When an NKU preceptor pulls out

If the rotation has started, make sure every shift you worked is entered in Medatrax, then ask the departing preceptor to verify any pending entries before their last day. NKU's preceptors verify time logs weekly, and verified entries lock, so hours with a sign-off are settled while unsigned ones are harder to confirm later. Do this before the preceptor's schedule or system access changes.

Save your own record too: dates, times and the patient population you saw. Ask your Clinical Instructor whether the departing preceptor should complete an evaluation for the time you spent together, since preceptors normally complete NKU's evaluation in Medatrax at the end of the term. Our NKU clinical hour logs page explains how logging and verification work.

Email your Clinical Instructor, listed in myNKU under Class Schedule, and the MSN Student Placement Team at studentclinicalinfo@nku.edu. Give the course number, the session, how many hours you have logged and verified, and whether you already have a replacement in mind. Your Clinical and Concentration Coordinators can answer anything specific to your track. A short, factual note is enough at this stage.

Early notice matters because NKU may have options you cannot see. Its FAQ says that where a new agreement cannot be finished in time, "the student might be placed at an alternate clinical site in the interim." That is NKU's decision, not a standing offer, so ask directly rather than assume. Keep a copy of every message in your NKU email.

NKU's FAQ splits replacements into two groups. Approval can come within a few days when the new site is already under an NKU agreement or the new preceptor owns or runs the practice. If the site needs a new agreement, NKU negotiates it with a site contact you provide, and it may not be final before class starts.

That makes the site as important as the person. A preceptor in a health system that already hosts NKU students, or a clinician who runs their own practice, is usually the quickest route back. Expect the replacement to go through NKU's usual review in Medatrax, with fresh paperwork. NKU affiliation agreements covers what the site contact is asked to do.

A withdrawal before the session starts puts you back into a normal search, measured against NKU's 30-day minimum and 90-day recommendation. How much room you have depends on the date. If the start is close, our page on finding a preceptor fast sets out the triage.

A withdrawal mid-rotation is different. Your verified hours stay locked on your log, and how they count toward the course is your Clinical Instructor's call. Whoever replaces the preceptor must suit the same course: an FNP clinical still needs primary care or an allowed alternative, an AGACNP clinical still needs acute care, and a PMHNP clinical still needs a PMHNP or psychiatrist. Seven weeks is short, so every day of the gap counts.

No plan prevents every withdrawal, but a few habits reduce the risk. Before you file, confirm the schedule in writing: which days, how many hours, across all seven weeks. Ask about planned leave, a pending job change or a practice merger. A preceptor who knows the dates at the outset is easier to hold to them. Share NKU's session dates with the practice manager as well as the preceptor.

Keep a second lead warm, even after approval. NKU's FAQ allows one to four preceptors over the MSN, so a clinician you meet now may suit a later course. And start the next rotation's search a full session ahead, so one late change does not ripple into the rest of your plan.

Backup is part of every placement we arrange. When a preceptor steps away, a placement advisor opens a replacement search the same day, screening each lead against NKU's rules for your track and putting sites with an existing NKU agreement first.

The new preceptor's documents and the site contact are collected for you, so your new Medatrax request goes in complete. You keep one point of contact through the whole change. NKU gives the final approval; our job is to hand its reviewers a request with nothing missing. If the gap threatens the session, you hear that plainly and early, along with a plan for the next one. The how it works page shows where backup fits in the full service.