ALERT Regis College Direct-Entry Program--need to find our own NP preceptor!!! HELP

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To all the nurses or nursing student that are accepted to another NP or direct-entry program

DO NOT ATTEND REGIS COLLEGE IF YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. I am in my last year of the program where you need a nurse practitioner to precept you. You have to complete 600 hours of clinicals for the year. THEY MAKE YOU FIND YOUR OWN PRECEPTORS. I got a mid-term warning notice a couple of weeks ago because they failed to find me an np preceptor and I couldn't find my own. They do not have a strong affilliation or relationship with surrounding hospitals. Most schools are very surprised that students have to find their own preceptors in the last year of the program. The last year of school is alread very stessful, do you really want the added stress of finding your own np preceptor. Most np's do no like to take students b/c they slow then down and they don't get paid extra. If you do not know a few np's from different specialities the chances of getting a preceptor is slim to none. I am paying approximately $40,000 for my education and I have to find my own preceptor, are you kidding me?

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Wow that sounds pretty stressful! I would hope the school would be able to hook you up with someone. Is there an alumni network or facebook page/group of last years graduates? Maybe you can get someone via last years preceptors? What state are you in? Maybe someone here can help you find a preceptor?

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they cant be serious.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.
What state are you in? Maybe someone here can help you find a preceptor?

Regis College is located in Boston, MA.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I would give the same warning to ANYONE entering an NP program. Check out the situation at your school before you invest. A lot of schools do not find preceptors for their students, particularly online ones. It's common practice for graduate students to have to find their own clinical preceptors -- particularly in NP programs. Even otherwise excellent schools do it.

The schools collect the money, the student finds their own preceptor ... and practicing professionals are asked to donate their time to serve as preceptors and do the actual teaching for free.

I agree with the OP that it is a disgrace. But the sad part is, it is not just this one school ... it is many, many schools.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

I would just like to clarify that I have not heard of any NP program anywhere where preceptors receive compensation from the school. I have precepted NP students from 3 different institutions. My colleagues and I pretty much vounteer our time to teach future NP's as a way to give back to our alma mater and the NP profession in general. Some institutions grant adjunct clinical faculty status and/or volunteer assistant professor status to NP preceptors. The only tangible incentive one gets in precepting an NP student is the credits you gain toward recertification.

With that said, the more established non-online program formats typically have a pool of alumni in clinical practice who are willing to precept students from the NP program they graduated from. That's how these NP programs are able to arrange clinical placements for their students. online programs operate outside of the students locale which obviously makes it difficult for such programs to have a pool of qualified NP preceptors in any given geographical area of the US.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Finding your own preceptors is nothing new. Many schools have adopted this so that the student can individualize their own experiences.

I can see that as a direct entry program though this is going to be difficult.

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Just curious, was this stated in the fine print before you signed up? Or was this info thrust upon you at the last minute? I'm not familiar with NP programs and I was just curious.

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All schools have difficulty finding preceptors!!! Regis is one of the better ones - they have a full time staff member whose only task is to secure NP placements! I've looked at all the programs for fall, and have had friends pursuing most of the programs around the Boston area, and know that Regis is definitely one of the more invested in helping students find preceptors. Students are told at most of the schools to try to network early on. This is not a unique problem to any program!

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I am a CNS, not an NP, but when I was in graduate school in a program that included several NP tracks, all the clinical placements were arranged by the school and supervised/precepted by school faculty in facilities/organizations with which the school had ongoing relationships (of course, this was not a distance or on-line program), same as clinical placements in "regular" nursing school. I can't imagine paying tuition to a graduate program that expected me to find my own clinical instructors -- I never heard of such a thing until I starting visiting this site.

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Are you able and/or willing to leave the Boston area to complete? Is this even possible--do you continue to have classes or just clinical? What is your area of certification? I have a friend that is a peds NP here in Rochester NY-- not sure of your specialty or ability to move.

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Hi,

I know this response is a year later, but I'm hoping you read this and can respond. I go to Regis and I'm pretty much in the exact same position you were in last year. I've been looking for preceptors since April and I've only found one. The school is not exactly answering my questions, nor have I found a placement through them. I'm now considering dropping out of the program and getting a job instead, but I need to have more information before I make this decision. I was wondering if you or anybody from the previous GM class can give me some info on how the school handled finding preceptors for students who don't have them. Also, any advice on whether dropping out from Regis and continuing at another school in the future is a good decision. I'm fed up with the school at this point so it seems like the better option now but I need someone who has gone through this experience to let me know whether dropping out is as necessary as I think. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

-Dot84

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