DNP Clinical Experience

The Clinical Placement Team supports students in securing appropriate clinical placements. This process is a collaborative effort involving the student, Lead Faculty, and the Clinical Education Coordinator. We encourage students to identify clinical sites and preceptors based on their geographic location, goals, needs, and preferences. If assistance is needed with clinical placements and/or preceptor identification, the College of Nursing will help with this process. Please note that clinical sites and preceptors identified by the College of Nursing (CON) may not be located in the student’s current city or state. Students should be prepared to travel within their home state, to a neighboring state, or to South Carolina for clinical experiences. All students are required to hold either a South Carolina RN license or a multistate/compact RN license. With a substantial number of clinical affiliation agreements and connections already made within the U.S., we are likely to have preexisting relationships with a site that suits your clinical needs. Upon securing a clinical placement, the Clinical Placement Team will work with you and the site to ensure an active clinical affiliation agreement and all supporting documents are in place so that clinical hours can begin in a timely manner.

Clinical hour requirements will vary according to the course in which one is enrolled. Post-BSN DNP students will complete a total of 1,065 hours. Each of the first three clinical courses require 180 hours of precepted direct patient care, followed by a semester of 225 hours, and ending with 300 hours divided between two semesters. To meet these hours, students should be prepared to spend 2-3 days (12-24 hours) per week with their preceptor over the course of the semester.

Post-MSN students will complete a minimum of 300 hours during their clinical courses as they must have a minimum of 1,000 hours upon graduation (this number includes the clinical hours completed during one’s MSN program). PMH certificate students will complete 540 clinical hours over three semesters (180 hours per semester). Faculty work closely with each individual student to ensure they are meeting clinical expectations including required hours and patient populations.

Clinical Preceptor Toolbox

Clinical Rotation Approval for Non-MUSC NP Students

If you are not an enrolled student at MUSC, but are an employee or live local to a MUSC owned facility, please see the directions below for securing clinical placements.

Clinical Rotation Approval for Non-MUSC NP Students

Date: 2-12-24

Dear Prospective APRN/PA Student,

MUSC must prioritize clinical experiences for its students. These clinical experiences are an essential requirement of our educational programs. Therefore, and in keeping with a directive of MUSC’s President, Dr. Cole, MUSC providers must prioritize the acceptance of MUSC students for clinical experiences, followed by MUSC employees who attend non-MUSC programs, and in rare instances, and subject to availability, non-MUSC students for clinical placement. Please understand that the practice at most academic health science centers is to only accept their own students for clinical placement.

We understand that finding and securing a preceptor is a challenging process – especially in core areas such as primary care, pediatrics, women’s health, emergency medicine, psychiatric mental health, and adult ICUs (Charleston Hospital). We are lucky that MUSC Health is a competitive workplace with a variety of graduate students seeking clinical placements. If you are a non-MUSC student seeking clinical placement and have identified an MUSC Health clinical preceptor who is agreeable to precept you, please apply using the link below. Please note that we do assist placing non-MUSC students with preceptors.

Non-MUSC students need to apply for 1 rotation at a time, even if you complete back-to-back rotations with the same preceptor:

Apply to complete your application

Additionally, please review the additional FAQs located on the application once you choose a link above. Non-MUSC students, are required to provide information to include an affiliation agreement that identifies their University/Program and contact, immunizations including the Covid-19 vaccine as part of the clinical placement application process, and other information as requested. Once an external student application is complete, the approval may take up to 30 days to process all the paperwork.

Non-MUSC students who come to MUSC without clearance from Human Resources will be removed from the clinical placement, not awarded credit, and the non-MUSC student’s college/university will be notified of the removal.

If you are not able to secure an approved clinical placement at MUSC Health, other resources you may wish to consider include:

Consult with your program’s clinical coordinator and/or assigned faculty.
Contact professional organizations in your chosen field.

FAQs: Review FAQs on the clinical application form once you apply via the link above. We have also provided FAQ’s for immediate reference. If you have further questions, please email apps@musc.edu.

We wish you all the best in your plan of study!
MUSC APP Best Practice Center
MUSC Office of Education Innovation & Student Life

Graduate Program Clinical Placements

For clinical placements in the MSN, DNP, and Certification programs at MUSC, here are the steps and resources you can consider:

Consult with Your Program’s Clinical Coordinator and/or Assigned Faculty: They can provide guidance and support in securing a clinical placement.
Contact Professional Organizations: Reach out to professional organizations in your chosen field for potential placement opportunities.
Utilize Your Connections: Develop connections via your own professional and personal relationships (colleagues, PCP, etc.) who may be able to connect you with an available site or preceptor.

FAQ’s

The APP Best Practice Center does not correspond with the student’s school as to the student’s application status. It is the student’s responsibility to alert the school when they receive email approval notification.
When the student is cleared for a rotation, they are sent a formal email for clearance. Please consider this the final confirmation from your student to the school.
We do not accept any application documents for students at this email. Clinical Placement Student Request Forms must be uploaded to application with all required signatures. Any forms missing a signature will be incomplete. The application process can take up to 30 days from the date of the submitted completed application. Students should not apply for a rotation if it is more than 60 days out from the requested start date.

Related Links

DNP Clinical Experience

FAQ’s