USU's FNP from Virginia: preceptors, practice agreements and the DC line
Virginia residents can take every USU nursing program, including the FNP. The Virginia Board of Nursing doesn't approve out-of-state programs, so the approvals that decide your placement are USU's own. What shapes your search is Virginia's practice-agreement model for NPs and the fact that Maryland and DC sites are off the table.
Looking for a Virginia preceptor for a USU course?
Tell us your course, your term and your nearest city.
USU programs open to Virginia residents
| Program | Open to Virginia residents? | Clinical or practicum hours |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Family Nurse Practitioner | Yes | 540 in FNP592, FNP594, FNP596, FNP597 |
| MSN Nurse Educator | Yes | 100 in MSN578 |
| MSN Health Care Leadership | Yes | 100 in MSN587 |
| RN-to-BSN | Yes | 90 in NUR378 and NUR499 |
| DNP (post-master's) | Yes | 1,000 post-baccalaureate |
Virginia isn't among the states USU's Board of Nursing list flags for extra clinical filings. How each FNP course breaks down is on our FNP preceptor page.
Virginia's board stays out of it; USU's approvals don't
By the Virginia Board of Nursing's own account, nursing education programs that are out-of-state or post-licensure fall outside its regulation and approval. The Board's requirement that 80% of clinical hours take place in Virginia, like the clinical-site approval rules in 18VAC90-27, applies to pre-licensure programs Virginia has approved, not to USU.
Virginia law also has a student exemption. Under Va. Code 54.1-3001, an RN enrolled in an advanced nursing program who holds a current, unrestricted license from another state needs no Virginia license for the clinical practice the curriculum requires. USU's rule is stricter: an active, unencumbered license in your state on file and in any state where you do clinicals.
With no state layer, the gates are USU's: Program Director approval of your preceptor, an Affiliation Agreement that can take 4 to 6 months, and an Office of Field Experience Approval Letter before your first hour. Our placement process page walks through them in order.
Practice agreements and who can precept you
Virginia is restricted practice in AANP's classes: unless an NP can attest to clinical experience equivalent to three full-time years, a patient care team physician must be party to a practice agreement with them. USU accepts a board-certified NP or a licensed MD or DO as your FNP preceptor, but at least 135 of your 540 hours must be with an NP. PAs aren't on USU's list of eligible FNP preceptors, even though Virginia's own preceptor incentive covers them.
In 2026 the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center took over that incentive, the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, from the Virginia Department of Health. Only preceptors of students from Virginia's public or private nonprofit nursing schools qualify, which leaves out a preceptor who takes you on as a USU student. USU offers its own perks instead, listed on our page for preceptors.
Licensing, the compact and the Maryland line
Virginia implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 19, 2018 and hasn't enacted the APRN Compact. With a Virginia multistate RN license you are covered for clinicals in Virginia and the other compact states, yet USU decides where your hours happen, and it wants them in the state where you live.
That matters most on the Virginia side of the Washington metro, home to about 3.2 million people. USU doesn't enroll or approve any nursing program in Maryland or DC, so practices there can't host your hours. The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro also reaches into North Carolina, where a site is possible only by request, and USU warns that another state's board may not accept hours earned outside your home state.
Where Virginia FNP students look
Carilion Clinic, VCU Health, UVA Health, Inova and Sentara Health are among the state's largest systems, and beyond Washington its main metros are Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke. They're examples of where students search, not sites that take USU students by arrangement, and USU never counts inpatient hours, so outpatient and primary care practices are the target.
Distance is part of the deal. USU's catalog says you must be willing to travel anywhere in your state at your own expense, and the FNP handbook says travel time isn't a valid reason to turn down a placement. In a state that runs from Virginia Beach to Roanoke, build your own list close to home well before the six-month mark.
Why Virginia students choose us
Our search starts close to home. A placement advisor looks for a Virginia NP or physician willing to precept at an outpatient practice within reach of your home, checks the match against USU's FNP rules, and helps you put together the preceptor packet USU reviews. If a preceptor backs out, we look again. Every preceptor and site gets USU's final sign-off, and the packet it sees from you is complete. Tell us your course.
Questions USU students ask
Can a physician precept all of my USU FNP hours in Virginia?
No. A licensed MD or DO can precept USU FNP students, but at least 135 of your 540 hours must be with an NP, and USU highly recommends spending most hours with FNP preceptors. Under Virginia's patient care team model, look for a practice where both an NP and a physician can take you.
Will my Virginia preceptor get anything for taking a USU student?
Not from Virginia's Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, which covers only preceptors of students at Virginia nursing schools. USU itself offers preceptors a tuition discount on some USU programs, continuing education, online library access and an unpaid Honorary Clinical Faculty title for 135 service hours a year. USU doesn't pay preceptors.
Could USU's Office of Field Experience offer me a site in Roanoke if I live in Norfolk?
It could. USU expects you to travel anywhere in your state at your own expense, and travel time isn't an accepted reason to decline. If you turn down an OFE-offered placement or don't answer within 24 business hours, you're back to self-placing. A strong list of local leads is the best way to avoid a long drive.
Do I need a separate Virginia license if my multistate license is from another compact state?
A multistate license from another compact state covers practice in Virginia, and Virginia law also exempts out-of-state RNs in advanced nursing programs for required clinical practice. USU's rules still decide: For MSN admission you need an unencumbered RN license from your home state, and each state that hosts a clinical needs you to hold an active license there. Confirm the details with your CPC.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against USU's own catalog, handbooks and disclosures. USU's current handbook and your Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
Six months out is USU's rule. We start now.
Tell us your USU program, your state and when your next practicum opens. We look for preceptors who meet USU's rules and help you build the packet the Office of Field Experience and Program Director review.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice, pediatrics, women's health, urgent care within USU's caps
- Appendix H, license, CV and board certification gathered the way OFE asks
- In person near you; telehealth only inside USU's 40-hour limit
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a USU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.