Virginia practicums for Graceland University students
Graceland University's June 2020 licensure chart gives Virginia a Yes for the MSN, and Virginia's Board of Nursing leaves programs based in other states alone, so no state filing sits between you and a Virginia practicum. What remains is Graceland's own approval: have the School of Nursing confirm it places students in Virginia, then plan around the state's patient care team rule and its crowded borders.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Graceland program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Virginia's rows on the Graceland chart
Graceland's MSN row for Virginia gives one reason: post-licensure programs fall outside the Virginia Board's oversight. That is the whole basis for the Yes, since Virginia sets no test of its own for an out-of-state MSN. The chart is dated June 2020 and remains the newest Graceland has put out.
| Program | Virginia answer | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP tracks, RN-to-MSN, certificates | Yes | No Virginia approval step applies to the degree |
| DNP | "No": post-licensure | Post-licensure, so no license results; that is expected |
| RN to BSN | "No": post-licensure | Same post-licensure reading |
One oddity: the explanation in Virginia's DNP row names the RN-BSN program, a copy slip that runs through most of Graceland's DNP chart. Slips like that are one more reason to get a current answer from the School of Nursing; the chart guide walks through the rest.
Patient care teams and who precepts
AANP classes Virginia as restricted. A signed agreement with a patient care team physician stays in place until the NP attests to three years' worth of full-time clinical experience. So many Virginia NPs practice inside a physician-led team, and one practice may be able to offer both an NP and a physician, which helps with Graceland's two-preceptor rule. Who qualifies on Graceland's side is set out on the preceptor requirements page.
The Board's education page puts both out-of-state and post-licensure programs outside its approval. Its clinical-site rules in chapter 18VAC90-27, including the one keeping 80 percent of clinical hours inside Virginia, are written for pre-licensure programs Virginia itself approved. The state's Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, which SB 405 handed to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center in 2026, rewards preceptors of students at Virginia schools, so a preceptor who hosts you cannot claim it.
Systems, metros and the lines around Virginia
A Virginia search list might open with Sentara Health and Inova, with UVA Health, VCU Health and Carilion Clinic close behind. The metros that matter are the Virginia share of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke. Each system handles students in its own way, and none should be read as a site already open to Graceland. If one routes you to its own request portal, tell the contract coordinator.
Two of those metros cross state lines, and that is where Virginia students get caught. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area reaches into Maryland, one of five states where Graceland's chart says the MSN does not lead to licensure, and into the District of Columbia, which the chart leaves out entirely. The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro touches North Carolina, another of those five. A clinic ten minutes away in Maryland is a question for Graceland, not a shortcut.
Licensing: Graceland asks for more than Virginia does
Virginia law is generous to graduate students. Under Code of Virginia section 54.1-3001, a nurse holding an unrestricted license from another state may carry out the clinical work required by an advanced nursing curriculum without being licensed in Virginia. Graceland's handbook goes further and wants an unencumbered RN license valid in the practicum state, confirmed by the board. Plan on Graceland's rule, because it decides whether your hours count.
Since January 19, 2018, Virginia has issued multistate licenses under the compact, and one held by a resident meets Graceland's test for in-state clinics. Maryland and North Carolina belong to the compact as well, which means licensure is rarely the obstacle across those lines; Graceland's approval is. The RN license guide covers verification.
Why Virginia students choose us
Your placement advisor searches the Virginia side first and tells you plainly when a tempting clinic sits over the Maryland or District line. We match each preceptor to your Graceland course, check how the practice's patient care team works, and gather the license and site contract details Appendix A and Appendix B need well before your paperwork deadline. Share your city and track through the form below.
Questions Graceland students ask
Does Virginia's student exemption let me skip a Virginia or multistate license?
For Graceland's purposes, no. The Code of Virginia carves out an exception for certain graduate students licensed elsewhere, but Graceland's handbook requires an unencumbered license valid where your practicum happens, verified by the board. A Virginia resident usually meets that with a multistate license. A nurse still licensed only in a non-compact state should get Virginia licensure before the term.
Could a Virginia resident use a DC clinic for Graceland hours?
Graceland's June 2020 chart does not cover the District of Columbia at all, so there is no published answer. Ask the School of Nursing in writing whether it can approve a DC site for you, and check what DC licensure your practicum would need. Until both answers are in, keep your search on the Virginia side.
Will my preceptor get Virginia's incentive for teaching me?
No. The Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program is limited to preceptors whose students attend a nursing school in Virginia, public or private nonprofit. Since the 2026 move, the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center handles it, accepting claims for hours from July 1, 2026 onward. A Graceland student's hours fall outside it wherever the clinic is.
Does Virginia's 80 percent clinical rule apply to Graceland?
No. Both the 80 percent rule and Virginia's clinical-site approvals are aimed at schools the Board approved to prepare new nurses. Graceland's MSN and DNP are out-of-state and post-licensure, two categories the Board places outside its approval. Graceland's own rules on sites, hours and preceptors are the ones that govern your practicum.
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
Start your placement plan
Track, city and practicum start is all we need to begin.