ETSU nursing students in Washington
In Washington an online program's clinical placement needs the nursing board's blessing first, and that covers MSN and NP tracks as well as RN to BSN. East Tennessee State University (ETSU) adds a second question, because its College of Nursing lists Washington as not yet determined while its university consumer pages say the MSN and DNP meet requirements.
Living in Washington?
Tell us your region, your ETSU course and whether you are a Washington resident. We start with the approval questions.
WABON approval before any placement
Washington's rule for distance programs based elsewhere, WAC 246-840-571, puts the Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON) in front of every clinical or practice placement in the state. A school applies, proves its program is equivalent to Washington's standards, oversees and grades its students' Washington work, keeps its national accreditation and reports each year. Whoever teaches ARNP practice for it in Washington holds a Washington ARNP license.
WABON's roster of approved schools already includes RN to BSN, MSN and NP tracks. Approval carries a residency limit too: WABON authorizes these placements for Washington residents, and anyone else is an exception considered case by case. ETSU publishes nothing about holding Washington approval, so raise it with the College before recruiting anyone, alongside ETSU's review of clinicals outside Tennessee.
Without WABON approval for the program, a Washington placement cannot go ahead: get the College's answer first.
ETSU's two answers for Washington
| Disclosure page | Programs | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| College of Nursing MSN page, updated September 2025 | BSN and MSN | Not yet determined |
| College of Nursing DNP page, updated April 2026 | ETSU DNP and ETSU-TTU joint DNP | Not yet determined |
| University consumer information pages, June 2025 tables | MSN and DNP | Meets |
| University consumer information page, July 2024 | ETSU-TTU joint DNP | Meets |
One ETSU page has not decided Washington; the other calls it compliant for the MSN, the ETSU DNP and the joint DNP. ETSU does not say which prevails, so confirm your program with the College of Nursing and with WABON before enrolling. ETSU's licensure disclosures compares all states.
Preceptors Washington will accept
Washington's education rules add two tests for anyone precepting an ARNP student. The license must be an active, unencumbered ARNP, MD or DO license, or another state's equivalent. And family members or personal friends of the student are barred from the role, which closes off the easiest ask many students have. Plan on a professional introduction instead.
Washington is a full practice state on AANP's map, so seasoned ARNPs there work on their own authority. Physicians also appear among the credential examples on ETSU's Preceptor Intent Form. For what ETSU faculty weigh when they review a candidate, see preceptor requirements.
Seattle, Spokane and Kennewick-Richland
About 4.2 million people live in greater Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue included; the Spokane area holds around 608,000 and Kennewick-Richland some 324,000, while roughly 545,000 Washingtonians live on the state's side of the Portland metro. NP students look at UW Medicine, MultiCare Health System, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, PeaceHealth and Renton-based Providence, which includes Providence Swedish. These names sketch the market; none is presented as a site held for ETSU.
A preceptor across the Columbia River brings Oregon's rules, and ETSU's university pages list Oregon as not meeting requirements; read the Oregon guide before accepting that rotation.
Licenses, grants and pending rule changes
Washington's compact membership went live on January 31, 2024. Since then, a multistate credential from your own compact state covers Washington clinicals and meets ETSU's DNP rule, while the APRN Compact is not in effect. See the RN license page.
The Washington State Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant pays qualifying preceptors per student, but WABON excludes out-of-state programs from it, even when every hour is logged in Washington. In December 2025 WABON also filed a CR-101 notice opening rulemaking on its education rules, including barriers to clinical placement, so recheck the rules before each term.
Why Washington students choose us
Washington rewards a search that settles approval and residency before it turns to people. We confirm those answers with you, then find an ARNP or physician in your region with no personal tie to you and a patient mix suited to your ETSU course. We complete the Intent Form and ProjectConcert details and raise the contract with the College early. Clinical faculty approve and the Office of Student Services verifies; the file they open from us is complete. Start with our form.
Questions ETSU students ask
Can I do ETSU clinicals in Washington?
Only when three things line up: the program holds WABON approval for out-of-state distance education, you are a Washington resident or WABON grants an exception, and ETSU approves the placement after its own review. ETSU does not publish its WABON status, so ask the College of Nursing before you approach any preceptor.
Does ETSU's MSN meet Washington's licensure requirements?
ETSU gives two answers. The College of Nursing's MSN page, dated September 2025, calls Washington not yet determined; the MSN page in ETSU's consumer information section, with tables last updated in June 2025, says the program meets Washington's requirements. Confirm with the College and WABON before you enroll.
Can a friend or family member precept me in Washington?
Washington's rules exclude preceptors who are related to the ARNP student or are personal friends. The preceptor must hold an ARNP, MD or DO license that is active and unencumbered, and ETSU's clinical faculty must approve them. We search for qualified clinicians you have no personal tie to, which keeps the placement on solid ground.
Can a Washington preceptor claim WABON's grant for teaching me?
Not for an ETSU student. WABON's Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant leaves out programs based in other states, even for hours completed in Washington, and it leaves out RN to BSN programs as well. ARNP students of Washington programs can count toward it in any cycle, which is why local preceptors may bring it up.
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.