Your preceptor dropped out mid-semester: what Rivier students do next

The first two days

The Handbook's attendance rule sets the tone: when you cannot attend clinical, tell the preceptor immediately and faculty as soon as possible. A preceptor leaving is the same news on a larger scale, and your faculty should hear it from you before they hear it from anyone else.

1. Write to course faculty and the Clinical Practicum CoordinatorGive the date the preceptor stopped, the reason if you know it, and the hours you have completed so far.
2. Secure your record of hoursMake sure your logged hours and any preceptor feedback are up to date, and ask faculty in writing how the hours already done will be recorded.
3. Ask the departing preceptor one questionIs there a colleague at the same practice who meets Rivier's rules and might take over? It is often the quickest lead you will get.
4. Stay out of unapproved sitesHours at a new site count only after the coordinator confirms the documents and contract, so hold off until that confirmation arrives.

Where replacements usually come from

Replacements tend to come from close by: the same practice, the same health system, or a clinician you already know through work. Rivier's rules decide which of those leads can actually precept you.

• FNP. A physician assistant may fill in on some days, but the Handbook bars a PA from serving as the primary preceptor, so the replacement still needs to be an MD or DO physician, or an FNP, with two or more years in outpatient family practice.
• FNP, later practicums. Urgent care (second or third practicum), telehealth (in NURS 515) and outpatient cardiology, endocrinology or pulmonology (in NURS 515) can supply part of the hours within the 120-hour limit on alternative practicum hours, with approval from the coordinator and Program Director.
• PMHNP. A psychiatrist or PMH-certified nurse can take over in any age group and in inpatient or outpatient care, and a telehealth prescriber can carry up to 300 of your 750 hours.
• AG-ACNP. Practicums II and III can each draw up to 90 hours from the acute-care specialties Rivier lists. Telehealth is not an option for this track.

When the semester cannot be saved

Sometimes the replacement cannot start in time. Rivier's catalog allows an Incomplete, requested before the final exam, for a serious reason beyond your control; an unresolved Incomplete becomes an F, and since a final practicum grade below 84% means dismissal from the track, an Incomplete left unfinished is the outcome to avoid most. Withdrawing from the course starts a two-week window to reach the Program Director for a revised Program of Studies, and the revision may move your practicum to another term.

Both routes have real costs, so make the choice with faculty rather than alone. The 2026-27 withdrawal and grading dates are laid out under behind on clinical hours, and the aftermath of a withdrawal is covered in leave, withdrawal and readmission.

How we replace a preceptor mid-semester

A mid-semester replacement is urgent work, and we treat it that way. Your placement advisor starts with the hours you still need and the weeks left, then looks for qualified clinicians near you with enough open clinic days to carry that load, rather than anyone who happens to say yes.

We check whether the new preceptor's organization already has an agreement with Rivier, gather their license, credentials and CV for a fresh request, and keep a second name ready in case the first stalls. The replacement is approved by Rivier's faculty and coordinator, and we make sure the paperwork in front of them is whole and fits the rules from the first submission. Tell us what happened with the form below.