Miami Regional University programs for Washington State nurses
Washington belongs to SARA, so MRU's residency rule lets you enroll from Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver or Kennewick. It is also among the strictest states for out-of-state schools: no program may place a student in a Washington clinical, at any level, until WAC 246-840-571 approval from WABON, the Washington State Board of Nursing, is in hand.
Washington clinical help
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.
MRU programs and a Washington address
Washington's SARA membership satisfies MRU's requirement that online students live in a member state or Florida throughout (residency rule). MRU's NC-SARA disclosure, reviewed in August 2025, rates FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP "Meets" for Washington. The catalog promises licensure fit only for Florida, though, and points students in other states to their own board, in your case WABON.
| Program | Enroll from Washington? | Format | Clinical or practice hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN-FNP and FNP certificate | Yes; Washington hours need WABON approval | Onsite or online | Four clinical courses, no printed total |
| PMHNP certificate | Yes; same approval question | Online | 765 |
| AGACNP certificate | Yes; same approval question | Online with a 3-day Miami Springs weekend | 810 |
| DNP (leadership) | Yes, with a Florida or Compact RN license; Washington practice hours raise the approval question | Offsite and online | 765 practice |
| MSN Healthcare Systems Leadership | Yes; a Washington practicum raises it too | Onsite or online | 180 practicum |
| RN-to-BSN | Yes; WABON's list covers RN-BSN too | Onsite or online | 135 |
| ASN, BSN, MSN Direct Entry | On campus only | Miami Springs | 450 / 675 / 495 |
WAC 246-840-571: approval first, hours second
Washington's rule applies to every out-of-state distance learning program that wants students in clinical or practice experiences in the state. WABON's approved list includes RN-BSN, MSN and NP tracks, and WABON says approved placements are authorized only for students who live in Washington, with exceptions case by case.
- Apply to WABONThe program submits an application before any student starts in Washington.
- Show equivalencyIt demonstrates that it meets Washington's standards for nursing programs.
- Supervise locallyIt supervises and evaluates its students in Washington; faculty teaching ARNP practice there need a Washington ARNP license.
- Keep it currentIt stays nationally accredited and files annual reports.
WABON publishes the approved list; the edition checked for this page is dated 21 September 2026, and programs placing students without being on it are asked to contact WABON's education unit. Check the current list for Miami Regional University and your program yourself, and raise it with MRU's Office of Academic Affairs. WABON filed a CR-101 on 5 December 2025 to reopen these rules, including clinical placement barriers, so they may change.
Check WABON's list for MRU and your program before you accept a Washington preceptor. Without that approval, Washington hours cannot start.
Full practice, and who may precept an ARNP student
AANP lists Washington as full practice; the state calls its NPs ARNPs. The same rule sets who may precept an ARNP student: someone holding an active, unencumbered license as an ARNP, MD or DO, or another state's equivalent, who is neither a relative nor a personal friend. MRU adds its own criteria from the portal handbook (MRU's preceptor requirements).
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue held about 4.16 million people in 2025. Spokane-Spokane Valley had roughly 608,000 and Kennewick-Richland close to 324,000, while some 545,000 Washingtonians live in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro. NP students tend to approach MultiCare Health System, Providence (including Providence Swedish, based in Renton), PeaceHealth, UW Medicine and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health; we name them for orientation only.
The Washington preceptor grant leaves MRU out
Created by the legislature, the Washington State Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant is administered by WABON. It reimburses ARNP, LPN and RN preceptors who have a year or more of experience, for each student precepted for at least 80 hours, to a limit of two students per term. ARNP students are eligible in every cycle, yet out-of-state programs are excluded by WABON even if the hours are done in Washington, so an MRU rotation earns nothing.
Licensing after Washington joined the Compact
Washington has been part of the Nurse Licensure Compact since 31 January 2024. Your Washington multistate license covers clinicals here once a program is approved, and it satisfies the DNP's license condition. Washington has not enacted the APRN Compact. See clinicals outside Florida for the MRU side.
Why Washington students choose us
Here the program's approval comes first, and our search is ready to go the moment MRU has it. Once MRU confirms Washington placements are possible for your program, we search your area for a preceptor who meets the ARNP rule and suits your MRU course. We also help you get the details MRU reviews in order, and look again if a preceptor leaves. Ask us.
Questions MRU students ask
Is MRU on WABON's approved out-of-state program list?
Check the list itself: WABON posts it on its education page, and the September 2026 edition is linked in the sources below. Search it for Miami Regional University and the specific program you are in, then confirm with MRU. Programs that place students without being listed are asked to contact WABON's education unit.
Can an ARNP friend of mine precept me in Washington?
No. Washington's rule bars preceptors of ARNP students from being related to the student or a personal friend. Choose someone you know only professionally, or ask us to search. MRU would also need to approve whoever you pick, using criteria in its student handbook.
I live in Vancouver. Can I train in Portland instead?
A Portland site is in Oregon, so Oregon's rules for out-of-state programs apply there, not Washington's, and your license must cover Oregon practice. Read our Oregon guide, and raise the idea with MRU before you commit to hours outside Washington.
Could Washington's clinical placement rules change?
Yes. WABON opened rulemaking with a CR-101 filed on 5 December 2025, covering WAC 246-840-500 through -571, the education rules that hold the out-of-state approval requirement; clinical placement barriers are one of the listed topics. The current approval requirement stays in force until any new rules are adopted.
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.