Graceland University's two-preceptor rule, practicum by practicum
Across your three Graceland University practicums you need at least two different preceptors. Any one practicum can have two at most, no preceptor may cover more than two of your three terms, and each practicum needs one primary preceptor. The rule is easy to meet when all three practicums are planned together and awkward to repair one term at a time.
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Tell us your Graceland program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
The rule in four parts
The 2026 Graduate Student Handbook spreads the rule across three places: the guide to selecting a preceptor, the list of conditions before a practicum starts, and a line repeated at the end of the FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP sections. Read together, it has four parts.
- At least two different preceptors across your three practicums; the handbook writes "MUST" in capitals.
- No more than two preceptors in any one practicum.
- One preceptor for at most two of your three practicum terms.
- A primary preceptor for every practicum, the person Graceland's faculty stay in touch with through the term.
The first and third parts reinforce each other: if one preceptor can cover only two terms, the third term needs someone else. The handbook adds that extra sites and preceptors are not allowed without paperwork and approval, so anyone beyond your primary preceptor needs their own Appendix B and approval before their hours count.
What a plan looks like in each track
The combinations below are examples that satisfy the count. Your course rules and the lead faculty for each practicum decide what fits you.
| Track | A plan that fits the rule | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| FNP | Preceptor A, a family practice NP who sees many children, for NURS6740 and NURS6830; Preceptor B in internal medicine for NURS6760 | NURS6830 is always last; in family practice, pediatric hours need a preceptor seeing 6-10 children a day |
| AGACNP | A hospitalist for NURS5450, an ICU clinician for NURS5460, an intensivist or ED practitioner for NURS5470 | NURS5450 can use both of its preceptor slots on a hospitalist plus a pulmonologist |
| PMHNP | A certified PMHNP for NURS6841 and NURS6842, a psychiatrist for NURS6843 | Order is fixed; every preceptor is a psychiatrist or certified PMHNP; the 100/100/100 age mix may call for different practices |
Post-graduate certificate students and BSN-to-DNP students take the same three practicums in their track, so the same count applies to them.
Where AGACNP students hit the ceiling
The per-practicum cap bites hardest in the AGACNP track. NURS5450 Chronic Care asks for at least 150 hours with an internist or hospitalist and at least 75 with a pulmonologist. With two different clinicians, that practicum has used both of its preceptor slots before any substitute day, leaving no room for a third person if a schedule falls apart.
Graceland offers a way around it: the two requirements can be combined when the hospitalist sees pulmonology patients, which keeps the second slot open as a backup. NURS5460 has a similar pattern, since up to 75 of its 225 hours may be spent in one specialty such as cardiology or neurology, often with someone other than the ICU preceptor.
Ask early whether one clinician can cover both halves of a course. A single preceptor for all 225 hours of NURS5450 is the sturdiest plan, and it holds the second slot in reserve for the week something goes wrong.
Two preceptors in one practicum doubles the paperwork
Each preceptor and each site carries its own paperwork. Two preceptors at two different sites mean two Appendix A requests, two Appendix B forms, two site contracts and two approval emails. One preceptor working from three offices is the mirror case: one Appendix B, but three Appendix A requests, three contracts and three approval emails, one per address.
Graceland approves the most hours the practicum allows for each preceptor, so a split between two preceptors is not fixed on paper in advance. Your hours still have to reach the course total and patient count, and each preceptor completes a midterm and final evaluation in Typhon. Prompting both of them on time is your job, and missing evaluations can block your progress in the course.
Adding the second preceptor late runs into a cutoff a fortnight before term; changing or adding a preceptor has the timing.
The primary preceptor's job
Graceland encourages one primary preceptor per practicum and requires that you have one. Faculty stay in contact with your primary preceptor during the practicum, random midterm site visits are arranged between preceptor and instructor, and the short-term substitute allowance applies only at your primary site. If the primary role has to move to someone else mid-term, tell the contract coordinators so faculty know whom to call.
Make the primary preceptor the clinician who will carry most of the hours and knows the course goals. If two preceptors split a practicum closely, make it clear to both of them and to the contract coordinators which one is primary before the term begins. That person should have the one-page Preceptor Information and Responsibilities handout and your evaluation dates. Evaluations and site visits explains what faculty expect from them.
