Precepting a Miami Regional University nursing student
MRU nurse practitioner students find their own preceptors, and MRU approves each preceptor before the student's clinical hours begin. If an MRU student has asked you to precept, this is what the catalog says the arrangement involves: approval, licensing, the course setting, the student's records and a signed evaluation at the end.
Open to precepting an MRU student?
Tell us your specialty, where you practice and the MRU courses your practice could support.
MSN6400, the FNP capstone, per its course description
Why MRU students are asking you directly
MRU's catalog tells students in the MSN-FNP and in the FNP, PMHNP and AGACNP post-master's certificates that they are required to secure their own preceptor, and the new MSN in Healthcare Systems Leadership follows the same model. That is why the request usually comes from the student, not from the university.
A student who cannot find one is appointed a preceptor by MRU for an additional fee. The campus is in Miami Springs, and students in MRU's online NP programs may live in Florida or any SARA member state, so the student asking you may be local or may be training near a home far from Miami.
MRU approves you before the first shift
Nothing starts until MRU says yes. Under the catalog, approval has to be in place before the preceptorship begins, and a different MRU office or role gives it depending on the program: the Office of Academic Affairs for MSN-FNP, the FNP certificate and AGACNP; the Program Coordinator or the same office for PMHNP, depending on the document; a graduate clinical coordinator for the leadership MSN; and program faculty for DNP practicum arrangements.
MRU also verifies preceptor credentials, and lists a Practicum Credentialing Fee in students' program costs for that check. The exact documents it asks for are in the nursing student handbook, which is not public, so expect the student to ask for your license and certification details and for whatever else MRU's current forms request.
Please do not supervise hours before approval arrives. MRU requires all practicum hours to be completed with a University-approved preceptor, so time spent before approval does not help the student.
Who can precept, and Florida's license rule
Florida's Board of Nursing sets the baseline in rule 64B9-4.001(13). Its qualified preceptor is a certified APRN in active practice, a licensed physician (MD or DO) or a licensed dentist, and at a Florida site that license has to be a Florida one. No minimum number of years in practice appears in the rule.
MRU's own preceptor criteria live in the student handbook rather than the public catalog, so MRU may ask for more than the state rule does. The leadership MSN is the one track with a published standard: its MSN5855 preceptor must be a nurse with a master's degree or higher working in administration and management.
If your practice is outside Florida, the rules of your own state govern the clinical setting, and the student will need an RN license that is valid there. Preceptor requirements and Florida protocol and autonomous practice go into more detail.
What each MRU course needs from your practice
Match your practice to the course before you agree. MRU prints clinical hours for its certificates; for the MSN-FNP it prints none, so the FNP figures below are our calculation from MRU's rule of 45 clinical hours per credit.
| Course | Clinical hours | Patients and setting |
|---|---|---|
MSN5700 | 225 (calculated) | Adults and older adults in a community, clinic or primary care practice |
MSN6050 | 135 (calculated) | Women's health, from menarche to the end of pregnancy |
MSN6150 | 135 (calculated) | Infants to adolescents, with sports physicals depending on the site |
MSN6400 | At least 180 per its description | Patients across the lifespan in one clinical setting |
MSN5056C, MSN6057C | 180 each | Psychiatric care of adults and families, then children, adolescents and adults |
MSN6065C | 405 | Psychiatric care across the lifespan, including co-occurring diagnoses and substance use |
MSN5040C, MSN5041C, MSN5042C | 225, 225, 360 | Acutely ill adults: musculoskeletal and reproductive; cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological; endocrine, GI and multisystem |
MSN5855 | 180 | Nursing leadership in administration and management |
The student's records and your signature
The student keeps the records. MRU requires logs, case lists and supporting documentation, in Typhon for MSN-FNP students and in myevaluation.com for DNP students; the certificate tracks follow their syllabus. Confirm only the time and encounters the student actually completed with you, because MRU fails, and can dismiss, students over falsified logs.
At the end, MRU needs an evaluation signed by three people: you, the student's clinical instructor and the student. It must be complete by the course's last day or the student fails the course, so please plan to be reachable in the final week. MRU publishes no schedule of faculty site visits. MRU's end-of-course evaluation explains the timing.
What the student must clear before arriving
MRU students arrive with their own clearance, handled through American Data Bank, with CastleBranch also named for PMHNP students.
- A Level II background check with fingerprints, and any later change reported to MRU in writing within 24 hours
- Zero-tolerance drug screening, including random tests
- Immunization proof from a Florida-licensed provider, an annual flu shot, titers, CPR and a physical
- Their own liability insurance policy, which MRU needs proof of at least 15 days ahead of the externship
- Current ACLS and BLS for AGACNP students
MRU's conduct rules travel with the student: HIPAA and your site's privacy policies, English only during externship hours unless your agency authorizes otherwise in writing, no phones on the floor and no tobacco or e-cigarettes. MRU may also share background check information with externship agencies. Clinical site rules has the full list.
Working with us
We introduce MRU students whose course fits your practice, gather the details MRU asks for, and stay in touch through the course. If your circumstances change, we look for another preceptor so the student is not stranded.
If you work inside a health system, your employer may have its own student policy and affiliation requirements, so check those first. Tell us about your practice with the form on this page or through the contact page.
Questions MRU students ask
Do I sign an agreement with MRU to precept a student?
MRU does not publish its preceptor or site agreement forms; they sit in the nursing student handbook on the student portal. Ask the student for the current paperwork early. If you practice inside a health system, check its student policy as well, because the South Florida systems that publish one require a school affiliation agreement.
Can a physician precept an MRU nurse practitioner student?
Under Florida's rule, yes: a licensed MD or DO qualifies as a preceptor alongside a certified practicing APRN, provided the license is a Florida one when the site is in Florida. MRU applies its own criteria on top, set out in its handbook, so the student should confirm with MRU before you begin.
How many hours a week would an MRU student need?
It depends on the course and on how many weeks it runs. MSN6065C carries 405 clinical hours, for example, while each RN-to-BSN preceptorship course carries 45. MRU runs 16-week semesters with two 8-week modules, and the student's syllabus sets the exact span. Agree a realistic weekly schedule before approval so the hours fit.
Does MRU pay preceptors?
MRU's public catalog and program pages do not describe any preceptor compensation, and this site does not discuss pay rates. If it matters to your decision, ask the student to raise the question with MRU before you agree to precept.
What if I have to stop precepting partway through?
Tell the student and their clinical instructor as early as you can. The student has to finish every hour by the course's last day, and any replacement preceptor needs MRU approval before taking over, so notice time matters. Once the student asks us, we start looking for a replacement straight away.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against MRU's own catalog, addenda and program pages. The nursing student handbook on the MRU student portal and MRU's Office of Academic Affairs have the final word.
MRU says secure your own preceptor. We start the search now.
Tell us your MRU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We look for preceptors who fit the course and help you gather what MRU checks before approving them.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for
MSN5700, women's health, pediatrics, psychiatric or acute care - Credentials, license and site details collected before MRU's credential check
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, or wherever in a SARA state you live
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.