State guide: Kentucky

Kentucky and your Spring Arbor clinical rotations

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

SAU's nursing programs are authorized in Kentucky, and the Kentucky Board of Nursing says schools from other states do not need its approval, even when their only Kentucky presence is a clinical placement. What KBN does regulate is who oversees you: nursing faculty and NP preceptors working with SAU students in Kentucky need Kentucky licenses.

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Spring Arbor nursing clinicals in Kentucky: 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: reduced. — Kentucky on Spring Arbor's nursing state authorization list: authorized; RN license in the compact; NP practice reduced (AANP).

Kentucky, program by program

Kentucky is open to all of SAU's nursing programs per the list we checked on September 24, 2026. The license rule for faculty and preceptors is what varies by track.

SAU programs and Kentucky clinicals (SAU state authorization page, checked 2026-09-24)
SAU program group	Clinicals in Kentucky?	Kentucky point
NP tracks: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC	Yes	Faculty overseeing you and nurse preceptors need Kentucky RN and APRN licenses (APRN only for compact-state residents)
Nurse Educator and MSN/MBA	Yes	No KBN approval needed for out-of-state programs
Post-master's certificates	Yes	Same faculty and preceptor license rule as the MSN NP tracks
DNP (Strategic Leadership)	Yes	KBN's MSN/DNP guidance speaks of APRN programs; ask SAU how it treats a leadership practicum
RN-to-BSN	Yes	Outside KBN's jurisdiction; hours sit in coursework

No KBN approval, and one exemption worth knowing

KBN says plainly that it approves no nursing programs from other states and does not ask them to seek approval, even where the only Kentucky activity is a clinical component. Its approval work covers pre-licensure programs that start in Kentucky. RN-to-BSN programs fall outside its jurisdiction, and among graduate programs it concerns itself only with those that lead to licensure.

In KBN's reading of KRS 314.101, a nurse licensed in another state may complete Kentucky clinical rotations as long as the school either takes part in SARA or has been licensed by Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education. SAU's state authorization page calls SAU an NC-SARA approved institution. The exemption mainly matters if you hold a single-state RN license from a non-compact state.

Faculty and preceptor licenses in Kentucky

For online MSN and DNP programs preparing APRNs, KBN wants nursing faculty who supervise students in Kentucky clinical settings, and nurses who precept there, to hold active, unencumbered Kentucky RN and APRN licenses. A nurse whose home is in some other compact state can skip the Kentucky RN license and hold only Kentucky's APRN license. The faculty half is SAU's to arrange; it is fair to ask the program director who would oversee you in Kentucky and whether they hold those licenses.

The preceptor half usually settles itself, since an NP practicing in Kentucky already holds a Kentucky APRN license. Physicians and PAs are also on SAU's list for NP tracks, subject to faculty approval; see preceptor requirements.

AANP files Kentucky under reduced practice. A prescribing NP needs two separate physician agreements, one for scheduled drugs and one for everything else, unless exempted by the board, and a newly licensed NP's first year carries requirements about practice setting.

Louisville and Lexington have the most options, then Bowling Green and Northern Kentucky's piece of the Cincinnati metro. Systems to approach include St. Elizabeth Healthcare, UofL Health, UK HealthCare, Norton Healthcare and Baptist Health. Southern Indiana sites across the river fall under Indiana's lighter rules for graduate programs; see our Indiana page.

Licensing for Kentucky clinicals

The current compact has covered Kentucky since it began operating on January 19, 2018. A Kentucky multistate license covers clinical work there, and so does the multistate license your home state issues, if that state is in the compact. SAU's catalog adds its own condition: no restrictions on that license in the state where you train. Our RN license page explains SAU's wording.

Why Spring Arbor students in Kentucky choose us

We look for Kentucky preceptors whose licenses fit KBN's rules and your SAU track, collect what SAU faculty review, and restart the hunt if a preceptor withdraws. Every Kentucky preceptor and site needs SAU faculty approval, and each lead reaches them already checked against both sets of rules. Talk to a placement advisor.

FAQ

Questions Spring Arbor students ask

Does SAU need Kentucky Board of Nursing approval?

No. KBN leaves schools from other states outside its approval process entirely, even when their only Kentucky activity is a student's clinical placement. The conditions it does set concern the licenses held by faculty and nurse preceptors who work with you in Kentucky.

What license does my Kentucky NP preceptor need?

KBN expects nurses precepting APRN students in Kentucky to be actively licensed by Kentucky as both an RN and an APRN; a nurse whose residence is in another compact state needs only Kentucky's APRN license. An NP already practicing in Kentucky normally qualifies. Physicians and PAs follow their own licensing, and SAU accepts both for NP tracks.

Does the KRS 314.101 exemption matter for me?

Mainly if a non-compact state issued your RN license as a single-state license. KBN reads KRS 314.101 as covering out-of-state nurses doing clinical rotations in Kentucky whose school takes part in SARA or holds a Council on Postsecondary Education license. SAU calls itself NC-SARA approved; confirm with SAU before relying on it.

When should a Kentucky student send SAU the preceptor's details?

Earlier than the minimum. SAU's 2023-24 catalog wants the agreement, affiliation and verification forms in hand four weeks before the course, and in Kentucky SAU may also need licensed faculty lined up to oversee you. Tell SAU as soon as a preceptor agrees rather than waiting for the 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.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.StatesState authorizationSAU's nursing programs aren't authorized in AL, AZ, LA or NY; Washington is residents only; the DNP page adds Mississippi. What that means for clinicals.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.State guideIndianaIndiana's board does not review graduate or RN-to-BSN programs, and compact licenses work there. How Spring Arbor students in Indiana line up clinicals.State guideTennesseeTennessee is on Spring Arbor's authorized list. The 2026 moratorium bill on out-of-state clinical programs, restricted practice and what to confirm first.

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.

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