Post University NP clinicals, one system at a time

Updated September 27, 2026, reviewed by the Post Preceptor placement team

Post's nurse practitioner clinicals run on a short list of parts: the site and preceptor you choose, the Clinical Coordinator's approval, an affiliation agreement with the site, CastleBranch, Typhon, and a packet that has to be complete by the end of Week 1. Each guide below takes one of those parts, then the preceptorship courses, the 8-week terms and the state rules.

Get matched Chat now

Get your placement plan

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

Post University NP clinicals, one system at a time. Post's nurse practitioner clinicals run on a short list of parts: the site and preceptor you choose, the Clinical Coordinator's approval, an affiliation agreeme — Every Post University clinical guide: choosing a preceptor, Clinical Coordinator approval, affiliation agreements, Week 1, CastleBranch, Typhon.

Where Post writes its clinical rules down

The source that governs is the catalog's Additional Nursing Information section. Our guides read it from Post's 2025-26 catalog, the newest edition whose nursing pages we could open, and they flag the places where the 2026-27 edition may say something new.

The post.edu program pages add the credits, the program length and the monthly starts, and Post's NP disclosure by state settles where you can live and train. Where two Post sources disagree, as the catalog's two hour totals do, the guide puts both side by side and names the office that can confirm.

Three guides to open first

If your first preceptorship is a few terms away, open three guides in this order: the placement process for the whole route, the Week 1 deadline for the packet that decides whether you stay in the course, and the affiliation agreement guide, because that step depends on the site and the calendar more than on you.

Then find your specialization in the clinical hours guide and read the page for each preceptorship course on your plan.

Preceptors and approval

The clinical placement processEvery stage of a Post NP clinical placement in order: the 3P gate, choosing a site and preceptor, both agreements, Coordinator approval, Week 1 and Typhon.Finding your own preceptorWhat Post means by making NP students responsible for choosing a site and preceptor, where the tracking system directory fits, and how to run a search that works.Clinical Coordinator and other rolesWhich Post office handles each clinical question: the Clinical Coordinator, Practicum Coordinator, compliance officer, Student Success Advisor, Academic Affairs.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept a Post NP student: a current unencumbered license, national certification, a graduate degree, a year of experience and the NP-or-MD balance.Who cannot precept youPost excludes your direct supervisor, relatives and students in your own program as preceptors. The edge cases, the credential misses and the exception form.Preceptor agreement letterWhat Post's preceptor agreement letter is, the license report, certification and CV that go with it, and how to have all four in hand well before Week 1.Affiliation agreementsHow Post's Affiliation Agreement Tracker works, when Academic Affairs reaches your site, and why each clinical site needs a fully executed agreement in time.Primary care sites (FNP, AGPCNP)Every Post FNP and AGPCNP clinical hour must be in primary care. How to match a practice to each course, which sites to ask about first and how to vet one.PMHNP clinical sitesWhich sites fit Post's PMHNP clinicals: mental and behavioral health across the lifespan, youth and substance misuse programs, acute units, and how to vet each.Clinicals at your workplacePost nursing students can train where they work if the preceptor is not their direct supervisor and the setting fits the course. What else applies, by track.

Deadlines, compliance and tracking

Week 1 clinical deadlineEvery item Post expects by the end of Week 1 of an NP clinical course, who produces each one, and a backward plan that starts two terms before the course.CastleBranchThe CastleBranch items Post nursing students keep current, the yearly background check and drug screen for NP students, and how compliance gates your hours.Typhon clinical trackingHow Typhon, Post's student tracking system, holds preceptor approval forms, clinical hour logs and evaluations, and how to use its directory in your search.Post student systemsThe Post Student Portal, the American Sentinel student site, Moodle, Outlook, the Post-ASC Virtual Library and the course tools nursing students use, mapped.RN license and clinical statesPost NP students must live and hold an RN license in an approved state and train only where licensed. Compact licenses, border clinicals and moves explained.State board noticeSome nursing boards want a Post clinical plan up to 60 days ahead. What boards ask of out-of-state NP programs, where SARA fits, and California's preceptor form.

