How Drexel's clinical process fits together
Drexel NP students find and coordinate their own site and preceptor, then clear the clinical contract and compliance before the quarter starts. Each guide below takes one piece, in Drexel's own names, from NUPR 520 to E*Value, and flags what changes when Drexel moves to semesters in Fall 2027.
Get your Drexel placement plan
Your Drexel track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a Drexel-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Quick facts
- Who finds the preceptor
- You, with Drexel's resources and our search
- Orientation course
- NUPR 520, about three quarters before your first clinical course
- Compliance
- CastleBranch, repeated every year
- Evaluations and hours
- E*Value, completed by your preceptor
Start here
The placement process guide walks the whole path in order. If your first clinical course is a few quarters away, read the clinical timeline and the NUPR 520 guide next, because the contract and compliance work starts well before the quarter does.
Mid-program when Drexel changes calendars? The semester switch guide maps each track's quarter courses to the new semester numbers and lists what to confirm with your track director.
Placement and approval
Clinical placement processHow Drexel NP clinical placement works step by step: you find the site and preceptor, then NUPR 520, the clinical contract, CastleBranch and E*Value.Clinical placement managerWhat Drexel's clinical placement manager does, and who handles contracts, compliance, track questions and advising for CNHP nurse practitioner students.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept a Drexel NP student: an NP, CNM or physician in an approved specialty, board certified, with a year in practice. Plus PAs and unwritten rules.Clinical affiliation agreementHow Drexel's clinical contracting process works: the affiliation agreement your site signs, who at CNHP handles it, and what older handbooks said on timing.NUPR 520 clinical orientationNUPR 520 is Drexel's 0-credit Nurse Practitioner Clinical Orientation Seminar: what it covers, why sample plans put it early, and what to do while enrolled.Dragon NetworkHow Dragon Network helps Drexel NP students find preceptors: who signs up, how messaging works, and how to write a request a busy clinician will answer.Clinical timelineA Drexel NP clinical timeline built from the sample plans: NUPR 520, the Hep B series, compliance due dates and your first clinical quarter or semester.Quarters to semesters (Fall 2027)Drexel moves to semesters on August 23, 2027, after a 7-week Summer 2027 term. New NP course numbers by track, 43.0 credits, and what to confirm mid-sequence.State authorizationThe states Drexel can't admit from for NP, DNP and RN-to-BSN programs, the New York and Washington rules, and what moving mid-program does to clinicals.New York residentsDrexel admits New York residents to its NP programs, but clinical hours can't be in New York. Neighboring states, compact status and which licenses to hold.Pennsylvania RN licenseDrexel's program pages require a Pennsylvania RN license before clinicals; its compliance page accepts a multistate one. PA's § 21.118 and what to ask.Asking a preceptorWhat to send when you ask a clinician to precept a Drexel NP student: course, hours, Drexel's preceptor rules, E*Value duties and what Drexel offers back.Gap Analysis for certified NPsDrexel's Gap Analysis can cut courses and clinical hours for board-certified NPs adding a certificate. What's published, the AGACNP example, and what to ask.
Compliance and systems
Clinical compliance checklistEvery item CNHP Clinical Compliance checks before a Drexel NP clinical term, a practical order to work through them, and which costs fall to you.CastleBranch at DrexelHow Drexel NP students use CastleBranch: setting up the profile, the background package, the echain drug test, document uploads and RN license verification.E*Value evaluations and hoursWhat Drexel says E*Value is for: your preceptor's midterm and final evaluations and validating your clinical hours, plus what to confirm about hour logging.Background checks and clearancesThe three checks Drexel requires every year through CastleBranch: state criminal, FBI fingerprints and child abuse clearance, plus Pennsylvania's own process.Drug screen and echainHow the Drexel clinical drug test works: the echain form in CastleBranch, the 10-panel urine screen, the marijuana rule, blood tests and who pays for retests.Immunizations, titers and TBDrexel's Clinical Immunization Record explained: positive MMR, varicella and Hep B titers, the seven-month Hep B series, TB forms and the October 1 flu form.BLS, ACLS and PALSDrexel accepts only American Heart Association BLS, RQI included. ACLS for acute care NP students, PALS for pediatric NP, and all three for FNP-Emergency.Canvas and DrexelOneDrexel is moving every course from Drexel Learn to Canvas by January 2027. What lives in Canvas, DrexelOne, CastleBranch and E*Value for NP clinical courses.Compliance training modulesThe training modules on Drexel's clinical compliance list: HIPAA, BioRAFT safety training, CITI for research, and Pennsylvania child abuse reporting training.
