Who can precept a Drexel nurse practitioner student

Drexel's Become A Clinical Preceptor page sets the standard for the department that runs the NP and DNP programs. It is short, and every line matters:

• Role. An NP, a certified nurse midwife (CNM), or a physician whose specialty Drexel has approved.
• State credentials. The preceptor must meet the licensure and certification requirements of the state where they practice, which need not be Pennsylvania.
• Experience. At least one year of practice experience.
• Board certification. It must be current, and the preceptor shows it along with a CV and state license.

Because the rules come from the department behind every online NP track, they apply whether you are in FNP, AGACNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, pediatrics, WHNP or the emergency tracks. Drexel gives the final approval on each preceptor, so a willing clinician who misses one rule is not a workable choice, however convenient the site.

Drexel does not publish a list of approved specialties. What it does publish is where each track's clinical hours happen, and the preceptor's practice needs to match that setting and population. Use the course descriptions as your filter, and ask your track director when a specialty sits on the edge.

For WHNP, a certified nurse midwife fits the obstetric courses naturally, and an OB/GYN physician is another route. Semester numbers from Fall 2027 differ (WHNP becomes NURS 7620–NURS 7623, for example); hours per course are on the clinical hours page.

Drexel's list leaves out physician assistants entirely, and nothing on its site says a PA will be accepted. Pennsylvania's rule points the same way. Under 49 Pa. Code § 21.373, onsite preceptors may be currently licensed advanced practice nurses, physicians or CRNPs, and a CRNP must also be certified. PAs are not among them. When the only clinician you know at a practice is a PA, ask them to introduce you to an NP or physician colleague there.

Other states can add conditions. Delaware's nursing rules, for instance, require a preceptor's own license or privileges to match or exceed the role the student is training for, and out-of-state schools using Delaware sites notify its Board with preceptor names and licenses. Pennsylvania specifics are on Pennsylvania NP clinical rules, and Delaware and New Jersey systems on NJ and DE clinical sites.

Some limits other schools spell out are absent from Drexel's public pages. None of these is stated anywhere current:

• a minimum or maximum number of hours with one preceptor;
• a required split between NP and physician preceptors;
• whether a relative or friend may precept you;
• whether your own workplace, your home unit or your manager can host or supervise the hours;
• whether telehealth hours count toward a clinical course.

Silence is not permission. Before you ask a relative, a colleague on your unit or your manager, put the question to your track director in writing and keep the answer. It takes a day and can save a quarter.

The preceptor's job is defined on the same Drexel page. They evaluate you in E*Value at midterm and again at the end, confirm your clinical hours there and keep your clinical faculty posted on your progress. Drexel asks for their CV, state license and board certification when they come on board. Because faculty contact is part of the role, let a prospective preceptor know to expect a check-in or two during the quarter.

In return, Drexel offers recognition rather than payment. The package has three parts: use of the title "Clinical Faculty, Drexel University" for as long as they serve, a termly Certificate of Appreciation recording the hours Drexel verified, and 10 percent off the university's continuing education programs. Knowing this helps when you ask. Precepting Drexel students is the page to send a clinician who wants detail, and preceptor outreach covers the ask itself.

A short check now prevents a rejected file later. Confirm each point with the clinician or the site before anything goes to Drexel:

• their license is active in the state where they practice, and your own RN license covers that state (see the Pennsylvania license question);
• their board certification is current and suits the population your course needs;
• they have practiced in their role for at least a full year;
• their patients fit the course: families, adults and older adults, children, psychiatric or women's health;
• they can give you enough clinic days across a ten-week quarter to reach the course hours, such as 160 in most quarter clinical courses;
• their organization will sign a clinical affiliation agreement with Drexel, or already has one.

Every preceptor we bring a Drexel student is screened against Drexel's list before you hear the name: a nurse practitioner, midwife or physician whose specialty suits your course, licensed where they work, holding current board certification, with twelve months or more in practice. We check availability against your course hours and confirm the site is open to a Drexel contract.

You receive the clinician's CV, license and certification ready for Drexel's review, plus the site details Clinical Compliance needs. Drexel approves every preceptor; our work is making sure the file it sees is complete and rule-fitting on the first pass. If your preceptor steps away mid-program, we step back in and source someone new. Share your track and county through the contact page.