GW's Family Nurse Practitioner MSN: 600 hours and the preceptors behind them
GW's Family Nurse Practitioner MSN is 48 credits, taught online, with 600 hours of precepted clinical practice across three courses. The program asks you to find your own preceptor, and your first clinical course lands in semester 3 on a full-time plan or semester 5 or 6 part-time. Below: the plans, the on-campus events, and how our placement desk gets your preceptors lined up before GW's request dates.
Plan your FNP preceptors
Tell us your plan of study, your city and the term NURS 6230 begins. Your placement advisor replies with preceptor options for each FNP course.
The FNP MSN in one table
These figures come from GW's Bulletin 2026-27 and the FNP program page. GW's posted plans of study are dated November 2024, so where a plan and the Bulletin differ, the Bulletin is the newer text and your academic advisor has the final word.
| Item | What GW publishes |
|---|---|
| Credits | 48 |
| Precepted clinical hours | 600, with an approved preceptor |
| Format | Online, with on-campus CLASI and OSCEs |
| Start terms | Fall and spring |
| Full-time plan | 5 semesters |
| Part-time plan | 8 semesters from a fall start, 7 from a spring start |
| Entry | A BSN and an active, unencumbered RN license from a U.S. state or territory |
GW lists no minimum years of RN experience for the FNP MSN. Semester counts on GW's plans include summer terms, which is how a full-time student reaches clinicals by the third term.
Who finds your FNP preceptor
You do, with GW behind you. The FNP program page encourages students to arrange their own preceptors and offers details on local clinical sites to anyone who asks. GW's Clinical Rotations page exempts only the Acute Care NP options from the student-led search, so the Family track follows the standard graduate rule.
GW's help is real. You get advising, the Clinical Site Database in CORE with sites earlier NP students used, and, on request, a list of the sites and clinicians GW students in your state have worked with before, sent by the Clinical Placement Team. A name on that list is a lead rather than a yes, because each clinician decides term by term whether to take a student. Our page on securing sites and preceptors explains what GW's rule means course by course.
Every preceptor still passes through GW. Your program director reviews the site and preceptor for fit with the course, the Clinical Placement Team completes the affiliation agreement, and hours count only once you are cleared.
When your first FNP clinical course starts
NURS 6230 opens the clinical sequence on every plan. How soon it arrives depends on your start term and pace:
| Plan of study | First clinical (NURS 6230) | Clinical run | Total semesters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time, fall start | Semester 3, summer of year one | Summer, fall, spring | 5 |
| Full-time, spring start | Semester 3, fall of year one | Fall, spring, summer | 5 |
| Part-time, fall start | Semester 6, summer of year two | Summer, fall, spring | 8 |
| Part-time, spring start | Semester 5, summer of year two | Summer, fall, spring | 7 |
The spring full-time plan exists as a November 2024 PDF; the program page currently posts fall full-time, fall part-time and spring part-time plans. On any plan, NURS 6222 Advanced Health Assessment sits in the term just before NURS 6230, and CORE access opens before NURS 6222 begins. Our first clinical semester guide compares every GW program.
Full-time fall starters: NURS 6230 begins the first summer, so its CORE request comes due during your second semester (February 1 on GW's website). Begin the preceptor search in your very first term.
Three clinical courses, 600 hours
The FNP hours build from a 120-hour introduction to two 240-hour courses, each with an approved preceptor:
| Course | Title | Credits | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS 6230 | Family Nurse Practitioner I: Lifespan Primary Care/Diagnosis/Management | 4 | 120 |
NURS 6231 | Family Nurse Practitioner II: Lifespan Primary Care/Diagnosis/Management | 8 | 240 |
NURS 6232 | Family Nurse Practitioner III: Professional Issues/Diagnosis/Management | 8 | 240 |
Each course is its own placement. CORE needs a separate Site Prospector submission for every preceptor, site, rotation and term, so a student who splits a 240-hour course across two practices files twice. GW's 2021 clinical placement guide also gave each course a different focus, starting with internal medicine, then OB/GYN and pediatrics, and finishing in family practice. The FNP clinical courses page has that detail and what to confirm for your term.
