Rivier practicum systems and rules, guide by guide

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Rivier Preceptor placement team

These guides take Rivier University's practicum rules one piece at a time: identifying a qualified preceptor, the Preceptor Request Form and its deadlines, CastleBranch and the other requirements, each NURS practicum and its hours, and the states on Rivier's State Guide. Every guide is built from Rivier's Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog and calendar, and flags the spots where those documents disagree.

Get matched Chat now

Get your placement plan

Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.

Rivier practicum systems and rules, guide by guide. These guides take Rivier University's practicum rules one piece at a time: identifying a qualified preceptor, the Preceptor Request Form and its deadlines, Cast — Every Rivier nursing practicum guide in one place: the preceptor search, the request form, deadlines, CastleBranch, courses, hours and the State Guide.

The four Rivier documents behind these guides

Rivier sets its practicum rules in four places. The 2026-2027 Nursing Student Handbook holds the Practicum Placement Policy, the preceptor rules for each track, the requirements and the progression policies. The 2026 program sheets and the 2025-26 catalog list the NURS courses and their hours. The 2026-27 academic calendar dates the semesters and the FNP intensives, and the State Guide shows which states Rivier can accept.

When a question goes past what those documents say, each guide names the person who decides: your course faculty, your Program Director or the Clinical Practicum Coordinator. Planning your first Rivier practicum? The placement process lays out the order, and who does what shows which office handles each step.

Our search runs on the same rules

We use these guides when we build your search. For NURS 511, a psychiatric practicum or a DNP project, we match the preceptor's credentials and years in practice to the Handbook's rules for your track, confirm the setting is one Rivier approves, and gather the license and CV the Preceptor Request Form needs.

Preceptors and approval

Placement process, step by stepHow a Rivier University graduate practicum comes together: the preceptor search, request form, site contract, CastleBranch, CCP orientation and day one.Finding your own preceptorRivier makes identifying a qualified preceptor the student's job. What that policy asks of you, the help Rivier offers, and a search method that holds up.Clinical Practicum CoordinatorWhat Rivier's Clinical Practicum Coordinator does, what graduate faculty decide, and how to work with both so your practicum site is confirmed on time.Preceptor Request FormRivier's Preceptor Request Form: the preceptor license, credentials and CV it needs, what it sets in motion, who approves it and the mistakes that stall it.Placement deadlinesRivier's August 1 and December 1 placement deadlines, the four-month lead, 30-day contracts, deferral, and the older May 1 and September 1 dates compared.Affiliation agreementsHow the contract between Rivier and your practicum site works: what starts it, the 30-day and twelve-week timelines, agency rules and keeping a backup site.When an agency says noWhat Rivier's Handbook says when a clinical agency refuses a student over a background check or vaccine exemption, and the steps to take next.Who does whatEvery Rivier role in a graduate nursing practicum, by title: the coordinator, faculty, Program Director, Dean, Success Coach, DNP faculty guide and more.FNP preceptor requirementsWho can precept a Rivier University FNP student: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice with two years in practice, plus PA limits and patient volume.PMHNP preceptor requirementsRivier PMHNP preceptors: a psychiatrist or PMH-certified nurse with two years in practice, any age group, inpatient or outpatient, and a 300-hour telehealth cap.AG-ACNP preceptor requirementsRivier AG-ACNP preceptors: an MD or AG-ACNP hospitalist for Practicum I, an intensivist or AG-ACNP in critical care for II and III, and no telehealth hours.Education and Leadership preceptorsWho can precept Rivier MSN Nursing Education and Leadership students: an RN with a master's in a nurse educator or nurse leader role, and how to find one.Alternative practicum hoursHow Rivier's alternative practicum hours work: the 120 FNP hours in urgent care, cardiology or telehealth, the settings not approved, and how approval happens.250 hours per semesterRivier FNP and PMHNP students finish 250 practicum hours inside each semester, with no banking and no start before day one. How to plan the weeks.Placement costs: who paysWho pays for what in a Rivier nursing practicum: CastleBranch, testing, background checks, liability insurance, the clinical credit rate and agency ID cards.

