What shapes the cost of your ETSU preceptor placement
Every quote we give an East Tennessee State University (ETSU) nursing student is built around one search: your course, your hours, your town and your start date. Those four things decide how much outreach a placement takes, so they decide the quote. Tell us them through the form and your placement advisor sends a clear quote that shows exactly what is included.
Ask for your quote
Program, course, city and start term are all we need.
One search, one quote
Two ETSU students can need very different searches. A Nursing Administration student in Johnson City looking for a nurse administrator for one 180-hour practicum is a different job from an FNP student in a small town who wants all four population practicums lined up for the year. A single posted price would overcharge one of them and shortchange the other.
So we quote each search on its own terms. Your quote names the courses covered, the area we search, the work included and what happens if a preceptor steps away, so you can compare it against the time a search would take you. It also means you pay for the search you actually need rather than an average of everyone else's.
The factors at a glance
These are the things we look at when we prepare a quote, with an example of each from ETSU's own plans of study.
| Factor | Why it matters | ETSU example |
|---|---|---|
| The course's population or role | A narrow focus means fewer sites fit | NRSE 5024 needs a practice full of children and adolescents |
| Hours per course | Longer commitments ask more of a preceptor | 60 hours in NRSE 5010, 180 in each Nursing Administration practicum |
| Number of practicums | Each course is its own search | The MSN FNP plan lists five practicums and 540 hours |
| Where you live | Rural areas and other states widen the search | Clinicals outside Tennessee need regulator approval, case by case |
| How soon you start | Less time means faster, more intensive outreach | Fall 2026 classes began August 24; spring 2027 begins January 19 |
| New site or known site | A new agency needs a contract before day one | ETSU publishes no contract lead time |
Your course and its patients
The biggest single factor is how specific the course is. ETSU's faculty use the Intent Form's patient mix, the share of children, adolescents, women, adults and older adults a site sees, to judge whether a preceptor suits the course. A family practice that sees every age can serve several courses; a course built around women's health or pediatrics needs a site whose patients match that focus closely.
Psychiatric courses for PMHNP students, the leadership practicums that call for a nurse administrator, and the education practicums that call for experienced academic nurse educators each narrow the field in their own way. The narrower the fit, the more clinicians we contact to find the right one. Our patient population mix page shows how ETSU reads a site.
Hours, and how many practicums you want covered
ETSU's plans of study attach very different hour loads to three-credit courses: 60 hours for the health assessment practicum, 120 for each NP specialty practicum, 180 for administration and education practicums, and 125 for each DNP residency. A preceptor agreeing to 180 hours is making a larger commitment than one agreeing to 60, and the search reflects that.
You can ask us for one course or for a whole sequence. Students who want every remaining practicum planned at once get a single quote that covers each search, which also lets us look for preceptors who can take you for more than one course. Summer counts here as well: ETSU treats it as a full clinical semester, and full-time FNP students meet their first 120-hour practicum there. See clinical hours by program for your plan's totals.
Where you live and how soon you start
Location shapes the search radius. In Johnson City, Kingsport or Knoxville there are more practices within a short drive; in a rural county, or in a state other than Tennessee, the search covers more ground. Graduate clinicals outside Tennessee need approval from the relevant regulators and are reviewed case by case, and RN to BSN students living out of state may need Tennessee hours, so your address can add steps before a preceptor is even contacted.
Timing matters just as much. A search that begins two semesters ahead can move at a steady pace; one that begins weeks before the term needs faster, more concentrated outreach, and a new agency may still need a contract. If your semester is close, say so on the form and read need a preceptor fast.
What every quote includes
Whatever the size of the search, the core of the service is the same, and it is written into every quote.
- A search for preceptors in your own community whose patients fit your ETSU course.
- Confirmation of each preceptor's interest, dates and planned hours before you submit anything.
- A complete file for the Preceptor Intent Form and the ProjectConcert onboarding entry.
- An early flag on the contract question, so the College has time to act.
- Help reading and answering any comment on a returned entry.
- A replacement search if a preceptor drops out during the placement.
Your clinical faculty approve the preceptor and the Office of Student Services verifies credentials; every item on this list exists to make that review straightforward. The full sequence is on how it works.
Costs that sit outside our quote
Some clinical costs belong to ETSU's own requirements and are paid separately, whatever route you take to a preceptor, just as tuition and program fees follow ETSU's own published schedules. ETSU's catalog puts the criminal background check, NP-student malpractice insurance and transportation to clinical sites on the student, and BSN students also pay for drug screens. Graduate students also need current CPR and the College's clinical requirements in place before clinical courses begin, and any renewals land in the same budget. Our who pays for what page lists each item with its ETSU source.
Preceptors are a separate question again. ETSU's pages say nothing about paying them, while a state-funded Tennessee incentive pays qualifying APRN preceptors directly; the preceptor incentive page explains who qualifies.
Questions ETSU students ask
Why is there no price list on this site?
Because the work behind a placement changes so much from one ETSU student to the next. A single course near Johnson City and a full FNP sequence in a rural county are different searches, and a posted price would fit neither. A written quote for your own course, town and term is clearer and fairer.
Does a quote cover more than one practicum?
It can. You choose whether to plan one course or every practicum still ahead of you, and the quote lists each course it covers. Planning several at once often helps, since some preceptors can take a student for more than one course when the population fits.
Does a search that starts late cost more?
Timing is one of the factors in every quote. A practicum starting within weeks asks for faster, more concentrated outreach and leaves less room for a new contract, and the quote reflects that work. Starting a semester or two ahead gives the search room to breathe.
Are ETSU's fees or my insurance part of the quote?
No. Tuition, the background check, NP-student malpractice insurance, immunizations and travel are ETSU requirements you meet directly, and they stay the same whichever way you find a preceptor. Keep them in your semester budget beside the placement. The quote covers our search and everything that comes with it.
Can I get a quote before my program starts?
Yes, and it is a sensible time to ask. Tell us your program, your start term and where you live, and your placement advisor can outline the searches ahead of you, beginning with your first practicum course. An early quote gives the search the most time, which helps most with population-specific courses such as pediatrics and women's health.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against ETSU's own catalog, College of Nursing pages, plans of study and ProjectConcert guides. Your plan of study, your syllabus, your course faculty and the graduate clinical coordinator have the final word.
ETSU asks you to lead the preceptor search. We make it the fastest part of your program.
Tell us your ETSU concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course's patient population and prepare everything your Preceptor Intent Form and ProjectConcert entry need.
- Preceptors matched to the course: young and middle adults for
NRSE 5012, older adults forNRSE 5014, women forNRSE 5022, children forNRSE 5024, psychiatric care forNRSE 5405 - Credentials, license numbers, certification dates and the site's patient mix ready for faculty approval
- In your own community, in Northeast Tennessee or wherever ETSU approves your clinicals
Start your placement plan
Program, city and semester is all we need to begin.