What shapes the cost of a GW preceptor placement
Every quote we give is individual, built from the rotation you actually need. Your GW program and course, the hours left, the specialty, where you live, how close the term is and how many rotations you want covered all feed into it. GW's own clinical costs, such as Complio, sit apart from our quote and are paid to GW's vendors.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your GW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your GW course.
Why every quote is individual
Two GW students rarely need the same search. A PMHNP student looking for 120 hours in NURS 6245 near a large city is asking for something very different from a midwifery student who needs 840 immersion hours across NURS 6321 and NURS 6322, or an Acute Care student who must train in DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia.
So we price after intake, once your placement advisor has seen the course, the city and the calendar. That way the quote reflects the real work your rotation takes, and you know what you are agreeing to before the search begins. The how it works page shows what that search includes from start to finish.
The six factors behind a quote
These are the things your advisor weighs. None of them is a surcharge on its own; together they describe how much searching, calling and document work your placement needs.
| Factor | What we look at | A GW example |
|---|---|---|
| Program and course | The setting the course calls for and any extra preceptor credential | NURS 6248 needs a PMHNP or CNS preceptor; leadership practicums need a master's-prepared preceptor |
| Hours needed | How long a commitment we ask a preceptor to make | NURS 6230 runs 120 hours, while NURS 6231 and NURS 6232 run 240 each |
| Specialty | How many clinicians in that field take students near you | Psychiatric and acute care preceptors are scarcer than family practice in most areas |
| Location | How many practices are within reach and how many students compete for them | A dense metro area versus a rural county two hours from a hospital |
| Timing | How many weeks remain before GW's request date and the term | GW's website puts request dates about four months before each term |
| Number of rotations | One course, or your whole clinical sequence | Each rotation needs its own Site Prospector submission and preceptor package |
Specialty and setting
Family and adult primary care practices are the most common in most regions, so those searches usually have the widest field. Psychiatric and acute care rotations draw on a smaller pool. PMHNP students need clinicians who treat mental health all day, and NURS 6248 narrows that to a PMHNP or CNS.
Acute Care is scarcer still. GW keeps those clinicals in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, GW's 2021 clinical placement guide centers the second course on critical care, and GW's program director stays closely involved. Midwifery immersion needs a seasoned preceptor and a practice busy enough to fill 840 hours. Rotations with a split setting, such as the OB/GYN and pediatric hours that same guide describes for the second FNP course, can mean two preceptors in one term.
Timing is the factor you control
The earlier you start, the more practices are still open. GW's own advice is blunt: many preceptors and sites fill their teaching schedules more than a year ahead. GW's request dates fall roughly four months before each term, and its sources list slightly different dates, so confirm yours in CORE's Document Library.
A search that starts a year out can wait for the best-fitting preceptor. One that starts after the request date has to move fast across more practices at once, and that intensity shapes the quote. The deadlines guide has every published date, and the urgent placement page covers a term that is almost here.
One rotation or your whole sequence
Every GW NP track totals 600 precepted hours, but the courses split them differently: 120, 240 and 240 for FNP, AGPCNP and Acute Care, and five courses of 120 for PMHNP. Leadership students need two 150-hour practicums, and the second must use a different preceptor and site from the first.
Some students want help with one hard course; others want every rotation planned at once so a strong preceptor can carry them through more than one term where GW's settings allow it. Your quote covers exactly the rotations you ask for, and you can add later courses whenever you are ready. The 600-hour breakdown shows each track's split.
GW's own clinical costs are separate
Some costs belong to GW's process, not to our search, and you pay them directly to GW's vendors. The largest is Complio, run by American DataBank through gwucompliance.com: the immunization tracker plus the background check and drug screen package. GW does not publish those prices, and GW's 2021 clinical placement guide places Complio, exams and extra site requirements on the student.
Plan also for a physical on GW's form, BLS from the American Heart Association or Red Cross, health insurance for the entire term, any missing immunizations, ACLS if you are in Acute Care, and an RN license in each state where you rotate. The Complio requirements page lists every item.
Our quote covers our placement work. Complio, screening, immunizations and licenses are GW's requirements, billed by the vendors and agencies that provide them.
Questions GW students ask
Why is there no price list on this site?
Because GW rotations differ too much for one number to be honest. A 120-hour primary care course in a busy metro and an 840-hour midwifery immersion call for very different searches. Your placement advisor quotes after intake, once the course, city and term are clear, so the figure matches your rotation.
Can I get one quote for my whole clinical sequence?
Yes. Tell us every course you want covered, for example NURS 6230 through NURS 6232, and your advisor prices the full plan together. Each rotation still gets its own preceptor package and Site Prospector submission, and you can add courses later if you start with one.
Does the quote include Complio or my background check?
No. Complio, the background check and drug screen, immunizations, the physical, BLS and your RN licenses are GW requirements paid to the vendors and agencies that provide them. Our quote covers the search, the preceptor documents and our support through GW's review and your rotation.
Does a psych or acute care rotation change the quote?
Specialty is one of the six factors. Psychiatric and acute care preceptors are harder to find in most areas, and Acute Care clinicals must stay in DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia, so those searches often take more calls. Your advisor explains how your specialty shaped your quote.
What happens to my quote if my term or city changes?
Tell your advisor as soon as you know. A new term, a different city or an added course changes the search, so your advisor reviews the quote with you before the work continues, and nothing moves forward until you agree.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against GW's Bulletin and GW Nursing's own program and clinical pages. Your course, CORE and GW's Clinical Placement Team have the final word.
GW asks you to find your own site and preceptor. Hand that search to us.
Tell us your GW program, where you live and which clinical course is next. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the license, bio and site details GW's review asks for, so your Site Prospector goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice for
NURS 6230toNURS 6232, older-adult primary care for AGPCNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP - License, bio or CV and the site's agreement signatory ready for your CORE submission
- Close to home, in DC, Maryland, Virginia or wherever you live and hold your RN license
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Your program, city and next clinical term is all we need to begin.