Clinical Placement

Clinical Placement

Section Contents

Understanding Clinical Placement

Clinical rotations are an essential part of a Vanderbilt nursing education and VUSN is committed to students’ clinical education needs. The school has a dedicated Clinical Placement office that works collaboratively with students and with program faculty to ensure all students have productive clinical experiences. The office administratively coordinates all students’ clinical assignments. Faculty evaluate every clinical site and every preceptor to verify that clinical experiences are consistent with course and certification requirements as well as with Vanderbilt’s mission. These efforts ensure students receive the experiences necessary to prepare them for their specialty or degree.

Due to regulatory requirements or a lack of available and appropriate preceptors, VUSN may not be able to accommodate clinical placements in all areas of the country. Students should discuss their preferences with their specialty faculty to be sure they understand all possible options.

Student Requirements

  • All specialty-level students must maintain active and unencumbered RN licenses, valid for the state in which clinical rotations are completed. If your clinical site is located in a state that does not participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), you may be required to obtain additional state licenses. Note: Due to regulatory requirements or lack of available preceptors, VUSN cannot accommodate clinical placements in all areas of the country.
  • All matriculation requirements must be completed and on file at the time of enrollment and must be kept current throughout your clinical experiences.
  • In addition to Vanderbilt’s requirements, clinical preceptors and/or agencies may require drug screening, fingerprinting, additional criminal background checks, or other requirements specific to their sites. Costs associated with these processes are the student’s responsibility. The Clinical Placement office will notify you of any additional requirements associated with your rotation.

VUSN cannot guarantee students will be able to complete clinical rotations unless all agency requirements are met. You may not begin your clinical rotations until you have met all the site requirements and have received confirmation from your faculty and the Clinical Placement office that you are cleared to start.

About COVID-19

The overwhelming majority of clinical placement sites also require either documentation of a completed series of COVID-19 vaccinations or (in some cases) an approved exemption before allowing students to rotate at their facilities. Students are strongly encouraged to have the COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of this requirement. VUSN will not assign clinical placement sites based on an individual student’s preference about COVID-19 vaccination, nor will VUSN reassign a student to a different site because of a COVID-19 vaccination preference.

Transportation and Lodging

  • Students are responsible for their lodging and transportation to and from all clinical facilities and field trips.
  • Practice sites are chosen for their ability to provide experiences consistent with the program requirements, Vanderbilt’s mission and individual student objectives regardless of location. Students admitted for greater Middle Tennessee Area (MTA) clinical placement should be prepared to travel up to 150 miles from Nashville.

Below are more details about clinical placement by program:

  • Master of Nursing (PreSpecialty) Program – (BA/BS in non-nursing field)
    • During your PreSpecialty year, you will be placed in group clinical experiences. These may be in either a hospital or community setting in the greater Middle Tennessee area.
    • Students will be able to start clinical rotations only once all agency requirements are met.
    • Once a clinical placement site assignment is made, you are expected to attend clinical at the assigned site. The School of Nursing is under no obligation to honor a student’s request for an alternate site, and if an alternate site assignment is possible, such change may result in a delay in clinical progression
  • Master of Nursing Program
    • During your MN program, you will be placed in group clinical experiences. These will be in either a hospital or community setting in the greater Middle Tennessee area.
    • Students will be able to start clinical rotations only once all agency requirements are met.
    • Once a clinical placement site assignment is made, you are expected to attend clinical at the assigned site. The School of Nursing is under no obligation to honor a student’s request for an alternate site, and if an alternate site assignment is possible, such change may result in a delay in clinical progression.
  • Nurse-Midwifery or Nurse-Midwifery/FNP Dual Program
    • The School of Nursing finds and assigns midwifery clinical sites; students are not required to find their own clinical sites for the nurse-midwifery specialty.
    • Clinical experiences are designed to assist all students in meeting the American College of Nurse-Midwives Core Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice.
    • Midwifery students will have at least one clinical rotation outside of the Nashville area, in part to expose them to regional differences in nurse-midwifery care. Sites can be around the country at some international military bases.
    • Given the large number of midwifery students across the country, agencies and providers have asked that all placements be coordinated by a school representative. Students are not to reach out to sites to arrange their own placements. if you identify a possible local placement, please contact your specialty director or course coordinator; they will work with the Clinical Placement office staff to see if it is a feasible site.
    • Please discuss your preferences with your specialty faculty to be sure you understand all possible options. Due to regulatory requirements or a lack of appropriate preceptors, VUSN may not be able to accommodate clinical placements in all areas of the country.
  • Greater Middle Tennessee Area (MTA) – Specialty Students
    • If you are an MTA student, Vanderbilt’s Clinical Placement office works with specialty faculty to secure clinical sites. Clinical sites located within a 150-mile radius from the School of Nursing are considered to be within this area. As a result, students may have rotations in Kentucky, Alabama, and East or West Tennessee, depending on the sites’ appropriateness. In making assignments, faculty take into consideration a number of factors, including home address, specialty needs and clinical interests.
    • Given the large number of health profession students in the area and the competition for sites, agencies and providers have asked that a school representative coordinate all Greater Middle Tennessee area VUSN placements. Therefore, students are not to reach out to local sites to arrange their own placements. However, if you identify a possible local placement, please contact your specialty director or course coordinator; they will work with the Clinical Placement office staff to see if a placement is possible.
  • Outside the Greater Middle Tennessee Area (OMTA) – Specialty Students
    • If you are admitted as an OMTA student,), your faculty and the Clinical Placement staff work collaboratively with you to locate OMTA clinical sites. You are encouraged to develop a list of possible sites, as you often have a better knowledge of the area and can use personal networks and connections to identify a preceptor/site.
    • Begin by reviewing the specialty-specific info about clinical placement on your specialty orientation page. Each specialty has information and resources to assist you in your placement search.
    • Your faculty and clinical placement staff will meet regularly with you to evaluate your progress in identifying possible clinical sites and to brainstorm potential placements.
    • After a site has been identified, Clinical Placement staff will work to secure all necessary contracts and paperwork.