Build the NP hours into the count
Two more considerations ride on the same plan. Graceland advises logging 120 or more of your practicum hours alongside an APRN or NP, and certification by ANCC or AANP depends on at least one documented NP or APRN experience. Iowa's preceptorship rule for the ARNP programs its board approves, which include Graceland's, also asks that most precepted time be with an ARNP or physician who shares your role and population focus.
A plan built around physicians can meet Graceland's count and still miss the NP recommendation. When you choose the preceptor who will cover two terms, consider making that person an NP: one decision then settles the count, the recommendation and the continuity you want. Preceptor requirements has the qualification details.
Common ways plans break the rule
- Booking one favorite preceptor for all three practicums
- Stacking a hospitalist, a pulmonologist and a fill-in clinician in
NURS5450, one over the limit - Letting a helpful colleague precept past the substitute allowance without Appendix B, so hours beyond 40 go uncounted
- Scheduling
NURS6830before the pediatric or adult practicum, when Graceland makes Family the final FNP practicum - Leaving the search for a second preceptor until the first practicum ends, when the next deadline is already close
- Asking to add a second preceptor inside the two weeks before the term
Each of these is easier to prevent than to repair, because once a preceptor has agreed and the forms are filed, Graceland prefers that the arrangement stand. Catch a plan that breaks the count before anyone files Appendix B.
How we plan all three practicums at once
Graceland students pick us because we plan the whole sequence, not just the next term. We line up the preceptor who can take two of your practicums and the second who completes the set, check each against your course's setting and patient mix, and build in an NP for your certification hours. For AGACNP students we look for hospitalists who see pulmonology patients, so NURS5450 keeps a spare slot.
Each preceptor comes with the details for Appendix A and Appendix B, timed for your next paperwork deadline and well clear of the cutoff for added preceptors. When a plan needs to change, we are on call with a replacement. See how it works, or send your track and city through the contact page and we start from your next deadline.
Questions Graceland students ask
Can the same preceptor take me for two Graceland practicums?
Yes. A preceptor may be used for up to two of your three practicum terms, provided their practice fits each course. A family practice NP who sees plenty of children, for example, could cover FNP Pediatrics and Family. The third practicum then needs a different preceptor, and every term needs a new Appendix B.
Does a substitute preceptor count toward the two-preceptor limit?
Graceland's substitute allowance lets one fill-in clinician work with you briefly at your primary site without paperwork, and past its 40-hour ceiling that person must be added as a second preceptor with an approved Appendix B. Whether a short substitute counts as one of your two different preceptors across three practicums is not stated, so plan a full second preceptor instead.
Is a preceptor with two offices counted as two preceptors?
No. It is one preceptor and two sites. Graceland needs one Appendix B from that preceptor, but a separate Appendix A, site contract and approval email for each office where you see patients. Hours at an office without its own approval email cannot be counted, even with the same preceptor beside you.
Can I have three preceptors in one practicum if each covers a few days?
No. The track sections limit each practicum to two preceptors. Beyond those two, the only other clinician you may work with is a single short-term substitute at your primary site. If a third person starts to look necessary, speak with the lead faculty for the course and the contract team before any hours are logged.
Does the rule apply if I started before August 2023?
Yes. The count rules sit in the current handbook's sections for every NP track. Students who matriculated before August 1, 2023 may be on 600 or 540 total hours instead of 750, but they still need at least two different preceptors, no more than two per practicum and a primary preceptor in each.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Graceland's own catalog, program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your handbook, your track coordinator and the contract coordinators have the final word.
Graceland's practicums are arranged by you, with Graceland's help. We do the searching.
Tell us your Graceland track, your city and your next practicum. We find preceptors who fit the course, line up what Appendix A and Appendix B ask for, and aim everything at Graceland's paperwork deadline for your term.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, hospital and ICU clinicians for AGACNP, psychiatrists and PMHNPs for PMHNP
- Site address, contract contact and preceptor details ready before the June 15, October 15 or February 15 deadline
- Close to home in your approved state, with a second preceptor planned for Graceland's two-preceptor rule
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