CLASI, OSCEs and the final skills check
The FNP MSN is online, but three in-person checkpoints anchor it. CLASI, GW's Clinical Learning and Skills Intensive, happens on campus while you are enrolled in NURS 6222, and you must pass it before the clinical courses begin. OSCEs, the objective structured clinical examinations, take place while you are in NURS 6231 and NURS 6232. Every NP student also completes an end-of-program skills assessment.
Location depends on the event. GW's FAQ points to its Ashburn campus, VSTC, as the usual home for on-campus testing, yet the 2026-27 events dashboard lists FNP OSCE 1 on October 5–6, 2026 and OSCE 2 on February 27–28, 2027, both in Ross Hall at Foggy Bottom. Rooms, dress code and schedules are on our OSCE page.
Because both OSCEs fall inside clinical terms, give your preceptor those dates when you confirm your schedule. A planned absence is easy for a practice to absorb; a surprise one is harder.
A timeline from admission to your first shift
- First termMap your plan of study and circle the term
NURS 6230begins. Start listing internal medicine and family practice clinicians near you. Popular preceptors fill their calendars early, and GW notes that many are booked more than a year out. - During NURS 6220GW sends an invitation to its clinical webinar. Attend it, because it sets out how requests and clearance work for your cohort.
- About four months outSubmit the Site Prospector in CORE. GW's website lists Fall May 1, Spring October 1 and Summer February 1, while the 2026 CORE workshop gave its own priority dates; check the request deadlines and CORE's Document Library for your term.
- No earlier than four months outBuy Complio, then upload immunizations, background check and drug screen, BLS, proof of coverage and an RN license valid wherever you will rotate.
- ClearanceYour program director reviews, the Clinical Placement Team finishes the agreement, and a clearance notification arrives. Hours count from the start of the term after clearance, never before.
Why GW FNP students choose our placement desk
Three courses means at least three preceptor decisions, each with its own Site Prospector submission and review. We build that whole chain for you. Your placement advisor searches for clinicians who fit each FNP course where you live, from an internal medicine practice for NURS 6230 to OB/GYN and pediatric time for NURS 6231 and a family practice for NURS 6232, and confirms each one can take you in the term you need.
Then we prepare the file GW's review expects: the preceptor's license, a bio or CV, the person who signs agreements for the site, and a short statement of course fit, so your submission reaches the program director complete. If a preceptor steps away mid-course, the hunt for a replacement begins as soon as you tell us. Decisions rest with the program director and GW's placement staff, and we hand them a request that is easy to approve. See how it works, or send your plan and city through the form below.
Questions GW students ask
Can I split an FNP clinical course between two preceptors?
Yes, as far as GW's published rules go. GW's CORE workshop requires one Site Prospector entry for each preceptor at each site in each term, which assumes some students use more than one. GW publishes no cap on preceptors per course, so run the split past your Clinical Experience Faculty, who judges whether each site and preceptor suits the course.
Which state's RN license do I need for GW FNP clinicals?
One for every state where you rotate. GW's compliance list asks for licensure in the state of each clinical site, and the 2026 CORE workshop repeated it for every state with a rotation. For students near Washington, it suggested a DC license on top of a multistate Maryland or Virginia license. Details: RN licenses for clinicals.
Can I start GW's FNP MSN in the spring?
Yes. The FNP MSN admits in fall and spring. The spring part-time plan runs seven semesters, with NURS 6230 in the fifth; a November 2024 full-time spring plan also exists, with clinicals from the third semester. Ask your advisor which spring schedule your cohort follows before you set a search timeline.
Can I complete FNP clinicals outside DC, Maryland and Virginia?
Usually, yes. GW's online students do clinicals where they live, and GW says it is actively seeking remote preceptors in most states. The limits concern where you apply from: GW's State Authorizations page lists states its online programs cannot currently accept, and New York applicants must agree to complete clinicals in another state. See state authorizations.
Should I choose the FNP MSN or GW's family DNP?
The precepted part is identical: NURS 6230, NURS 6231 and NURS 6232, 600 hours in total. The DNP adds doctoral coursework and indirect DNP practice hours, totals 72 credits on an 11-semester part-time plan, and reaches its first clinical course in semester 9. The MSN is the faster route to FNP practice.
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
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next clinical term is all we need to begin.