Drexel didn't approve your preceptor or site? Find the rule it missed and fix it

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Drexel Preceptor placement team

A preceptor or site that Drexel turns back has nearly always missed one of a short list of rules: the kind of clinician, their certification or experience, the fit with your course, the site's affiliation agreement, or the location. Pin down which one, fix that exact point, and send a replacement or a corrected submission that clears every rule at once.

Find my preceptor Chat now

Preceptor turned down?

Send your track, course, the reason Drexel gave and where you live. A placement advisor builds the replacement search around it.

Name

Phone

Program

Clinical start

City and state

By sending this you agree we may reply by email, call or text about your placement. Message and data rates may apply; reply STOP to opt out. Privacy

Quick facts

Preceptor types allowed: NP, CNM, or physician in an approved specialty
Credentials: Board certified, licensed for their state, 1+ year in practice
Not on Drexel's list: Physician assistants
Off-limits location: New York State, for all NP clinical hours

Table. Why a preceptor is turned back, and the fix: Preceptor is a PA, RN or other clinician, An NP, a certified nurse midwife or a physician in an approved specialty; Specialty doesn't fit the course, The physician's specialty must be approved, and the patients must fit your track; Board certificat — Why a preceptor is turned back, and the fix: Preceptor is a PA, RN or other clinician, An NP, a certified nurse midwife or a physician in an approved specialty; Specialty doesn't fit the course, The physician's specialty must be approved, and the patients must fit your track; Board certification lap

Start by getting the reason

A rejection is only fixable once you know which rule it hit. Ask for the reason in writing. Questions about a preceptor's fit with your course belong with your track director or clinical faculty; questions about the site's agreement or your own compliance go to the CNHP Contracts and Compliance team at dhcompliance@drexel.edu.

Then match the reason to the sections below. Most fall under a rule Drexel publishes. A few fall under rules it doesn't, and those need a direct answer from your track director before you choose again.

Preceptor reasons, matched to Drexel's rules

Drexel's published preceptor rules are short, which makes a mismatch easy to spot.

Why a preceptor is turned back, and the fix
What went wrong	Drexel's rule	The fix
Preceptor is a PA, RN or other clinician	An NP, a certified nurse midwife or a physician in an approved specialty	Find an NP, CNM or physician
Specialty doesn't fit the course	The physician's specialty must be approved, and the patients must fit your track	Ask your track director which specialties count
Board certification lapsed or missing	Current board certification	Wait for renewal proof, or choose someone else
Less than a year in practice	At least one year of practice experience	A more experienced clinician at the same site
License problem	Meets the licensure and certification rules of the state where they practice	Confirm an active license in that state
Incomplete documents	Preceptors send a CV, state license and board certification	Resend a complete set

Physician assistants cause the most surprises. They aren't among the preceptor types Drexel lists, and Pennsylvania's rule on who may teach CRNP students omits them as well. Drexel preceptor requirements covers each rule in more depth.

Site and contract reasons

A preceptor can be ideal and the placement still stall at the site. Every site signs a clinical affiliation agreement with Drexel through its clinical contracting process, and Drexel's Office of General Counsel reviews each one. A site that won't sign Drexel's agreement, insists on its own terms or can't finish its side before the term will hold things up.

Ask early whether the site signs Drexel's agreement or needs Drexel to sign its own; older Drexel handbooks told students to put exactly that question to a site. Some sites also add onboarding and immunization requirements, which Drexel follows where an executed agreement calls for them. If a site won't move at all, the fix is another site. The affiliation agreement page explains what the contract involves.

Location and license reasons

Some placements fail because of where they are rather than who the preceptor is.

New York. Drexel NP students may live in New York but can't complete clinical hours anywhere in the state.
Excluded states. Drexel can't admit NP students who live in any of eleven states, from Alabama and Colorado to Oregon and Wyoming; Drexel state authorization lists them all.
Washington. Drexel's approval from Washington's nursing commission names the MSN NP tracks only, so certificate and FNP with Emergency Specialization students should ask before choosing a site there.
AGPCNP certificate. Its 640 hours must be done where you live or in Pennsylvania.
Your RN license. It has to be valid for the clinical state. Drexel's pages differ on whether that must include Pennsylvania; see the Pennsylvania license question.

Rules Drexel doesn't publish

Some rejections rest on rules you won't find on any public Drexel page. Drexel publishes nothing on preceptors who are relatives, on training at your workplace or under your own manager, on a minimum number of hours per preceptor, or on an NP-versus-physician split. If your rejection cites one of these, ask your track director to spell the rule out so your next choice meets it.

Keep that answer in writing. It will shape every placement you arrange for the rest of your clinical sequence.

Fix the reason before you resubmit. Sending the same gap twice costs another round of review in the same quarter.

Resubmitting without losing the quarter

Decide fast whether the original can be saved. A board certification renewal already under way or a missing document can often be sorted within days; a clinician type that isn't on Drexel's list can't be. If the fix will outlast the time left before the quarter, move to a replacement and keep the original for a later course where it might fit.

Screen the replacement against every rule on this page, not only the one that failed last time. If the quarter is close, need a preceptor fast has the triage by weeks left.

How we take it from here

Getting it right the first time is the heart of our work. Each preceptor we put forward is screened against Drexel's published rules before you're introduced: an NP, CNM or physician in a specialty that suits your track, current board certification, a state license in good standing and at least a year in practice. Each site is checked for location, including New York and the excluded states, and asked up front how it handles Drexel's affiliation agreement.

We then put together a complete package for Drexel: CV, license and certification proof from the preceptor, plus the name of the person who signs for the site. The decision is Drexel's, and our job is making sure the file it sees answers every rule. If you've already had a rejection, send us the reason and we build the replacement search around it.

Questions Drexel students ask

Will Drexel accept a physician assistant as my preceptor?

Drexel's preceptor list stops at three types: NPs, certified nurse midwives and physicians in a specialty it approves. Physician assistants aren't on it, and Pennsylvania's regulation on CRNP program preceptors leaves them out as well. Drexel publishes no PA exception, so plan on an NP, CNM or physician.

Does my preceptor need to be board certified?

Yes. Drexel asks for current board certification, at least a year of practice and whatever licensure and certification the preceptor's own state requires. The preceptor sends proof of board certification along with a CV and license, so check the certification's expiry date before you ask them.

Why would Drexel reject a site that already said yes?

A site's yes covers the clinician, not the contract. The site still has to sign an affiliation agreement through Drexel's contracting process, sit in a state where Drexel NP clinicals can take place and match your course's population and setting. Any one of those can stop a placement the preceptor was glad to take.

Is there an appeal if Drexel turns down my preceptor?

Drexel doesn't publish a formal appeal process for preceptor or site decisions. The practical route is to ask your track director what would change the answer, whether that's renewed certification, a different specialty or another clinician at the same site, and then fix that point.

Can a physician precept me instead of an NP?

Yes, if the physician practices in an approved specialty, holds current board certification, meets their state's licensure rules and has at least a year in practice. Drexel's list of approved specialties isn't public, so check with your track director that the physician's field suits your track, such as pediatrics for a PNP course.

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.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.Need a preceptor fastYour Drexel clinical quarter is close and you have no preceptor. Triage by weeks left, clear compliance in parallel and choose sites that can sign quickly.Can't find a preceptorYour Drexel NP preceptor search has stalled. See why searches stall under Drexel's rules, a plan for this week, and how a placement advisor takes over.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.

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.