GW's list of previously used clinical sites and preceptors
GW gives graduate students two versions of the same resource: a list of previously used sites and preceptors in your state, shared by the Clinical Placement Team on request, and a Clinical Site Database inside CORE that GW's 2021 clinical placement guide offers "solely as a resource guide." Both record where GW students trained before. Neither means a site has room for you this term, so treat every entry as a lead to contact, not a placement.
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The two lists GW offers
| List | How you get it | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Previously used sites and preceptors in your state | Ask the Clinical Placement Team; GW's Compliance and Clinical page offers it | Sites and preceptors that have taken GW students before |
| CORE Clinical Site Database | Inside CORE, which opens to you before NURS 6222 | A map and list of sites and preceptors used by former NP students, per GW's 2021 guide |
GW's NP program pages point the same way, telling students they are expected to find their own preceptor while offering information on local clinical sites when needed. The list is how that offer usually arrives.
The CORE version sits beside the other tools you use for placement, from requests to timesheets. How to get into CORE and find your way around it is covered on the CORE page.
What a listing tells you, and what it leaves out
A name on GW's list shows that a site and a preceptor suited a GW student at some point, and often that GW has handled the site's paperwork before. That second point has real value. Under the 2021 guide, when an agreement already exists the placement team sends a rotation confirmation request rather than negotiating a new contract, which can take a good deal of time off the path to clearance.
What the list cannot show you is the present. It carries no word on whether the preceptor still works at that site, whether they have agreed to take a student from another program this term, which of your courses they fit, or whether they still meet GW's rules on experience and licensure. GW describes the CORE database as a resource guide for exactly that reason: it points you somewhere, and the checking is still yours to do.
Why a listed site may still say no
Students report this more than anything else about the list. A GW graduate posting on allnurses in 2019 wrote that GW hands out a list of past preceptors with existing contracts, but that those clinicians may not accept students. The same poster said the difficulty depends on how crowded an area already is with NP students, and described one physician preceptor who had up to six students at once.
The reasons are ordinary. GW's own clinical page warns that many preceptors and sites book up more than a year in advance. Clinicians change jobs, retire or cut back their hours. A practice that hosted a GW student two years ago may now take students only from a school it has a standing relationship with. And a list that goes to every GW student in your state who asks for it draws the same phone calls from all of them.
None of that makes the list useless. It makes it a starting point that rewards students who use it early and check each entry properly.
How to work the list well
- Ask earlyRequest the state list well before your request deadline; the deadlines page compares GW's published dates.
- Sort by courseMatch each site to the setting your course needs before you contact anyone. The rotation settings page lists what GW's 2021 guide describes.
- Lead with capacityOpen by asking whether the preceptor is taking a student in your term at all, before sending documents.
- Make a short, specific askName GW Nursing, your course number, the term and the hours. Keep your resume and GW's clinical requirements ready to share, as GW's Clinical Rotations page advises.
- Check the rulesConfirm the preceptor still has two years in advanced practice and a current license, and find out who signs agreements for the site.
- Keep a contact logRecord every call, email and answer with dates so you can follow up without repeating yourself.
- Submit in COREOnce someone agrees, file a Site Prospector submission for that preceptor, site, rotation and term.
Use the list alongside GW's other search tips
GW's Compliance and Clinical page offers its own set of ways to find preceptors, and the site list works best combined with them. GW suggests networking with the providers where you work, asking NP and midwifery friends, classmates and alumni, joining local NP or midwifery associations, using LinkedIn, visiting offices to speak with the manager, and asking your own healthcare providers. A 2021 version of the page also suggested arranging preceptor swaps with classmates.
Classmates are how many listed sites stay open to GW students. One GW alum reviewing the program on Doximity described GW's database of past sites, together with graduating students passing their sites on to newer ones, as real help in a hard area. Ask students a term ahead of you which preceptors they would recommend and whether they would make an introduction.
If your own employer is the obvious lead, read the workplace page first for what GW has said about it.
Why students pair GW's list with our search
GW's list gives you names. Turning names into a confirmed preceptor takes calls, follow-ups and careful checking, usually during your busiest weeks of coursework. That is the work we do for GW students. We contact clinicians and sites where you live, confirm capacity for your exact term and course, check credentials against GW's rules, and gather the documents your CORE submission needs.
If you already hold leads from GW's list, share them and we work them alongside our own outreach, so no clinician hears from two people about the same student. You stay informed on where each lead stands. GW's program director approves every site; we make sure the one in front of them is available, suitable and fully documented. Read about choosing a placement service or use the form below.
Questions GW students ask
How do I get GW's list of previous clinical sites?
Ask the Clinical Placement Team. GW's Compliance and Clinical page says students may request more resources, including a list of previously used sites and preceptors in their state. Once you have CORE access, GW's 2021 clinical placement guide also describes a Clinical Site Database there, with a map and a list of sites former NP students used.
Does a site on GW's list have to accept me?
No. The list records past placements, not current openings. GW's 2021 guide presents the CORE database as a resource guide only, and students report that listed clinicians may decline. Treat each entry as a lead, confirm the preceptor has room in your term, and keep searching in parallel until you have a firm yes.
Is a site that already has a GW agreement faster to use?
Often, on the contract side. GW's 2021 guide says that when an agreement already exists, the placement team sends a rotation confirmation request instead of negotiating a new contract. Program director review and your own compliance still apply in full, so the time you save is in the agreement step rather than the whole review.
What if every site on GW's list turns me down?
GW's placement model answers a declined or unapproved preceptor with ongoing intervention and support and a return to identifying sites. Tell your Clinical Experience Faculty and program director early, widen the search beyond the list, and read what to do when you can't find a preceptor for the next steps.
Does GW's list cover states outside DC, Maryland and Virginia?
GW frames the offer by state: its Compliance and Clinical page describes a list of previously used sites and preceptors in your state. GW's Join Our Faculty page also says it is actively seeking remote preceptors in most states. How deep the list runs for your area is something only the list itself will show.
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.
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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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