NURS 6222 and CLASI: the course that opens GW clinicals
Before any GW clinical rotation comes one course: NURS 6222, Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning. You take it the semester before your first precepted hour, you attend CLASI while enrolled, and your CORE access arrives before it begins. That makes the 6222 semester the time to have your preceptor search finished, not just started.
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.
Where NURS 6222 sits in your plan of study
NURS 6222 carries 4 credits, and the GW Bulletin names it a prerequisite to all other clinical NURS courses. Every GW nurse practitioner plan of study places it in the term right before clinical start, so the course works like a countdown: pass it, and your first precepted rotation begins the following semester.
It appears in the MSN and post-BSN DNP course lists for FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP and PMHNP, and in the Nurse-Midwifery MSN. The post-master's certificate lists leave it out, because certificate applicants bring graduate health assessment from their first master's degree. That explains why post-master's certificate students usually log clinical hours from semester one.
Which term you sit 6222 depends on your plan: full-time or part-time, fall or spring entry, MSN or DNP. The first clinical semester guide maps every plan. This page covers what happens around the course itself.
One term earlier: the clinical webinar invite in NURS 6220
The first clinical signal usually lands a semester before 6222. According to GW's Compliance and Clinical page, a clinical webinar invitation reaches students in the term they take NURS 6220 Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology. Treat that email as the opening of your placement season rather than an orientation you can skip.
GW's NP On-Campus Events Dashboard also lists a Clinical Placement Webinar for NP Students. When the dashboard was checked on September 24, 2026, that session was marked for rescheduling, so watch your GW inbox and the dashboard for the new date.
Moving early matters because of GW's own caution that plenty of preceptors and sites commit to students more than twelve months out. A student whose first rotation starts in summer and who begins calling clinics during a spring 6222 term is competing with classmates who asked much earlier.
CORE access arrives before the course starts
GW grants CORE access before NURS 6222 begins, which hands you the placement system a full semester ahead of your first rotation. CORE is where you file a Site Prospector submission for each preceptor, and it is where your timesheets, patient logs and evaluations will sit once hours begin. The CORE guide explains each part.
Students who enter clinical in their first semester, which includes most certificate students, have no 6222 term to trigger access. They ask for it by writing to sonclinical@gwu.edu, the Clinical Placement Team's inbox.
Here is the timing that surprises people. GW wants placement requests roughly four months before the clinical term, so the request for your first rotation usually falls due before 6222 ends, and on some plans before it even begins. Confirm your date on the placement request deadlines page and in CORE's Document Library.
CLASI, track by track
GW's FAQ says nurse practitioner students come to campus for CLASI, which it spells out as the Campus Learning and Skills Intensive, while enrolled in NURS 6222. The format and timing differ by track, and the program pages add details the FAQ leaves out.
| Track | CLASI format and timing | First clinical course after it |
|---|---|---|
| FNP (MSN and post-BSN DNP) | On campus; must be passed before clinical courses start | NURS 6230 |
| AGPCNP (MSN, DNP, certificate) | On campus, before clinicals | NURS 6224 |
| AGACNP (MSN, DNP, certificate) | On campus, before clinicals | NURS 6235 |
| PMHNP (MSN, DNP, certificate) | Virtual CLASI | NURS 6245 |
| Nurse-Midwifery MSN | On campus at the start of semester 7 | NURS 6321 |
Inside CLASI, GW runs workshops that include Welcome to Clinical and a CORE workshop. The NP dashboard also posts a CLASI H&P Performance Check List, the sheet GW uses for the history-and-physical portion, so read it well before you travel.
Midwifery students run on a different clock, with CLASI arriving just before clinical immersion. The midwifery immersion page covers that sequence.
Dress code and what to bring
GW's Dress Code and Required Equipment sheet, posted on the NP On-Campus Events Dashboard, sets the standard for every on-campus day. The short version: clinical and professional, never scrubs.
Pack and check before CLASI
- A lab coat, which is required; GW's Compliance and Clinical page links a lab coat order folder
- Your own stethoscope
- Professional clothes under the coat, since scrubs are not allowed
- The CLASI H&P Performance Check List, read in advance
- A working CORE login, because the CORE workshop runs during CLASI
- Your preceptor shortlist, so the workshop turns into real submissions
The dress-code sheet also has a section for the Simulation Center at VSTC in Ashburn, so read the part that matches your venue. Dates, rooms and changes are posted at go.gwu.edu/NPevents, GW's short link for the dashboard.
Scrubs are not accepted at GW's on-campus events. Bring a lab coat and a stethoscope.
Why GW students bring us in during 6222
The 6222 semester decides your first placement, and it is also the semester with the least spare time. That is exactly where we help. We search near your home for a preceptor and site that suit the course after 6222, guided by the settings GW's 2021 clinical placement guide describes for it: adult internal medicine before NURS 6230, adult primary care away from urgent care before NURS 6224, a psychiatric practice before NURS 6245.
Then we build the packet GW reviews: your preceptor's license and CV or bio, the name of whoever signs the site's affiliation agreement, and a plain explanation of why the site fits the course. The Site Prospector entry is complete on the first pass, and approval rests with GW's program director, who sees a finished file. Should a preceptor pull out later, we start the replacement search right away. Read how it works or send your 6222 term through the contact form.
Questions GW students ask
Can I take NURS 6222 in the same semester as my first clinical course?
Not under GW's published rules. The Bulletin lists NURS 6222 as a prerequisite to all other clinical NURS courses, and every NP plan of study places it the semester before clinical start. If a leave of absence or a repeated course shifts your plan, your academic advisor rebuilds the sequence, and your clinical request date moves with it.
Is CLASI held in Ashburn or at Foggy Bottom?
Ashburn is GW's default: the FAQ names the Virginia Science and Technology Campus as the usual home for on-campus testing and training. Even so, the 2026-27 dashboard sends FNP and AGPCNP students to Ross Hall in Foggy Bottom for their OSCEs, which shows venues shift by event. For CLASI, go by your term's dashboard entry, and see the OSCE guide for exam days.
Do PMHNP students travel to campus for CLASI?
Not for CLASI. On GW's DNP and certificate PMHNP pages, CLASI for psychiatric students is delivered virtually, and none of the PMHNP plans flags a course with an on-campus component. Travel enters the picture near the end of the program: beginning in Fall 2027, the NURS 6248 term includes a required simulation event on campus.
When will GW post my CLASI date?
The dashboard says specific schedules are provided about six months before each event. On September 24, 2026, the Spring 2027 CLASI date was still blank while both OSCE dates were already set. Bookmark the dashboard, watch your GW email, and request time off from work the day the date appears.
What does the CORE workshop at CLASI cover?
The 2026 deck GW uses for its CLASI CORE workshop demonstrates the Site Prospector entry, from attaching your preceptor's license and CV or bio to listing the right contacts for evaluations and the affiliation agreement. It also walks through the review order, clearance notifications and hour logging. Arrive with real preceptor names and the session becomes working time.
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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