State guide: Florida

Finding SAU clinicals and preceptors in Florida

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Spring Arbor Preceptor placement team

All SAU nursing programs are cleared for Florida, and its program-approval law targets schools teaching pre-licensure students inside the state, not graduate programs placing students there. The real work is local: a preceptor willing to take an SAU student in a busy market, faculty approval, and a current compact or Florida license.

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Tell us your Spring Arbor track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what your preceptor and site need to look like for Spring Arbor to approve them.

Spring Arbor nursing clinicals in Florida: possible for MSN NP tracks: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP, Nurse Educator and MSN/MBA, Post-master's certificates, DNP (Strategic Leadership), RN-to-BSN. RN license: in the compact. NP practice: restricted. — Florida on Spring Arbor's nursing state authorization list: authorized; RN license in the compact; NP practice restricted (AANP).

Florida, track by track

Florida is an authorized state for all SAU nursing programs (our check: September 24, 2026). What differs is the kind of preceptor and site each track needs.

SAU programs and Florida clinicals (SAU state authorization page, checked 2026-09-24)
SAU program group	Clinicals in Florida?	Preceptor or site note
NP tracks: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC	Yes	Many Florida NPs work under a physician protocol; SAU also accepts physicians and PAs
Nurse Educator and MSN/MBA	Yes	125-hour practicum; Nurse Educator students also complete an internship in an education setting
Post-master's certificates	Yes	The PMC-PMHNP asks for 500 hours, often across more than one site
DNP (Strategic Leadership)	Yes	Practicum hours count toward 1,000 post-baccalaureate hours (2023-24 catalog)
RN-to-BSN	Yes	No outside placement; clinical hours are embedded in courses

Florida's board and programs from other states

Florida's approval statute, s. 464.019, F.S., is written for institutions that want to run pre-licensure nursing education inside Florida, and the Florida Board of Nursing frames its education job the same way. We found nothing requiring an RN-to-BSN or graduate program from another state to file anything with Florida's board ahead of a placement.

That leaves the gatekeeping with SAU. Faculty approve each preceptor and site, the clinical agreement and affiliation forms are due at least four weeks before a clinical course (2023-24 catalog), and our affiliation agreements page explains why a site with an SAU agreement already on file tends to move faster.

Restricted practice and the preceptor market

AANP puts Florida in its restricted group: some NPs there keep a protocol agreement with a physician for as long as they practice, though exemptions exist. In practice, the NP who agrees to take you may bring a supervising physician into the conversation, and a physician is also an acceptable SAU preceptor for NP tracks.

Florida's TEACH program pays certain community health centers, rural health clinics and similar sites for the clinical hours they host, but only when those students come from accredited programs headquartered in Florida. An SAU student brings no such funding, which may be one reason a community clinic leans toward local schools.

The four big markets are Jacksonville; Orlando, Kissimmee and Sanford; Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater; and the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach corridor. Health systems worth contacting: HCA Florida Healthcare, BayCare Health System, UF Health, Baptist Health South Florida and AdventHealth. In the Panhandle, keep sites on the Florida side: Alabama is off SAU's list.

Florida licenses and the compact

Florida's membership in the current compact dates to January 19, 2018, the day that version took effect. If Florida is your primary residence, your Florida multistate license covers clinicals at home and across other compact states; if another compact state is home, its multistate license works in Florida. Seasonal residents should settle which state counts as home before a practicum begins.

SAU asks for an unrestricted license in the state of practice, and our RN license page explains the wording SAU uses.

Why Spring Arbor students in Florida choose us

Florida's large metros draw students from many schools, so we widen the radius early, look for sites that already hold SAU agreements, and assemble the preceptor's CV and license plus the site details for SAU's faculty review. If a preceptor pulls out mid-semester, the search is back under way at once. SAU faculty approve every preceptor and site. Get started.

FAQ

Questions Spring Arbor students ask

Does SAU need Florida Board of Nursing approval for my clinicals?

We found no Florida rule requiring it for graduate or RN-to-BSN programs from other states; s. 464.019, F.S. deals with pre-licensure programs run inside Florida. SAU faculty approval is the step that matters, together with whatever agreement paperwork the clinical site itself asks for.

Can a Florida physician precept me in an SAU NP track?

Yes. Physicians sit on SAU's list for NP tracks alongside certified NPs and PAs, subject to faculty approval. In Florida, where some NPs work under a physician protocol, the supervising physician may be the easier person to ask when the NP's schedule is already full of students.

Will a Florida clinic receive TEACH funding for hosting me?

No. TEACH reimburses qualifying Florida facilities only for students in accredited Florida-based programs, and the money depends on legislative appropriation. SAU students fall outside it, so do not present it as a benefit when you ask a clinic for a placement.

I split the year between Florida and another state. Where should my clinicals be?

Somewhere you hold an unrestricted license, in a state on SAU's authorized list, at a site SAU faculty approve. Under the compact, your home state is the one you legally reside in. Choose one clinical base per rotation and settle it with the program director well before the paperwork deadline.

Keep going

GuideBy stateWhere Spring Arbor University nursing students can do clinicals: not authorized in AL, AZ, LA and NY, Washington for residents only, and a guide for every state.SearchFinding your own preceptorSAU says online NP students choose their own preceptor in their home state. What that means day to day, how the wording changed, and the help SAU lists.LicenseRN license for clinicalsSpring Arbor asks for an unrestricted RN license in your state of practice. What that means for your clinical state, compact licenses and moving mid-program.FNPMSN Family NP (FNP)Spring Arbor's online MSN FNP needs 625 clinical hours in NUR 680. Who can precept, what comes first, SAU's 2026 support line and where we help.State guideGeorgiaGeorgia's board does not approve graduate programs but sets license rules for students, faculty and preceptors. What SAU nursing students there should know.State guideAlabamaSpring Arbor's nursing programs are not authorized in Alabama. What that means if you live there or plan to move, and what to ask SAU before you act.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against Spring Arbor's own published sources. SAU's nursing faculty and current catalog have the final word.

Placement desk

More preceptor leads, sooner, for your SAU clinicals.

Tell us your Spring Arbor track, where you live and when your clinical course starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit SAU's rules for your track and help you get the paperwork in on time.

Matched to your track: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP, Nurse Educator or DNP
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