Filing a Site Prospector submission in CORE
The Site Prospector submission turns a site and preceptor you have found into a GW clinical request. GW's 2026 CORE workshop is blunt about the count: one submission per preceptor, per site, per rotation, per term. Get the attachments and contacts right on the first pass and GW's review has what it needs from the day you file.
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Tell us your GW program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your GW course.
What the Site Prospector does
GW's Clinical Rotations page says students "must complete a request form in the clinical placement CORE system" for any and all clinical rotations. Inside CORE, that request is the Site Prospector submission: the record of a site and preceptor you have lined up, sent to GW for review against your course.
GW's 2021 clinical placement guide adds two points that still shape good practice. The site and preceptor should already be ones faculty would judge appropriate before you submit, and a new request is needed for each and every rotation each semester. Put simply, the form is not a search tool. It is how a confirmed arrangement enters GW's review.
One per preceptor, per site, per rotation, per term
GW's 2026 CORE workshop puts the rule in capitals: "Must Submit a Site Prospector Submission form PER preceptor PER site PER rotation PER term." Each of those four words can create a separate entry, and a pairing left off now has to be filed later, usually closer to the deadline.
How the count works
- Two preceptors at the same clinic in one term: two submissions
- One preceptor who works at two locations: one submission for each location
- The same preceptor for
NURS 6231in fall andNURS 6232in spring: two submissions, one per term - A course that mixes settings, such as the OB/GYN and pediatric time GW's 2021 guide set for the second FNP course: one submission per preceptor and site
More than one preceptor in a course is allowed. GW simply wants each pairing on record so it can review it, contract the site and send evaluations to the right person.
What to attach and enter
GW's 2026 workshop and its 2021 guide together point to the items below. Your CORE form may ask for more, so read every field on screen before you start.
- The preceptor's license, which GW expects to be a current, unencumbered advanced practice license
- The preceptor's bio or CV; GW's Clinical Preceptor Biography form covers degrees, licensure, certifications, recent employers and areas of expertise
- The correct preceptor email for mid-semester and final evaluations
- The correct email for the site's affiliation agreement contact
- The site's authorized signatory, who in most cases is someone other than the preceptor
If the preceptor has not seen GW's preceptor guide, share it before you file; the 2026 workshop makes the signed final page of that guide your upload, not the preceptor's. The bio form and preceptor guide page covers both documents.
The signatory rule
GW's 2021 clinical placement guide says the request must name the site's authorized signatory, and that this person must be different from the preceptor unless the site administrator is also the business owner. The signatory is the person who can commit the site to an affiliation agreement with GW Nursing.
In a solo practice your preceptor owns, one person can fill both roles. In a group practice, a clinic network or a hospital, the signer is usually an administrator, a practice manager or a contracts or education office. Ask the office manager early who signs student affiliation agreements and which email the agreement should go to.
Getting this right is the difference between a contract that starts moving the week you file and one that circles back to you for a new name. The affiliation agreement guide explains what happens once the right person has it.
After you file
Your request then moves through GW's five stages in order, from Program Director Review through Site Onboarding, before a clearance notification arrives. The placement process guide walks through each stage. If the program director finds the site or preceptor a poor fit for the course, GW's 2021 guide says faculty contact you to discuss alternative arrangements, so watch your GW email while the request is open.
Keep in touch with the site and preceptor until the rotation begins, as GW's Clinical Rotations page asks. If you add or change a preceptor, GW's 2021 guide says the Clinical Placement Team must verify the new preceptor before you work with them, which in CORE terms means a new submission. If you drop a site, tell both the team and the site.
Common mistakes that slow review
- Combining two preceptors or two locations in a single submission
- Carrying last term's entry forward instead of filing a new one for the new term
- Leaving off the license or the bio or CV
- Naming the preceptor as signatory when they are not the site's owner or administrator
- Typos in the evaluation or agreement email, or a general inbox nobody at the site checks
- A preceptor outside GW's credential list, such as a physician assistant, a role GW's 2021 guide does not list
- A setting that does not fit the course, such as pediatric patients in the first FNP course under GW's 2021 guide
- Filing after the priority date for your term
A strong preceptor can still stall in review if the signatory or an email is wrong. Confirm both with the site before you press submit.
Submissions we prepare for GW students
Every placement we arrange comes with a Site Prospector packet ready to enter. We gather the clinician's license and CV or bio, confirm who signs affiliation agreements for the site and where the paperwork should go, and verify the evaluation email directly with the preceptor.
We also check fit before you file: the preceptor's credentials against GW's rules, the setting against your course, and the timing against your term's priority date. If your term is close, our fast-track page explains how we move on a short timeline.
The decision is the program director's; the completeness of the request is ours. Start with the form below, and how it works explains each step we take.
Questions GW students ask
Do I file a new Site Prospector submission if my preceptor stays the same next term?
Yes. GW's rule counts terms as well as preceptors, sites and rotations, so continuing with a preceptor into the next course or semester still needs a fresh submission. The details may be identical, but the review, the site's confirmation and the evaluations are all tied to the new term.
Can a physician assistant be my GW preceptor?
No GW source lists physician assistants as preceptors. GW's 2021 clinical placement guide limits its list to NPs, physicians (MD or DO) and CNMs with two-plus years of advanced practice. Should a PA volunteer, get your program director's view before filing anything. Preceptor requirements has the full rules.
What if my preceptor does not have a current CV?
Use GW's Clinical Preceptor Biography form. It asks for degrees, licensure with state, type and number, specialty certifications, the three most recent employers and areas of expertise, with the preceptor's signature. Under GW's 2021 guide, the signed form works, and so does a CV or resume paired with the license number.
Can I file before my preceptor has fully committed?
It is better to wait. The form needs the preceptor's license, bio or CV and working emails, and GW's 2021 guide expected the site and preceptor to be appropriate before submission. A request that falls apart during review means starting again with a new preceptor, closer to your term's deadline.
When is the Site Prospector due?
GW's website sets early-month dates for each term (fall, spring and summer), and the 2026 CORE workshop gives slightly later priority dates for fall 2026 and spring 2027. Your own term's date is posted in CORE's Document Library. The deadline guide compares them.
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.