Compliance and licenses

CastleBranch (myCB) requirementsEvery item Rivier nursing students keep in CastleBranch (myCB), the four-month deadline before practicum courses, and what a missing record can cost you.Immunizations and TB testingWhat Rivier's Handbook asks for MMR, varicella, hepatitis B, Tdap, the September 30 flu shot and yearly TB testing before a nursing practicum begins.Background check and drug screenRivier's yearly background check and drug screen run through the Division's contracted agency. Timing, who pays, and what happens if a clinical site says no.CCP orientation and clinical ticketsRivier's Centralized Clinical Placement orientation each August, Clinical Assignment Tickets, agency ID cards and Stericycle training, in the order they come.Liability insurance, BLS and health coverRivier's professional liability policy and its yearly fee, BLS from the AHA or American Red Cross only, and health insurance for your whole nursing program.RN license for your practicumRivier requires an RN license in the state where your practicum happens. New Hampshire or multistate licenses, the older FNP campus note, and DNP rules.Nursing accreditation (ACEN, NECHE)ACEN accredits Rivier's ASN, BSN, MSN, post-master's certificate and DNP programs; NECHE accredits the university. What each covers for your license.

Hours, courses and calendar

Clinical hours by programPracticum hours for every Rivier University nursing program, from the FNP, PMHNP and AG-ACNP to the DNP, and each spot where Rivier's own figures disagree.FNP hours: 750 or 610Rivier's Nursing Student Handbook sets 750 FNP practicum hours; the 2025-26 catalog lists 120, 250 and 240, or 610. Where the gap sits and who settles it.NURS 511 FNP Practicum IRivier's NURS 511 FNP Practicum I and Seminar: adults and families in primary care, NURS 510 first, 120 or 250 hours, and who can precept you.NURS 513 FNP Practicum IIRivier's NURS 513 FNP Practicum II and Seminar: childbearing families, infants, children and teens, 250 hours, and when urgent care or pediatric sites count.NURS 515 FNP Practicum IIIRivier's NURS 515 FNP Practicum III and Seminar: community-based primary care, the move into the FNP role, 240 or 250 hours, and the settings allowed.FNP simulation check-offsHow Rivier's FNP simulation check-offs work in NSG511, NSG513 and NSG515: the 84% bar, three attempts, remediation, re-entry assessments and readmission.PMHNP practicums: NURS 521, 523, 525Rivier University's three psychiatric NP practicums, NURS 521, 523 and 525: what each course covers, 250 hours a semester, prerequisites and one misprint.AG-ACNP practicums and skills labsRivier University's acute care NP practicums, NURS 638P, 639P and 640P, with seminars and skills labs: 250 hours each in a fall, spring, fall order.Education and Leadership practicumsNURS 559P for Rivier University's Nursing Education track, and the Leadership practicum listed as NURS 571P or NURS 562 and 564: preceptors, timing, conflicts.DNP practicums and the external expertHow Rivier University's DNP practicums work: NURS 895 with a Scholarly Project Team and external expert, NURS 715 for leaders, 1,000 hours and campus seminars.2026-27 academic calendarRivier University's 2026-27 dates for nursing practicum students: semester starts, 7-week terms, FNP intensives, withdrawal dates and when hours can begin.Grades and progressionRivier University graduate nursing progression: the B minimum, Written Notices, probation, repeats, the 84% practicum bar and where catalog and Handbook differ.Leave, withdrawal and readmissionRivier University graduate nursing rules for dropping a course, taking leave, returning, readmission after dismissal and the six- and seven-year time limits.

Where you live and study

Rivier's State GuideRivier's State Guide colors each state green, yellow or red for every nursing program: the red and yellow states, the unlisted ones, and what each color means.Moving during your programMoving mid-program? Rivier asks graduate nursing students to tell the Dean in writing 90 days ahead. What a move does to your license, practicum and preceptor.Practicums outside New HampshireRivier lets graduate nursing students do practicums in their own area. The RN license rule, state board limits, the State Guide and the trips to Nashua.Campus intensivesRivier's FNP intensives (nine days), PMHNP weekends and AG-ACNP campus days in Nashua, with the 2026-27 FNP dates and how they fit around practicum hours.Rivier student systemsColleague Self-Service, Canvas, Rivier email, CastleBranch, Regina Library, IT Support and the Success Coach: what each Rivier system does in a practicum year.

Questions Rivier students ask

Where are Rivier's practicum rules written down?

In the 2026-2027 Nursing Student Handbook (placement policy, preceptor rules, requirements, progression), the 2026 program sheets and 2025-26 catalog (courses and hours), the 2026-27 academic calendar and Rivier's State Guide.

Which system does Rivier use for clinical requirements?

CastleBranch. Students keep their clinical requirements in a myCB account, and everything must be on record before any practicum course; graduate requirements are due four months before practicum courses.

Who approves my Rivier practicum site?

Graduate faculty make the final decision on whether a site is appropriate, and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator confirms that all documents and contracts are in before any hours count.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.

Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.

Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP for NURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist for NURS 638P
Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts

Start your placement plan

Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.