GW clinicals away from DC, Maryland and Virginia
GW's online programs are designed for clinical hours close to home, and GW's faculty recruiting page invites remote preceptors across most of the country. Training far from the capital region works when three things line up before a site is requested: an RN license for that state, the state board's rule for out-of-state programs, and GW's standing on that board's list. Campus visits for CLASI and OSCEs still apply.
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.
Clinicals in your own community
GW's online NP programs are built around local clinicals. The post-master's PMHNP certificate says students complete their requirements in their own communities, and GW's Join Our Faculty page asks remote preceptors in most states to get in touch. On request, the Clinical Placement Team sends a list of sites and preceptors that earlier GW students used in your state, and GW's 2021 clinical placement guide describes the team negotiating affiliation agreements across the country.
The process does not change with distance. You identify a preceptor and site, a Site Prospector submission goes into CORE, the program director reviews it, an agreement is executed, and the Clinical Placement Team clears you. What distance changes is timing: a site with no GW agreement on file starts that contract from the beginning, and GW's 2021 guide warns agreements can take weeks to months. The one track that cannot train at home is Acute Care, because every AGACNP option keeps its clinicals inside DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia; see AGACNP placements.
A license for every state you train in
GW's clearance rule requires an RN license covering every state in which you train, and some boards stack their own requirement on top. California requires students in non-California NP programs to hold an active California RN license for clinical experiences there. Nevada, which is outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, says anyone who gives patient care in the state must hold a Nevada license, and it counts nursing education with direct patient contact.
Compact states make the picture simpler: a multistate license from your home state reaches sites in other member states. A single-state license does not. If your likeliest preceptor practices across a state line, settle the license question before you ask for the rotation, because clearance will not wait for a pending application. The RN license page covers the compact and GW's advice for DC-area students.
State boards that must approve GW first
A number of state boards require an out-of-state program to be approved or recognized before it places any student in the state. Where GW is on the board's list, a site in that state can work once your license and GW's own review line up. Where GW is absent, a rotation there would depend on an approval GW does not publicly hold, which matches GW's decision to turn away online applicants from most of those states.
| State | What the board requires | Is GW listed? |
|---|---|---|
| California | Board of Registered Nursing approval of a non-California NP program before clinical placements | Yes: adult-gerontology primary and acute care, family, and psychiatric-mental health tracks |
| Washington | Board approval before placements; approved placements are for Washington residents only | Yes, on the September 21, 2026 list: MSN AGPCNP, FNP, PMHNP and leadership, plus DNP and certificate tracks; no AGACNP or midwifery track |
| Arizona | Board approval before APRN clinicals, with a streamlined review for home-state-approved, accredited tracks | Yes on the February 2025 list: MSN and post-master's certificate tracks, no DNP track |
| Wisconsin | Board of Nursing approval of out-of-state schools, graduate programs included | Yes, on a roster revised August 3, 2026, though GW's page still blocks Wisconsin applicants |
| Louisiana | Board approval at least six months before courses or clinicals | No; GW does not accept Louisiana applicants |
| Mississippi | Review by the state's Institutions of Higher Learning nursing education office | No; GW does not accept Mississippi applicants |
| North Dakota | Board recognition of distance programs, APRN programs included | No, not on the 2026-2027 list; GW does not accept North Dakota applicants |
| Nevada | Board approval before an internet-based program gives clinical instruction in the state | No; the board's clinical-only list names only prelicensure programs |
| Tennessee | A two-year pause on new out-of-state program approvals, reported as April 2026 to April 2028; programs approved earlier keep approval | Status not public; GW bars Tennessee applicants only from its post-master's certificates |
Plenty of boards regulate only prelicensure programs, so there is no list for GW to appear on. Texas, North Carolina and Georgia fall in that group, and Kentucky's board has no approval step for out-of-state programs. New York requires registration of out-of-state NP programs before clinicals, and GW admits New Yorkers only if they train in another state. Our state guides summarize each board's rule, including California, Washington and Tennessee.
