Washington State on Rivier's guide: graduate programs red, RN-BSN green
For Washington residents, Rivier University's FNP and PMHNP are closed: both carry red on the State Guide, where Rivier's legend reads "unable to accept, prohibitive barriers." Nursing Education, Leadership and the DNP are red for Washington too, which leaves the online RN-BSN as the one green program and pre-licensure study as yellow.
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Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.
Where Washington lands on Rivier's guide
Washington shares its pattern with Iowa: every graduate column red, the RN-BSN green. The colors below are from the January 2025 guide, and the 2022 version on Rivier's licensure page shows the same row.
| Rivier program | Washington | Rivier's key |
|---|---|---|
| FNP, as MSN or certificate | Red | Prohibitive barriers: unable to accept |
| PMHNP, as MSN or certificate | Red | Prohibitive barriers: unable to accept |
| Nursing Education | Red | Prohibitive barriers: unable to accept |
| Leadership in Health Systems Management | Red | Prohibitive barriers: unable to accept |
| DNP | Red | Prohibitive barriers: unable to accept |
| ASN/BSN pre-licensure | Yellow | Limiting criteria; students beyond New England call the undergraduate program director |
| RN-BSN | Green | OK to accept |
No column exists for the AG-ACNP, and the chart judges acceptance, not licensure. The State Guide page explains what each color asks of you.
Washington's approval rule for distance programs
Washington is one of the stricter states for online schools. Section 246-840-571 of the Washington Administrative Code puts every distance-learning nursing program from outside Washington through a Board of Nursing review first; until WABON signs off, none of its students may begin clinical work in the state. The review asks the school to demonstrate parity with Washington's own program standards, supervise its students there directly, hold national accreditation without a break and file a yearly report. Programs that pass appear on a WABON list that includes RN-BSN, MSN and NP offerings from various schools, and the Board reserves those placements for Washington residents unless it grants an individual exception.
Instructors based out of state who teach ARNP students there also hold a Washington ARNP license, and preceptor rules for ARNP students are strict (see the FAQ below). Expect change: WABON began formal rulemaking on this whole chapter on December 5, 2025, and removing clinical placement barriers is among its stated aims.
Washington nurses considering Rivier
From Seattle, Spokane or the Tri-Cities, the only green Rivier choice is the online RN-BSN, which carries no practicum to arrange. Unlike its yellow in Louisiana or Oregon, the DNP is red for Washington, so master's-prepared nurses meet the same answer as NP applicants.
Some Washington nurses ask about keeping a Washington home while doing practicums in a state the guide accepts. That is Rivier's decision alone, bound up with its admission rules and with whether you are licensed as an RN where the practicum sits, and the guide makes no provision for it. Ask the Program Director or graduate admissions before building any plan around the idea.
Relocating to Washington as a Rivier student
An enrolled Rivier NP student whose family or career heads to the Puget Sound area is moving into a state where every graduate column is red. Rivier's Handbook requires the Dean to hear of a change of state in writing, 90 days or more ahead, and puts the duty of uncovering barriers on the student. Start the conversation with your Program Director, and with Rivier's practicum coordinator, the moment the move becomes a real possibility. Our mid-program move guide sets out the practicum timing questions.
Licensing, practice and why Rivier students choose us
Washington is a recent compact state, recognizing multistate RN licenses only since early 2024, and it has yet to adopt the APRN Compact. AANP counts Washington among the full practice states. WABON also runs a state preceptorship grant, covered in the FAQ below.
Preceptor searches are the student's job at Rivier, and they are the only job we do. For Rivier NP students in accepted states, we find in-person preceptors near home who fit the FNP, PMHNP or AG-ACNP rules, collect the documents the Preceptor Request Form requires, and pace the search to the four-month lead time. Rivier's reviewers approve the site; what we deliver is a file that is complete and already matched to Rivier's rules. Contact the placement desk.
Questions Rivier students ask
Can I take Rivier's online PMHNP from Washington State?
No. The State Guide lists the PMHNP, in MSN and certificate form, as red for Washington, which on Rivier's key means prohibitive barriers and no admission. The same color covers the FNP, Nursing Education, Leadership and DNP, and the RN-BSN is the only green Rivier program for Washington residents.
Now that Washington is in the compact, does a multistate license change anything?
It changes the licensing picture, not Rivier's. Since January 31, 2024, a multistate RN license from another party state is recognized in Washington. Rivier's State Guide is a separate question about acceptance, and it keeps the NP tracks red for Washington whatever license you hold.
Can a friend precept an ARNP student in Washington?
Washington's rule says no. It bars relatives and personal friends of the student from precepting an ARNP student, and it expects the preceptor to hold ARNP, MD or DO licensure, whether in Washington or through an equivalent license elsewhere. For Rivier students in other states, the Clinical Practicum Coordinator confirms who qualifies under Rivier's own preceptor rules.
Would a Washington preceptor receive the state preceptorship grant for a Rivier student?
Not under WABON's published terms. The Washington State Student Nurse Preceptorship Grant supports ARNP, RN and LPN preceptors, yet the Board's grant page shuts out programs based in other states, wherever the hours are worked. Rivier University is based in New Hampshire, so a rotation with a Rivier student would not count toward it.
Related pages
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 forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 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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