Hours and clinical courses

Clinical hours by programPost's FNP and AGPCNP need 540 precepted clinical hours and the PMHNP 630. See DNP and MSN hours too, and why the catalog prints two larger NP totals.How the clinical rules changedPost's NP clinical rules since 2021: steady 540 and 630 hours, N 522PE's practice hours dropped in 2024, AGPCNP primary care only and a longer Week 1 list.N 581 preceptorshipPost's N 581 is the first FNP and AGPCNP preceptorship: 135 primary care hours with adolescents to older adults after N 580. What to set up before Week 1.N 583 preceptorshipN 583 is the second primary care preceptorship in Post's FNP and AGPCNP: more complex patients after N 582, a preceptor decision, and renewals to check.N 585 aging preceptorshipN 585 is the AGPCNP's aging preceptorship at Post: older adults in a primary care setting, paired with N 584. Which practices fit and what to confirm first.N 589 maternal and child preceptorshipPost's N 589 is the FNP's maternal and child preceptorship: 135 primary care hours with obstetric, gynecological and pediatric patients. How to cover the mix.N 599 integration preceptorshipN 599 is the last preceptorship in Post's FNP and AGPCNP, paired with N 598's primary care quality project. How to plan the finish and protect graduation.N 561 Psych Nursing IPost's N 561 opens the PMHNP clinical sequence: the hours the 630 total implies, its N 560 pairing, the preceptor who fits, and what to finish before Week 1.N 563 Psych Nursing IIN 563 at Post: the child and adolescent focus the 2024 schedule points to, the hours the PMHNP total implies, and finding a preceptor who sees young patients.N 565 Psych Nursing III (135 hours)N 565 at Post: 135 precepted hours with adults and older adults in primary care or acute mental health settings, and what hospital units need before Week 1.N 567 Psych Specialty (90 hours)N 567 at Post: 90 precepted hours with adolescents experiencing substance misuse, where that caseload is found, who can precept it, and how 90 hours fit a term.N 569 Psych Integration IVN 569, the last PMHNP preceptorship at Post: the hours the 630 total implies, the N 568 pairing, a preceptor for integration, and why a late start costs most.The 3P gate and APEA 3P examPost University's 3P gate: N 512, N 521 and N 522PE at a 3.0 GPA, the APEA 3P exam at 67% in Week 7, the N 523 retest, and why the preceptor search starts then.DNP practice hoursHow Post's DNP counts practice hours: 600 in the program, 1,000 after the bachelor's, 400 before N 740PE, doctoral nurse preceptors, the Practicum Workroom.Precepted practice experiencesWhich Post practice experiences need a preceptor: practice learning, precepted practice, simulation, DNP project hours, the site rule and the N 555PE capstone.

Terms, pacing and progress

8-week terms and NP course timingHow Post University's 8-week terms work for NP students: Monday starts about monthly, one course per term, odd-month NP courses in 2024, Week 1 deadlines.Pacing 135 hours in 8 weeksHow to fit a 135-hour Post University preceptorship into one 8-week term: about 17 hours a week by our math, schedule shapes, the NP Clinical Schedule and logs.Incompletes and extensionsPost's incomplete needs 60% of the work done; the two-week ASC extension needs 50%. For NP and DNP students an open extension holds back the next course.NP progression rulesPost's NP tracks need a B in every nursing course, allow one repeat, and must finish in 36 months (FNP, AGPCNP) or 42 (PMHNP). How preceptor gaps use them up.

Where you live

NP disclosure by statePost's NP licensure table by state: the seven No states, California's missing PMHNP, what changed since 2023, and where Post's own pages disagree.Nursing accreditationWho accredits Post's nursing programs: CCNE for the BSN and MSN, ACEN for the DNP, NECHE for the university, plus Connecticut's license to operate and SARA.American Sentinel CollegeHow American Sentinel University became Post's American Sentinel College of Nursing & Health Sciences in 2021, the names you will see, and what carried over.

Questions Post students ask

Is Post's NP clinical handbook public?

Post's catalog mentions Nurse Practitioner Clinical Guidelines, but they are not posted for the public. The catalog's Additional Nursing Information section carries the published rules; the guidelines themselves come to enrolled students through the program and the Clinical Coordinator.

Which Post office approves my preceptor?

The Clinical Coordinator approves both the clinical site and the preceptor for every NP clinical experience, reviews the documents, and decides whether you may take part in the clinical course. Your Student Success Advisor handles course planning and registration.

Where do these guides get their facts?

From Post's own sources: the catalog, the post.edu program and admissions pages, the NP disclosure by state and Post documents, plus state boards and statutes for licensing. Each guide lists the pages it relied on at the bottom.

Do the guides cover the DNP and the other MSN tracks?

Yes, in less depth. The DNP's 600 practice hours and the precepted practice experiences in the non-NP MSN tracks each have a guide, since those preceptors follow different rules from NP preceptors.

Last checked 2026-09-27

We check these pages against Post University's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

Post asks you to select your own preceptor. We make the search the easy part.

Tell us your Post track, your city and your next preceptorship course. We line up preceptors who fit the course, collect the license report, certification and CV the Clinical Coordinator reviews, and start the affiliation agreement early so your Week 1 packet is complete before the term opens.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental and behavioral health for PMHNP, doctoral nurse leaders for DNP hours
Preceptor agreement letter, license report, certification and CV ready for Post's approval
Every preceptorship planned together, close to home in a state where you hold your license and Post's disclosure says yes

Start your placement plan

Track, city and next preceptorship course is all we need to begin.