When a clinical agency says no to a Rivier nursing student

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

Rivier University's Nursing Student Handbook allows a clinical agency to turn a student away, whether because of background check findings or a vaccine exemption, and states that Rivier is not obliged to find another site when that happens. A refusal is serious, but it need not cost you the semester if you move quickly. Here is what the Handbook says and what to do next.

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Numbered steps. Checks that head off a refusal: 1 Know your own file; 2 Raise an exemption up front; 3 Request the onboarding list; 4 Confirm the contract path; 5 Keep CastleBranch whole. — Checks that head off a refusal: 1 Know your own file; 2 Raise an exemption up front; 3 Request the onboarding list; 4 Confirm the contract path; 5 Keep CastleBranch whole.

What the Handbook says

Page 16 of the 2026-2027 Handbook addresses two situations directly. An agency may refuse a student because of what the background check shows, and an agency may refuse a student who holds a vaccine exemption. In either case, Rivier has no obligation to locate another placement, and it cannot promise that the student will complete the program.

That sits on top of a wider rule from Rivier's older practicum form: an agency's own requirements outrank Rivier's. Rivier sets a baseline of requirements in CastleBranch; each agency may add to that baseline, and each agency decides which students it accepts.

For graduate students, a refusal lands on a duty you already carry. Since Rivier's placement policy already has you naming the preceptor, a refusal usually means reopening part of the search, with the Clinical Practicum Coordinator and faculty advising rather than replacing the site for you.

Common reasons a site turns a student away

Only the first two reasons below appear in the Handbook as named grounds for refusal. The rest are practical ways a placement can fail before or after a site says yes.

Background check results. Rivier requires a check every year through the investigative agency the Division contracts with, and checks run elsewhere are not accepted.
A vaccine exemption, which the Handbook names as grounds an agency may use.
Flu vaccine status. Rivier wants the shot each year by September 30, and the only exception it takes is a PCP-signed medical waiver.
Drug screen results. Screening is yearly, and random or targeted testing can happen as well.
Records that are late or incomplete in CastleBranch, which can also bar you from clinical under Rivier's own rules.
No contract. A site that cannot or will not sign an affiliation agreement with Rivier cannot host your hours.
Capacity and priority. Dartmouth Health, for one, posts that it takes advanced practice students solely from schools already affiliated with it, with its employees first in line.

The background check and drug screen guide and the immunizations and TB guide explain Rivier's yearly requirements in detail.

Checks that head off a refusal

Many of these problems can be spotted before you commit to a site. Settle the following with the organization before the Preceptor Request Form goes in.

Know your own fileFinish this year's background check and drug screen early, so nothing about them surprises you when an agency reviews the results.
Raise an exemption up frontIf you hold a vaccine exemption, ask the site's education office how it handles exemptions before you invest weeks in the placement.
Request the onboarding listExtra orientations, badges and screenings are common, and the site's rules outrank Rivier's.
Confirm the contract pathAsk whether the organization already works with Rivier or can sign an affiliation agreement inside the Handbook's 30 days.
Keep CastleBranch wholeYour graduate items are due a full four months ahead of the practicum, and a gap there is the one refusal you control completely.

After a refusal: what to do next

Tell the coordinator and your faculty at onceThe Clinical Practicum Coordinator and your course faculty should hear before the cutoff or the semester moves further along.
Pin down the reasonA background result, an exemption and a missing document each point to a different kind of next site.
Check which clock you are onBefore term, August 1 and December 1 are the absolute placement cutoffs; once term starts, FNP and PMHNP students need 250 hours inside the semester.
Screen the next site for the same issueAsk the new organization how it handles the exact reason the first one gave, before you submit anything.
Bring in your Program Director if the term is at riskA deferral or a course withdrawal means a new Program of Studies, and after a withdrawal you have 14 days to contact the Program Director.

When the refusal comes mid-semester

A site that ends your placement after hours have begun creates a pacing problem as well as a search problem. An FNP or PMHNP semester has to hold all 250 of its hours, with no surplus moving forward, and a final grade waits until every required clinical hour is done. A practicum grade under 84% means dismissal from the track, so an interrupted semester needs a plan, not a hope.

Talk to your course faculty about options early. Requests for an Incomplete have to come before the final exam, and an unresolved one turns into an F, so treat it as something to discuss, never a default. For the practical side of replacing a preceptor partway through, see preceptor dropped out and behind on clinical hours.

An agency's no versus a faculty decision

Not every no comes from the agency. Graduate faculty hold the final say on whether a site is appropriate for your course, and a proposed site can be turned down on Rivier's side when the setting or the preceptor falls outside the track's rules. That kind of decision is solved by finding a clinician who meets the rules, for instance an MD, DO or FNP from outpatient family practice for FNP Practicum I, not by resolving a screening issue.

Knowing which kind of no you received tells you where to look next. An agency refusal points toward organizations with different screening policies. A faculty decision points back to your track's requirements and to the search method in finding your own preceptor.

How we handle a refusal with you

We look for refusal risks before a site ever sees your name. When we build your shortlist, we ask each organization about its background check and exemption policies, its onboarding steps and whether it can contract with Rivier, and we match you with sites whose rules fit your situation.

If an agency says no anyway, we are on call. We restart the search right away, favoring preceptors who meet your track's rules and organizations that can move within Rivier's contract timeline, and we prepare the new request packet so the coordinator can review it quickly. Faculty and the coordinator decide on the replacement exactly as they did the first time; we make sure it reaches them complete. Use the form below to reach the placement desk.

Questions Rivier students ask

Will Rivier find me another site if an agency refuses me?

Rivier's Handbook says it has no obligation to find a new placement when an agency rejects a student on background check or vaccine exemption grounds. Tell the Clinical Practicum Coordinator and your faculty right away, since they can still advise you, but expect to lead the replacement search yourself or with outside help.

Can I do a Rivier practicum with a vaccine exemption?

Possibly, but the agency decides. The Handbook allows agencies to refuse students with vaccine exemptions, and for the yearly flu shot Rivier's only accepted exception is a medical waiver signed by your PCP. Ask each prospective site how it treats exemptions before you submit a request, and keep a backup site whose policy fits.

Can I use a background check I already have?

No. Rivier runs the check annually through one investigative agency under contract to the nursing division, and results from any other source are not accepted. Agencies may review the results and can refuse a student based on them, so complete the check early enough to deal with any questions before your placement deadline.

Can a practicum site add requirements beyond Rivier's?

Yes. According to Rivier's older practicum form, whatever the host agency requires takes precedence over Rivier's list. Expect some sites to add their own orientation, ID badge or screening steps, and ask for the site's onboarding list before you commit so nothing surprises you after the contract is signed.

What if my site ends the placement partway through the semester?

Tell your faculty and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator immediately and start on a replacement. FNP and PMHNP hours must be finished inside the semester with nothing carried forward, and every required hour must be done before a final grade. The sooner a new site is confirmed, the more of the term remains to finish them.

ScreeningBackground 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.ImmunizationsImmunizations 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.Mid-semesterPreceptor dropped outYour preceptor quit partway through a Rivier practicum. Who to tell first, how a replacement gets approved, and how to protect hours still due this semester.Site contractsAffiliation 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.Handbook p. 73Finding 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.

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

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