Courses and hours
Clinical hours by trackDrexel NP clinical hours by track and course: 640 to 1,140 in the quarter catalog, the Fall 2027 semester course numbers, and the rules all tracks share.FNP courses: NURS 534–538Drexel's FNP clinical sequence: NURS 534 to NURS 538, 720 hours stated course by course, the NURS 534 intensive, and the NURS 7600 semester series.AGACNP courses: NURS 570–573, 580Drexel's AGACNP clinical courses, NURS 570 to NURS 573 and NURS 580: 160 hours each, two intensives, the certificate's Gap Analysis and the NURS 7500 series.AGPCNP courses: NURS 660–663Drexel's AGPCNP clinical courses, NURS 660 to NURS 663: 640 outpatient hours, the NURS 660 intensive, the certificate's home-state rule and semester courses.PMHNP courses: NURS 592–595Drexel's PMHNP clinical courses, NURS 592 to NURS 595: 640 psychiatric hours, the population each quarter centers on, the intensive and the NURS 7510 series.PNP courses: primary, acute and dualDrexel's pediatric NP clinical courses, NURS 642 to NURS 651, across primary care (640 hours), acute care (800) and the dual option (1,000 as stated).WHNP clinical coursesDrexel's four WHNP clinical courses, NURS 690 to NURS 693: 640 hours from gynecology to high-risk obstetrics, the OCIs, prerequisites and semester numbers.Emergency NP clinical coursesHow Drexel's emergency courses, NURS 673 to NURS 675, work in the Emergency NP certificate and the FNP with Emergency Specialization: hours, settings, OCIs.On-Campus Intensives by trackDrexel's On-Campus Intensives for each NP track: which clinical course holds them, how many days, which week, where Drexel's pages conflict and how to plan.DNP practicum hoursHow Drexel's post-master's DNP counts practice hours: the 1,000-hour rule, 480 or 600 hours in NUPR courses, the verification form and 2027 semester paths.RN-to-BSN clinical hoursDrexel's online RN-to-BSN has 36 planned clinical practice hours in NURS 342, NURS 347 and NURS 348: what each course asks, semester numbers, what to confirm.
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania rules for NP clinicalsWhat Pennsylvania's Board rules mean for Drexel NP clinicals: who may precept under 49 Pa. Code § 21.373, hour minimums, licensing and pending rule 16A-5141.Philadelphia clinical sitesHow Philadelphia health systems take NP students: CHOP, Penn Medicine, Jefferson, Temple, Main Line and Tower, plus the platforms used elsewhere in the state.New Jersey and Delaware sitesHow ChristianaCare, Virtua, Cooper, Bayhealth and other NJ and DE systems take NP students, which list Drexel, their platforms and Delaware's Board rule.
Questions Drexel students ask
Does Drexel place online NP students in clinicals?
Drexel's NP programs give students the flexibility of finding and coordinating their own site and preceptor, with Drexel resources such as Dragon Network and a clinical placement manager to support the search.
Which systems does a Drexel NP student use for clinicals?
CastleBranch for compliance, E*Value for preceptor evaluations and hour validation, DrexelOne for registration and billing, and Canvas for courses as Drexel retires Drexel Learn.
When does Drexel switch to semesters?
Fall 2027. The last quarter year runs from September 2026 to August 2027, and summer 2027 is a one-time seven-week term.
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Drexel's own sources. Your track director, the CNHP Clinical Compliance team and Drexel's current catalog have the final word.
Hand us the search. Keep your clinical quarter.
Tell us your Drexel track, where you live and which quarter your next clinical course starts. We find a preceptor and site that fit Drexel's rules for your track, and get the contract and compliance details ready early.
- Matched to your track's population, setting and hours
- Checked against Drexel's preceptor rules before anything is submitted
- Planned across the Fall 2027 switch to semesters
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Drexel-ready preceptor and site look like for you.