Trips to campus you still make
Online does not mean never on campus. NP students attend CLASI, the on-campus skills intensive, while enrolled in NURS 6222, return for OSCEs in the second clinical course, and finish with a skills assessment at the end of the program. GW's NP On-Campus Events Dashboard schedules the 2026-27 OSCEs for FNP and AGPCNP students in Ross Hall, Foggy Bottom, on October 5 to 6, 2026 and February 27 to 28, 2027, even though GW's FAQ describes on-campus testing at the Ashburn simulation center.
Other tracks follow their own pattern. AGACNP students return for simulation events during NURS 6235, NURS 6236 and NURS 6237. PMHNP students do CLASI virtually, though NURS 6248 adds a required on-campus simulation from Fall 2027. Midwifery students travel in at the beginning of semester 7, just ahead of immersion. GW publishes no travel reimbursement rule, and the Ashburn campus has no student housing, though GW partners with a corporate housing provider. Detailed schedules arrive about six months ahead, and the OSCE page tracks them.
Moving during the program
No GW policy on moving mid-program turned up in the School of Nursing's pages, the Bulletin or GW's licensure disclosures. Three published points still apply. The disclosures define an online student's location as the current address, so a move changes which state's licensure status applies to you. The state restrictions are written about applicants and are silent on a student already enrolled who relocates into a restricted state. And the Bulletin puts the duty to keep your address current with GW Nursing and the university on you.
In practice, a move resets the placement work for any term not yet cleared: a license for the new state, that board's rules for out-of-state programs, and new Site Prospector submissions for sites there. Washington adds a residency condition, since its approved out-of-state placements are for Washington residents only. Loop in your program director and the placement team ahead of the move, and recheck GW's state authorizations list.
Before a move, check three things for the new state: your RN license, the board's out-of-state program rule, and GW's State Authorizations page.
Why GW students choose us
Training far from DC rewards a careful search more than anywhere else, because every step takes longer at a distance. We search in your state and city, confirm that the board there allows GW placements, check the preceptor's license and credentials against GW's rules, and gather the site signatory details the Clinical Placement Team needs to open an agreement straight away.
You receive a placement packet ready for your Site Prospector submission in CORE, and a placement advisor who stays on call through the term if anything changes. Approval of each preceptor rests with GW's program director, and our part is a submission thorough enough that the review can move without back-and-forth. Use the form below to start with your state, program and course.
Questions GW students ask
Can I do every GW FNP rotation in my home state?
Usually. GW's online FNP expects you to find preceptors near home, subject to an RN license there, the state board's rules and GW's approval of each site and preceptor. The exceptions are the states on GW's restricted list and any state whose board has not approved GW. Each of your three FNP courses can use a different site within your state.
Can I rotate in a neighboring state instead of the one I live in?
Often, yes. GW's New York rule shows the clinical state can differ from your home state. You need an RN license that reaches the site's state and, where the board requires it, that board's approval of GW. Washington is the notable exception, because its approved out-of-state placements are limited to Washington residents.
My state has no approval list at all. Is that a problem?
Not necessarily. Many boards, including those in Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, regulate only prelicensure programs, and Kentucky's board keeps out-of-state programs outside its approval process, so there is no list for GW to be on. GW's clearance still checks any site or state requirements, which is the fourth of its clearance items.
Does GW pay for travel to OSCEs and CLASI?
No GW travel reimbursement rule appears in its public pages, so budget for travel and lodging for each on-campus event in your track. GW's FAQ notes that the Ashburn campus does not provide student housing, and this year's FNP and AGPCNP OSCEs take place in Foggy Bottom, not Ashburn, which matters when you book a hotel.
What if I move to Washington state partway through?
Check your GW track first. Washington's approval of GW covers the primary care, family, psychiatric and leadership tracks but not AGACNP, and GW bars Washington applicants from AGACNP. You would also need a Washington or multistate RN license. Washington limits approved out-of-state placements to residents, which a move would make you.
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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