I am starting my primary care section of my FNP program in the fall and I am starting to look for some preceptors willing to work with me. Does anyone have any advice on trying to locate preceptors? The program that I am in currently does not permit us to cold call facilities and offices. The problem is, I work on a teaching unit with all residents, so I really do not know a lot of physicians/nurse practitioners on a personal level to ask. I am in the Pittsburgh PA area. I appreciate any words of wisdom/advice. :)
At our orientation, the reason they gave us is that they do not want us all calling and overwhelming staff. I can see this to a certain point, because we do have a lot of nursing programs in this area. I might try picking up some overtime on other units to further my networking with other nurses. Thank you so much for your ideas!
As others have mentioned, sometimes cold calling is all you can do! If you have local places in mind, the other thing I can suggest is to dress like you're going for an interview, bring copies of your resume and pop into the practice in person and ask to speak with the manager. Good luck in your search!
I agree with you, this issue needs to go public. The classes alone are pretty stressful, but adding the stress of attempting to find our own preceptor is frustrating. As you said, it takes away time that I can be studying. There needs to be more of an incentive for preceptors to take on students as well.
Go to Nurse Practitioner Associations & Organizations. Locate your state and organization. Copy and paste the organization name into the search engine. You might have to join the organization to access the preceptor directory. Send emails to several (20-30 or more) preceptors or NP. I hope that this helps.
I am in the FNP program at Purdue University. I live in New York State and after I started the program, I was notified I could not complete my clinical rotations in NYS. The program to does offer assistance with placement either. I live close to the Bradford, PA border and can make the drive but I have been unsuccessful in finding a preceptor in that area. I need some help if anyone can help me. I will start in October and I am stressing.
turnforthenurse, MSN, NP
3,364 Posts
As others have mentioned, sometimes cold calling is all you can do! If you have local places in mind, the other thing I can suggest is to dress like you're going for an interview, bring copies of your resume and pop into the practice in person and ask to speak with the manager. Good luck in your search!