Managing Your Clinical Placement Assignments

Student clinical placement assignments are managed in a system called Exxat. Details on using Exxat are available here.

FAQs

  • Can I change my clinical placement location preference (e.g., from OMTA to MTA, or MTA to OMTA)?

    All requests to change your clinical placement location must be discussed with your clinical placement faculty and approved by your specialty director. While Clinical Placement staff and faculty will try to accommodate student preferences, changes in clinical placement location are not guaranteed and depend upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited, to availability of appropriate clinical sites.

    We understand that, on occasion, a student may need to relocate to a different region of the country for personal or professional reasons. We strongly recommend that students discuss this request with clinical placement faculty and their specialty director before relocating. Students may have difficulty obtaining state licensure or could have delays in obtaining a new clinical site in their new state of residence. Delays in completing compliance requirements or processing of contracts could delay clinical start, and ultimately program progression and completion.

  • If a prospective preceptor wants more information, where can I send them?

    Vanderbilt’s preceptor resources section answers many common preceptor questions about effectiveness, eligibility and requirements. Preceptor resources can be found here.

  • Does Vanderbilt pay preceptors?

    Vanderbilt does not pay preceptors. However, preceptors can receive continuing credits and other courtesy perks—including, in some cases, Vanderbilt adjunct faculty status—for precepting students. We have found that preceptors mentor students because they recall being well guided in their own education, and they want to make a difference in a nursing student’s life. Many of our preceptors have precepted for years.

  • As an OMTA student, should I be nervous that I won’t find a placement?

    No. While there are geographic areas in the U.S. that are more saturated with other nursing students or that have fewer facilities, keep in mind that you’ll be partnering with your faculty and Clinical Placement team member to brainstorm possibilities. Many students travel to other parts of the country—where perhaps they have friends or relatives to stay with—to do clinical rotations. We advise you to remain open-minded about all the possibilities and let your faculty know if another geographic region is a possibility VUSN students are highly regarded around the country.. Remember that VUSN leverages our existing database of over 3,500 contracts and more than 12,000 alumni around the country to help find placements. We work very hard to ensure students are placed—we are in this with you.

  • Am I able to relocate to another location while I’m in the program?

    If you are considering relocating, we strongly encourage you to first consult with your faculty and identify any factors like state licensure that could possibly cause a delay in the start of your clinical rotation. Your clinical faculty can help guide you on the best options and help you navigate all the different facets of a relocation.

  • How do I know whom to contact in Clinical Placement?

    At New Student Orientation each year, you will be introduced to your Clinical Placement team member. You will work with this Clinical Placement coordinator very closely. Also at Orientation, you will receive an overview of the process, including using the Exxat portal. For part time students, a refresher to the Exxat system will be provided during clinical course orientation.

  • Can I have more than one placement?

    Due to the large number of placements each term, VUSN limits the number of sites and contracts per student. Your faculty must approve any secondary sites for your clinical experience. This ensures the sites are necessary and appropriate to your clinical objectives. Your faculty will review requests for rotations for a minimal number of hours (typically fewer than 80) on a case-by-case basis. If approved, then our Clinical Placement team begins the placement process.