Clinical placements provide intensive training that helps prepare nurse practitioner students for success in a number of practice settings, from pediatric primary care to urgent care to family practice.

For nurse practitioner (NP) students in the Department of Nursing at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, clinical placements provide critical, in-depth patient management experience. During their clinical placements, NP students gain invaluable experience diagnosing, treating and managing patients across the life span. The opportunity for placement in a variety of clinical practice settings ensures students are primed for success in the classroom and in their professional careers.

In honor of National Nurse Practitioner Week, which celebrates NPs across the country who contribute to positive health outcomes and a better quality of life for patients each day, we spoke with Josephine Fava Hochuli, clinical assistant professor and director of clinical placements in the Department of Nursing. Hochuli shed light on the nature of the clinical placement experience, as well as the breadth of opportunities for both personal and professional growth that it offers.

What is a clinical placement?

Clinical experience is integral to any NP curriculum. Clinical placements are preceptor-based, population-focused clinical practicums that facilitate student-learning outcomes. A clinical placement provides a supervised and structured, hands-on learning experience for NP students in which they gain confidence and acquire the necessary clinical skills to be a competent primary care provider.

USC MSN-FNP students complete clinical practicums that involve patient evaluation, diagnosis and management. These practicums occur in the following sequence and include four types of settings:

1) Adult patients

2) Childbearing and pediatric patients

3) Adults with complex conditions

4) An integrative family practice

Each clinical semester, students spend two to three days per week at their clinical site for a total of 196 hours. Students must receive a passing grade and complete all clinical hours within the respective semester in order to progress to the next clinical course. Students must complete the course-specific hours, totaling 784, by the time of graduation.

How does the placement process work?

First, students must successfully complete the Advanced Health Assessment course in order to enter into the next phase of their NP program of study. This includes passing a high stakes, head-to-toe assessment and participation in a simulated patient encounter. Once an NP clinical faculty member determines that the student has achieved a level of competence, the student may begin their clinical placement experience with a faculty-approved preceptor. The preceptor could be an NP, physician or physician’s assistant. The preceptor provides a one-on-one learning experience for the student and is expected to communicate with the student’s clinical NP faculty throughout the clinical placement for a given semester.

“NP students may make a referral for their desired placement, but the decision is ultimately left to the NP faculty member,” said Hochuli. “We have a placement team that follows faculty guidelines to determine which practice settings are best suited for each clinical course. The faculty vets each clinical placement site and preceptor to ensure the placement meets accreditation standards and each student’s specific learning needs.”

Once a preceptor and site is approved by faculty, the student is notified of their clinical placement. That NP faculty communicates with the preceptor to outline the specific student’s clinical learning needs (objectives that the student is required to meet for their course). The preceptor, the student and clinical NP faculty then sign a learning agreement outlining their individual responsibilities during the clinical placement. Once the learning agreement is signed, the student may begin his or her placement.

What are the goals and benefits of clinical placements?

The structure of clinical placements for USC NP students lends itself to success in a number of practice settings. “We want students to have diverse experience across a variety of primary care settings,” said Hochuli, “as we believe it will position them for success in their certifications exams as well as in their professional careers.”

Beyond meeting these goals, Hochuli believes that clinical placements offer valuable opportunities for professional and personal development. On the professional front, NP students learn more than just patient management: they are exposed to an interprofessional approach to health care, which equips them to interact with members of various health care teams and cultivate problem-solving skills to overcome unanticipated challenges. Students learn how their practice can impact health outcomes as well as receive valuable networking opportunities.

On the personal front, Hochuli stresses the resiliency that students can develop through clinical placements. “They learn a lot about themselves, how to face challenges and how to engage in mindful practice,” she said. “Clinical placements allow students to be the change agents we want them to become while delivering high-quality, evidence-based primary care.”