Graceland University from Hawaii: practicums on the islands
Graceland University's June 2020 chart, the newest it has published, lists Hawaii as a Yes for the MSN with nothing extra required by the state. Hawaii's board runs no approval process for online post-licensure programs based elsewhere, and nothing from Hawaii addresses graduate NP programs by name, so two checkpoints matter most: Graceland's current answer for Hawaii and a Hawaii-issued RN license.
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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.
What Graceland's chart says about Hawaii
Hawaii's MSN row runs to two short sentences, and it applies equally to FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students, whether they came in through the RN-to-MSN, the MSN or a certificate.
| Program | Hawaii answer | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| MSN | Yes | Nothing needed by the state; programs follow NONPF's Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs |
| DNP | No | Post-licensure: the doctorate creates no new license |
| RN to BSN | No | Post-licensure as well; a routine answer |
| BSN to RN | Unknown | Campus pre-licensure degree built for Iowa |
Graceland has belonged to NC-SARA since February 2016, yet whether the School of Nursing accepts NP students from Hawaii is its own decision, made separately; the licensure chart guide explains the difference. Ask before you apply.
Hawaii's board and programs based elsewhere
Hawaii draws its hard line at pre-licensure students. The student exemption in HRS 457-13(2) reaches only programs the Hawaii board itself has accredited, and in 2016 the board's Education Committee concluded that a North Dakota BSN program could not bring its not-yet-licensed student to Hawaii for clinicals. Graceland's NP learners are a different case: they arrive already licensed as RNs.
Post-licensure schools without a Hawaii campus face very little. The board's FAQ says it has no approval or application for them and needs no notice, and their faculty need Hawaii licenses only when they teach or precept in person on the islands. That FAQ uses LPN-to-RN and RN-BSN programs as its examples; for graduate NP tracks Hawaii's sources are silent, so rely on Graceland's answer for yours.
Precepting on Oahu and the neighbor islands
Hawaii lets NPs practice independently, which widens the pool: an NP with the experience Graceland asks for can precept any track, subject to its preceptor requirements.
Urban Honolulu, home to about 989,000 people, is where most NP students search. Search lists there usually include Hawaii Pacific Health (parent of Kapiolani, Straub and Pali Momi), Kaiser Permanente's Hawaii region, The Queen's Health Systems and HHSC, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, each with its own student process. Maui's Kahului-Wailuku area counts roughly 161,000 people and Hawaii Island's Hilo-Kailua area about 210,000, so neighbor-island students have fewer clinicians within reach and should start early.
Hawaii also offers a state income tax credit under HRS 235-110.25 for volunteer preceptors who are Hawaii-resident primary care physicians, APRNs or pharmacists. It applies only when the student's program is accredited in or located in Hawaii and enrolls mostly Hawaii residents, so preceptors of Graceland students fall outside it.
A Hawaii license, telehealth and the trip east
No compact privilege reaches Hawaii, which never joined the Nurse Licensure Compact. Graceland's license rule follows your practicum sites as well as your home address, with verification from each board, so island hours require a license Hawaii issued (RN license guide).
PMHNP telehealth cuts both ways. Patients located in Hawaii need your Hawaii license, and if you sit in Honolulu treating patients on the mainland, you need a license wherever each of them is; Graceland caps telehealth at two terms or 450 hours (telehealth rules).
Zoom hosts the FNP and PMHNP focus sessions. AGACNP students attend one on-campus session in Independence, Missouri, lasting two to three full days, which from Hawaii means a long trip to fit around your practicum schedule.
Why Hawaii students choose us
We search Oahu first and the neighbor islands with the same care, matching preceptors to your Graceland course and checking each candidate's Hawaii license before anything goes to Graceland. The site address, contract contact and credentials for Appendix A and Appendix B arrive together, giving the contract coordinators what they need to start the affiliation agreement well ahead of your deadline.
Questions Graceland students ask
Can I complete Graceland's online PMHNP from Honolulu?
Graceland's June 2020 chart says its MSN, PMHNP included, leads to licensure in Hawaii. Graceland still needs to confirm that it currently accepts NP students from Hawaii, since it publishes no approved-states list. With that answer and a Hawaii RN license, your three PMHNP practicums run with a psychiatrist or certified PMHNP near home.
Must Graceland file anything with Hawaii's nursing board?
Not as a post-licensure school, going by the board's FAQ: online programs from elsewhere with no Hawaii campus have nothing to apply for and no notice to give. Graceland faculty would need Hawaii licenses only if they taught or precepted students in person on the islands. For graduate NP programs specifically, Hawaii's sources say nothing, so ask Graceland.
Will my multistate license from Missouri or Iowa cover Hawaii hours?
No. Hawaii has not joined the compact, so a multistate license stops at the shoreline. Practicum hours at a Hawaii site need a Hawaii-issued RN license, verified through the Hawaii board for Graceland's records, and your home-state license stays current alongside it if you live elsewhere.
Is it harder to find a preceptor on Maui or Hawaii Island?
The neighbor-island metros are small, about 161,000 people around Kahului-Wailuku and 210,000 around Hilo-Kailua, so fewer NPs and physicians are within reach. Start early, widen the search to every clinic you can reasonably drive to, and plan for Graceland's two-preceptor rule, which means lining up more than one preceptor over the three practicums.
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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