How we find your UTRGV preceptor, step by step

Updated September 27, 2026 · Reviewed by the UTRGV Preceptor placement team

You tell us your UTRGV program and the clinical course coming up; we find a preceptor who fits that course and has said yes, trying practices on UTRGV's approved list before anyone new. Then we gather the details UTRGV's request and agreement forms call for, keep Typhon and compliance on track with you, and restart the search without delay if a preceptor falls through.

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Start your UTRGV search

Your program, your next clinical course and the town you live in are enough for a placement advisor to begin.

30-90days for a new affiliation agreement, per UTRGV's PMHNP guidelines

605clinical hours across NURS 6347, NURS 6612 and NURS 6613

520clinical hours in the online PMHNP certificate

Numbered steps. Steps one to four: from your course to a preceptor who says yes: 1 You tell us the program, the course and the calendar; 2 We set the course's preceptor brief; 3 The approved list comes first; 4 A new site, started early. — Steps one to four: from your course to a preceptor who says yes: 1 You tell us the program, the course and the calendar; 2 We set the course's preceptor brief; 3 The approved list comes first; 4 A new site, started early.

Who arranges a UTRGV preceptor, and where we fit

It depends on the program. In the FNP courses, UTRGV's newest syllabi hand the search to you: Spring 2026's NURS 6305 has students line up their own preceptors and sites, working from the Brightspace (D2L) list or proposing a new clinic. UTRGV's older graduate guide (2023-24, archived) framed recruiting as a joint faculty and student task.

For the PMHNP certificate, UTRGV's own sources disagree. The June 2025 flyer, still live, offers preceptor placement assistance it leaves undefined, while the removed graduate FAQ (archived May 2025) told students to secure a home-state site themselves. Ask the program what the assistance means today; PMHNP placement assistance lays out both. The DNP documents are silent on who finds the project site.

Our part is identical in every case: a willing preceptor who fits the course, presented to UTRGV complete and early, with every approval left to UTRGV's faculty.

Steps one to four: from your course to a preceptor who says yes

Each search starts from your course: a clinician who suits health assessment may be wrong for FNP II.

You tell us the program, the course and the calendarMSN-FNP, post-master's FNP certificate, PMHNP certificate or DNP; the clinical course that comes next, such as NURS 6612 in the fall; your town and how far you can drive; and the listed sites you have already called, so no practice hears from both of us.
We set the course's preceptor briefFNP courses accept NPs, PAs and MD/DO physicians. NURS 6347 calls for at least two NPs with master's preparation, at separate sites, each taking only one student. PMHNP courses accept only an ABPN-certified psychiatrist whose residency ended over a year ago or an ANCC-certified PMHNP, outside your workplace. Preceptor requirements has the detail.
The approved list comes firstA practice already affiliated with UTRGV skips the new-agreement wait, so listed sites near you hear from us before anyone else. We ask about the exact weekly load: 16 hours in NURS 6612, 24 in NURS 6613, over two 7-week rotations apiece.
A new site, started earlyWhen the list runs dry, we reach family, pediatric and internal medicine practices, community health centers and, for PMHNP students, psychiatric practices in your state. A practice new to UTRGV needs an affiliation agreement, which the PMHNP guidelines budget at 30 to 90 days for an accurate, complete request, so we aim to have yours ready a full term before hours begin.

Steps five to seven: paperwork, approval and a backup

A clinician's yes is half the job; a complete file is the other half.

Preceptor details, gathered for youUTRGV's Clinical Request Form (version 12-24, archived) wants the facility, whoever signs agreements on its behalf, the preceptor, and the faculty member initiating the request. We collect those facility and preceptor details, the credentials for the Typhon NP, PA or physician data sheet, and the preceptor's consent to sign the preceptor agreement and receive your course objectives.
UTRGV reviews, and you file on timeYou submit, and UTRGV decides. For NURS 6347, sites are approved by the course coordinator first, and the signed preceptor agreement and Mandatory Weekly Time Report follow no later than a week before clinicals. PMHNP students upload pre-clinical forms to Typhon and wait for their clinical faculty to clear the site.
A replacement if plans changePreceptors leave practices, drop clinic days or go on leave. Let us know the day it happens, and let faculty know too; we restart the search with listed sites first, because they avoid a fresh agreement in the middle of a term.

Faculty sign off on every UTRGV site. Our part is the strength of the match and the head start the file gets.

Typhon and compliance, kept in step with the search

A good match can stall on one missing document, so we check your clinical file while the search runs. UTRGV's MSN has each student buy Typhon access once for the whole program, PMHNP students log their hours there too, and each preceptor's Typhon data sheet belongs in the file. The Typhon guide covers setup.

