPreceptor requirementsWho can precept a Bradley University nurse practitioner student: NPs, MDs and DOs, most hours with NPs, an active unencumbered license, and what is unpublished.RulesWho cannot precept youBradley University's NP preceptor exclusions: physician assistants, CNSs, CNLs and family members, plus the rule that students may not be paid for clinicals.StuckCan't find a preceptorNo preceptor yet for your Bradley practicum? Why searches stall, where to widen the net, who at Bradley to tell, and how our placement desk takes over.Decision guideYour placement options comparedThree ways Bradley University NP, DNP and leadership students line up preceptors: your own search, your network, or a placement desk. What each one asks of you.Placement helpHow it worksHow our placement desk finds preceptors for Bradley University nursing students, from your first message to a complete DocuSign packet and your next practicum.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Bradley's own catalog, online program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your clinical packet, course faculty and academic advisor have the final word.

Bradley lets you choose your preceptors. We find the ones worth choosing.

Tell us your Bradley track, your city and your next practicum course. We line up preceptors who fit the NUR course and gather the license, CV and malpractice details the DocuSign packet asks for, well before the midterm of the semester before you start.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, mental health settings for PMHNP
Preceptor license, CV, malpractice coverage and the site address ready for the packet
Every practicum in your sequence planned together, close to home in your approved state

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