Your Miami Regional University clinicals in Virginia
Virginia is part of SARA, which opens MRU's graduate NP tracks, DNP, leadership MSN and RN-to-BSN to residents. Out-of-state and post-licensure programs fall outside what the Virginia Board of Nursing approves, so there is no state filing to wait on. The work lies in finding a preceptor, often an NP who practices with a patient care team physician.
Virginia preceptor search
Tell us your MRU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what an MRU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Which MRU programs fit a Virginia resident
MRU's online and hybrid programs require residence in Florida or a SARA state until graduation, and Virginia is a member (how that rule works). Virginia appears on MRU's 2025 NC-SARA licensure disclosure, and each of its FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP entries reads "Meets". Even so, the catalog makes its licensure commitment for Florida alone and sends everyone else to their home board before enrolling, which here means the Virginia Board of Nursing.
| Program | For Virginia residents | Delivery | Required hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN-FNP (50 credits) | Available | Onsite or online | Four clinical courses; no total printed |
| FNP Post-Master's Certificate (41 credits) | Available | Onsite or online | Same four clinical courses |
| PMHNP certificate (35 credits) | Available | Online | 765 clinical |
| AGACNP certificate (30 credits) | Available | Online plus 3 campus days, semester I | 810 clinical |
| DNP (39 credits) | Available with a Florida or Compact RN license | Offsite and online | 765 practice |
| MSN Healthcare Systems Leadership (40 credits) | Available | Onsite or online | 180 practicum |
| RN-to-BSN | Available | Onsite or online | 135 clinical |
| ASN, BSN, MSN Direct Entry | Requires campus attendance | Miami Springs | 450, 675, 495 |
No Board gate, and a statutory license exemption
In the Board's own words, out-of-state and post-licensure nursing education programs are ones it neither regulates nor approves. Two further Board requirements, an 80% share of clinical hours inside Virginia and the 18VAC90-27 rules on approving clinical sites, belong to the regime for pre-licensure programs the Board itself approves; MRU's graduate and RN-to-BSN students are outside them.
Va. Code section 54.1-3001 adds a useful detail. An RN enrolled in an advanced professional nursing program does not need a Virginia license if they hold a current, unrestricted license issued by DC, a US territory or another state, though the exemption reaches only the clinical practice their curriculum requires. MRU's approval of your preceptor and each facility's terms still apply.
The 54.1-3001 exemption stretches only to the clinical practice your MRU curriculum requires. It is not cover for other nursing work in Virginia.
Patient care teams and Virginia's health systems
In AANP's classification Virginia is restricted practice. Until an NP attests to having the equivalent of three years' full-time clinical work, Virginia requires a practice agreement in place with their patient care team physician. So a seasoned NP may precept you on their own authority, while a newer one works inside a physician team. MRU's preceptor criteria are in its handbook; see MRU's preceptor requirements.
About 3.18 million Virginians live in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro, about 1.74 million in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, about 1.39 million around Richmond and about 317,000 around Roanoke (2025 estimates). NP students commonly start with Carilion Clinic, VCU Health, Inova, Sentara Health and UVA Health. We name them to orient you; none is known to have an MRU agreement.
NPIP pays Virginia preceptors, but not for MRU students
Under Virginia's Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, preceptors licensed in Virginia (physicians, PAs, APRNs, RNs and LPNs) receive payments on a sliding scale tied to the hours they precept each semester, on a first-come, first-served basis. The program now sits with the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center rather than the Virginia Department of Health, after SB 405 was signed on 31 March 2026; the Center accepts applications for hours from 1 July 2026. The student must attend a Virginia public or private nonprofit nursing school, so an MRU rotation does not qualify.
License and health records
Virginia entered the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact on 19 January 2018; the APRN Compact has not been enacted there. Holding a Virginia multistate license settles both your clinical practice here and the DNP's Compact condition.
One requirement points back to Florida: the catalog wants your immunizations documented by a healthcare provider licensed in Florida, which takes planning from Richmond or Norfolk. Ask MRU how Virginia students meet it; our immunizations page sets out what MRU lists.
How we help in Virginia
We search your part of the state, from the Washington suburbs to Virginia Beach, Richmond or Roanoke, for a preceptor and clinical setting matched to your MRU course. We help you organize the preceptor and site information MRU reviews, and we keep searching if a preceptor falls through. MRU decides every approval. Start with the form.
Questions MRU students ask
I just moved to Virginia with another state's license. Can I still start MRU clinicals?
Virginia law lets an RN with a current, unrestricted license from another state do the clinical practice an advanced nursing program requires without a Virginia license. Tell MRU about the move, since its programs depend on where you live, and ask the facility what license it expects to see.
Does Virginia's 80% in-state clinical rule apply to MRU students?
No. That rule belongs to the Board's regulations for Virginia-approved pre-licensure programs. MRU's NP, DNP, leadership MSN and RN-to-BSN students are post-licensure students of an out-of-state school, which the Board says it does not regulate. MRU's own rules on where hours happen are in the student handbook.
Can I use a preceptor in DC or Maryland instead?
The Washington metro spans Virginia, DC and Maryland, but each jurisdiction has its own rules, and Virginia's exemption does not travel. Read our Maryland guide, confirm your license covers the site's location, and ask MRU before planning hours outside Virginia.
Does a Virginia NP need a physician's agreement to precept me?
It depends on the NP. An NP who has not yet attested to three full-time years' worth of clinical experience practices under a patient care team physician, who may want to know about a student. NPs who have made that attestation practice without one. Either way, MRU approves the preceptor before any hours count.
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.