ETSU MSN Nursing Administration: three practicums with a nurse administrator near you
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) delivers its MSN Nursing Administration concentration entirely online, with no trips to campus. Its 540 clinical hours come from three 180-hour Executive Leadership practicums, completed with a nurse administrator preceptor at a site near you, beginning in the first summer.
Find your nurse administrator preceptor
Tell us where you live and when Practicum I starts.
What the concentration trains you to do
This concentration teaches how large health organizations work and how to run them: systems thinking, organizational theory, money and leadership. ETSU aims it at nurses heading for posts anywhere from managing a unit to the executive suite, most often inside hospitals and other big providers, and its graduates can sit for ANCC's Nurse Executive exam.
All courses are asynchronous and there is no campus requirement. Students enter each fall after applying by May 1, and the full-time plan runs five semesters while the part-time plan runs seven. Your first two semesters are coursework only, including NRSE 5501 Leadership in Nursing Administration and NRSE 5590 in fall, then NRSE 5510 and NRSE 5530 in spring. That gives you two terms to find the preceptor for the first practicum.
The three Executive Leadership practicums
ETSU's 2023 plans of study list three practicum courses of 3 credits and 180 hours each. Both the full-time and part-time plans place them in the same three semesters, so your practicum calendar holds steady at either pace.
| Course | Plan semester | Hours | Taken alongside |
|---|---|---|---|
NRSE 5502 Executive Leadership Practicum I | Summer (semester 3) | 180 | NRSE 5006, NRSE 5520 |
NRSE 5503 Executive Leadership Practicum II | Fall (semester 4) | 180 | NRSE 6002, NRSE 5580, NRSE 5550 |
NRSE 5504 Executive Leadership Practicum III | Spring (semester 5) | 180 | NRSE 6513 Case Management |
According to the 2026-27 catalog, Practicum I is your introduction to the nurse executive role, learned alongside a nurse administrator who serves as preceptor. Course-level detail is on the Executive Leadership practicums page. Plans dated 2023 are the source here, so line them up with your own catalog year before you schedule anything.
Why 180 hours per course changes the ask
In ETSU's plans, an NP specialty practicum pairs 3 credits with 120 hours, while each administration practicum pairs the same 3 credits with 180. That is half again as much preceptor time per course, and Practicum I lands in summer, when the complete term on ETSU's approved 2027 calendar runs May 17 to August 13. The ratio is worked out from the plans rather than stated as a rule; our hours per credit page explains it.
A preceptor who agrees to 180 hours is giving you real access to leadership work in the areas the concentration teaches: complex systems, organizational decisions, financial management and leadership itself. When you approach a nurse leader, state the full commitment up front, three practicums across summer, fall and spring, so they can judge whether their calendar fits before they say yes.
Finding a nurse administrator preceptor
ETSU Online's MSN FAQ applies to administration students too: the coordinator's contacts and past-preceptor records are there to help, and the active search is your job. ETSU Online also says each practicum is done with a preceptor at a location near you.
ETSU's track-specific guidance is not published at the moment. The Nursing Administration and Executive Leadership placement guidelines and preceptor orientation files that once sat on its site now return "page not found," and ETSU's live pages set no written minimum for a preceptor's title, years in leadership or degree. Before you contact anyone, find out from the coordinator and the practicum faculty what profile they want. Tennessee's preceptor rule and ETSU's evidence on credentials are gathered on who can precept an ETSU student.
If you already work in a hospital or large provider, your own organization may be an option. ETSU publishes no policy on employer placements, though its preceptor form does flag them; see clinicals where you work before you plan around your employer.
Paperwork designed around the NP tracks
The Preceptor Intent Form on ETSU's site was built for nurse practitioner courses. The only concentrations you can tick are the three NP tracks, and its patient grid sorts a site's caseload by age group and women's health, a layout made for NP clinics rather than leadership placements. It still lists a single NRSE 5500 Executive Leadership Practicum instead of today's NRSE 5502, 5503 and 5504. Ask the graduate clinical coordinator which version administration students should submit and how to fill the fields that do not fit a leadership placement.
Past the form, administration students follow the common graduate route. You upload the form and your preceptor's CV to a ProjectConcert onboarding entry, faculty review and approve, the Office of Student Services checks the credentials, and the site's contract has to exist before hours begin. Field-by-field help is on the Intent Form guide.
Hoping to keep one preceptor and site for all three practicums? ETSU's pages neither require nor forbid it, so ask faculty before Practicum I begins.
Where the concentration can lead
The same three practicums open ETSU's BSN-DNP Executive Leadership plan, also called Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, which then adds four 125-hour DNP residencies. That plan states 1,040 hours, while its full-time version adds up to 980; the DNP leadership page sets out the conflict. At the doctoral level, ETSU says leadership graduates qualify for ANCC's advanced nurse executive credential.
Nurses who already hold an MSN in another area can take ETSU's Post-Graduate Nursing Administration certificate instead: 24 credits, usually five semesters, fall admission with a May 1 deadline, and eligibility for the ANCC Nurse Executive exam on completion.
How we help ETSU administration students
A 180-hour request is a serious ask of a busy nurse executive, and making that ask well is what we are built for. We identify nurse leaders in your own community who hold the kind of role faculty look for and have the time to host you, confirm their interest, and gather their credentials, degrees, license numbers and your planned hours for the paperwork. Where faculty allow it, we look for someone who can stay with you from Practicum I through Practicum III.
We mention the contract requirement on day one, so the College can arrange it well before summer. The yes or no on each preceptor belongs to ETSU faculty, with credentials checked by the College; our contribution is an administration submission that arrives with every field filled and every document attached. If a preceptor's circumstances change, we find a replacement fast. Tell us about your plans in the form below.
Questions ETSU students ask
Do I have to visit campus for ETSU's Nursing Administration MSN?
No. ETSU Online says the courses are asynchronous and students do not come to campus. The three practicum courses happen in person, with a preceptor at a location near you, which makes the preceptor search the main logistical task in this concentration rather than travel to Johnson City.
When does the first administration practicum start?
In your first summer, which is semester 3 at either pace. NRSE 5502 carries 180 hours, followed by NRSE 5503 in fall and NRSE 5504 in spring. Because the concentration starts in fall, you have two semesters of coursework to secure your first preceptor and let the contract be set up.
Can my own manager be my preceptor?
No ETSU page addresses precepting by your own manager or on your own unit. Your employment at the site will show on the preceptor form, and faculty take it into account. Ask course faculty before you approach your manager, and keep a second candidate at another site in case they prefer a fresh setting.
What should I send a nurse leader when I ask them to precept?
Keep it concrete: the course numbers, 180 hours per practicum, the semesters involved and the site address. Explain that ETSU will need their degrees, license numbers with state and expiration date, any certification numbers, and a CV to attach to your ProjectConcert entry. Mention that ETSU requires a contract to be in place before hours begin.
Is Nursing Administration the same as Executive Leadership at ETSU?
They are closely linked. At the MSN level the concentration is called Nursing Administration, and its practicums are titled Executive Leadership Practicum I to III. At the DNP level, ETSU's plan PDFs say Executive Leadership, the College DNP page says Executive Leadership/Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, and ETSU Online says Nursing and Healthcare Leadership.
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
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