What UTRGV publishes for graduate clinical students

A criminal background check reaching back seven years, honored as long as your enrollment has no break, per the archived 2023-24 guide.
The School's immunization verification form, signed by a health care provider: MMR, varicella, hepatitis B, Tdap within 10 years, meningococcal per university rules, and annual TB and flu.
Liability coverage whenever a course involves patients, renewed each September 1.
HIPAA training certificates and a signed Statement of Confidentiality before any clinical work.

UTRGV publishes no graduate drug-screen or CPR rule, though a practice may set its own. We ask each site what it requires before you commit, and the compliance checklist lists every item with its source.

When to bring us in, by program

The right start date depends on when your hours begin and whether the practice needs a new agreement with UTRGV.

UTRGV clinical timing and our planning advice
Program	Clinical courses and timing	When to contact us
MSN-FNP	`NURS 6305`, `NURS 6310`, `NURS 6311` at 45 hours each; `NURS 6347` in summer on the 2019 plan; `NURS 6612` in fall, then `NURS 6613` in spring	A term before each clinical course, earlier if the site is new to UTRGV
Post-master's FNP certificate	`NURS 6347`, `NURS 6612` and `NURS 6613`, 605 hours in all; fall and Summer I starts	At admission, since every course in the certificate carries hours
PMHNP certificate	Summer I start; hours begin that fall in `NURS 6476` (220), then 300 in `NURS 6620`	Right after acceptance, to leave room for a home-state agreement
DNP	`NURS 8211` implements the project at an approved site with 100 logged hours; `NURS 8512` adds preceptor forms	While the project is still being designed in `NURS 8210`

Questions UTRGV students ask

Do I still submit UTRGV's clinical forms myself?

Yes. You file the Clinical Request Form, the preceptor agreement, your Typhon entries and the weekly time report through UTRGV's own channels, and faculty decide. Our part comes before and around that: a preceptor who has agreed, the facility and credential details the forms ask for, and a preceptor who already knows what UTRGV expects each week.

Can you help if I found a preceptor but the practice has no UTRGV agreement?

Yes. That is a new-site case, so the Clinical Request Form and an affiliation agreement come first, and the PMHNP guidelines set a 30 to 90 day window once a request is complete. We gather the facility contact and preceptor details so yours starts complete, and line up a listed practice as a backup while UTRGV reviews it.

Do you search outside Texas for PMHNP certificate students?

Yes. The PMHNP certificate is fully online and its clinical hours happen in your state of residence, so we search there for a board-certified psychiatrist or PMHNP. Some states add their own rules for programs based elsewhere; PMHNP clinicals outside Texas explains what to check before a site signs.

What does a replacement look like in the middle of NURS 6613?

With 24 hours due every week, a lost week matters. We look first at listed practices that can take you at that pace, since they need no new agreement, and confirm the new preceptor meets the FNP rules before you ask your course coordinator to approve the change. Behind on hours covers catching up.

Do you work with UTRGV BSN students?

BSN clinical sites are assigned by the School of Nursing, so BSN students are placed through their courses rather than searching. Our work centers on the NP and DNP courses, where the search falls to you, and we are glad to help BSN and RN to BSN students plan ahead for the MSN-FNP; see BSN clinicals.

UTRGV systemPlacement processEvery published step of UTRGV clinical placement for FNP and PMHNP students, from buying Typhon and picking a site to the preceptor agreement and final forms.UTRGV systemApproved preceptor listUTRGV posts approved preceptors and affiliated Evergreen sites in Brightspace. What the list is, why a listed site can still decline, and when to look past it.UTRGV systemClinical Request FormHow UTRGV's Clinical Request Form sets up a new clinical site: the fields, standard and non-standard agreements, the 30 to 90 day wait, and who does what.Placement helpYour own search or oursA fair comparison for UTRGV NP students: calling down the approved list and cold-calling alone, or having our placement desk search, match and prepare the file.Placement helpCostFive things set the cost of a UTRGV NP student's preceptor placement: course hours, specialty, region, timing and new affiliations. UTRGV's costs are separate.Placement helpContactSend your UTRGV program, next clinical course, city and start date. A placement advisor replies with next steps and a written quote for your preceptor search.

Last checked 2026-09-27

We check these pages against UTRGV's own catalog, course syllabi, School of Nursing pages and Texas Board of Nursing rules. Your course faculty and the School of Nursing have the final word.

From the approved list or a brand-new site, we find the preceptor who fits.

Tell us your UTRGV program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We line up a willing preceptor who fits the course and UTRGV's rules, and hand you the details the Clinical Request Form, the affiliation agreement and the preceptor agreement ask for, well before the semester.

Family practice preceptors for NURS 6612 and NURS 6613, and two NP sites for NURS 6347
Board-certified psychiatric preceptors for NURS 6476 and NURS 6620, in your home state
Across the Valley and Texas, from McAllen and Brownsville to San Antonio, Houston and beyond
A replacement lined up fast if a preceptor drops

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.