Your preceptor dropped out: what to do before the term and mid-course
Tell your course faculty and Clinical Coordinator the same day, and get every hour you've already worked logged while your preceptor still answers messages. A replacement goes through the same approval, Preceptor Agreement and site checks as the first, so restart the search today rather than next week.
Preceptor just canceled?
Tell us your course, hours logged, hours left and county. A placement advisor replies about restarting the search for the same course.
The first 48 hours
Whatever the reason and whatever the week, the first moves are the same. Take them in this order, because the first three get harder with every day that passes.
- Get the details straightFind out your preceptor's last available day, whether any shifts remain, and whether the decision is theirs or their employer's. Ask if a colleague at the same practice might take over.
- Log everything you've doneEnter every outstanding timesheet and logbook entry in Exxat now, while your preceptor can still confirm them. Under earlier UTA syllabi (2016–2018), anything logged over a week after the clinical day was forfeited; clinical hour logs has the rest.
- Ask for the evaluationEarlier UTA syllabi also required an evaluation from each preceptor who had the student for over 8 hours. Check what your course asks for now, and request it before your preceptor moves on.
- Tell UTA in writingEmail your course faculty and Clinical Coordinator from MavMail with the course, the date of the change, hours logged, hours left and weeks left.
- Restart the searchContact your best leads the same day. People who told you “not this term” earlier are the place to start.
If it happens before the term starts
A cancellation before day one costs you no hours, but it can cost you your place in the queue. Your request was built around that preceptor, and a replacement means a new request, a new approval and a Preceptor Agreement signed by the person who takes over.
Two questions for your Clinical Coordinator decide how much room you have: whether your course's Wishlist in Exxat is still open, and if not, how a replacement gets entered; and how many requests you have left, because UTA caps the number of requests per course. UTA doesn't publish either answer for late changes.
Look at the same agency first. Another qualified clinician there may work under an affiliation agreement that already covers your program, which removes the slowest step. If nobody there can help and the course is close, work from need a preceptor fast.
If it happens mid-course
Mid-course, the hours you already have are what you protect first. No public UTA rule says hours with an approved preceptor are lost when that preceptor leaves, but they only help you if they are logged and supported, so check your Exxat totals against your own notes the day you hear.
The rest of the course doesn't shrink. Graduation requires every hour your program sets, and the handbook rules out waiving any. Simulation and observation won't close the gap either, because the minimum has to be met with direct patient care. If the weeks left can't carry the hours left, behind on clinical hours covers the conversation with faculty.
One situation is different. If the placement ended because your preceptor raised safety concerns about your practice, speak to your course faculty directly and first. Faculty investigate concerns about unsafe clinical behavior under UTA's handbook, which also treats being dismissed from a site for unsafe behavior as a clinical failure.
Approving the replacement
A new preceptor is a new approval, even at the same site and even halfway through a course. Before your first shift with them, all of this needs to be true:
- Their provider license is active and unencumbered, and they've practiced a year or more in the specialty role.
- Their license type is on your course's list of acceptable preceptor categories.
- Their practice fits the course setting, such as primary care for
NURS 5337. - The agency has an affiliation agreement with UTA that covers your program.
- The Clinical Coordinator and/or course faculty have approved the preceptor and site.
- The Preceptor Agreement is signed and with the Clinical Coordinator before your first day together.
- If the site is in another state, you've emailed NursingSOA@uta.edu and hold an RN license valid there.
Don't work shifts with the replacement while approval is pending, however tight the calendar. Hours at an unapproved placement risk not counting at all. The review is covered on Clinical Coordinator approval and the signature step on the Preceptor Agreement.
A replacement may use up a preceptor slot
If your course caps how many preceptors you can have, ask whether the one who left still counts toward that cap. If so, the replacement is your second, and there may be no room for a third. Current limits aren't on UTA's public pages; this is what our research found, and the guidelines in Exxat's Resources tile are the version to trust.
| Course | What the source says | How solid |
|---|---|---|
FNP NURS 5337 and NURS 5338 | “1 preceptor preferred, 2 are accepted” | UTA FNP guidelines revised 9/4/24, seen only as a search excerpt |
FNP NURS 5660 | Up to 3 preceptors | Same 2024 excerpt |
| Any FNP clinical course | No more than two preceptors | Earlier UTA syllabi (2016–2018), not current policy |
| AGACNP | 180 hours with one preceptor recommended; a 90/90 split between two allowed | Fall 2018 practicum syllabus, not current policy |
| Other tracks | Not published | Check your course's guidelines in Exxat |
Back on the search as soon as you tell us
Searching again when a preceptor drops is built into our service, and it starts as soon as you tell us. A placement advisor picks the search back up for the same UTA course, in person near you where possible, or through a virtual option where your course and faculty allow it.
Send us what the new preceptor has to cover: course number, hours logged, hours left, weeks left, your county and the site you just lost, since a colleague there could be the quickest fit. We check candidates against UTA's published minimums and help you prepare the CV, license verification, Preceptor Agreement and site details the Clinical Coordinator reviews, so the replacement request is complete when you file it in Exxat. Reach us through the form below or the chat.
Questions UTA students ask
What if my preceptor only needs a few weeks off?
Treat it as a gap rather than a drop. Work out whether the weeks left after they return can still carry the hours left, and tell your course faculty either way. If the numbers don't work, a second approved preceptor to cover the gap may be the answer, where your course allows one.
Can I change preceptors because the placement isn't working?
UTA doesn't publish a process for a switch you start yourself. Talk to your course faculty before you stop going, explain what isn't working, whether patient mix, setting or schedule, and agree a plan. Walking away without telling anyone puts both your hours and your evaluation at risk, and any new preceptor still needs approval first.
Should I tell UTA before I have a replacement lined up?
Yes. Waiting until you've found someone saves you nothing and costs your faculty time they could use to help. UTA's graduate nursing department commits to helping students who are having difficulty, and the policy behind that help, Students Experiencing Difficulties with Clinical Placements, sits inside Exxat. Reporting early is how that help starts.
My clinic closed or changed owners. Does that change anything?
It can. UTA's affiliation agreement is with the agency, so a new owner or a merged organization may need the agreement question answered again, even if your preceptor stays on. Ask your Clinical Coordinator to confirm before you log another hour there, and keep your existing hours logged and documented.
Does a mid-course change affect my clinical evaluation?
Your faculty grade you on UTA's Clinical Evaluation of Student tool, where passing means hitting the course's expected level on 80% of scored items. A new preceptor may need a few shifts to judge your work, so tell your faculty when the change happened and ask what your course expects from each preceptor.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.
Hand us the search. Keep your term.
Tell us your UTA track, your county and when your clinical course opens. We look for a preceptor and a site that fit what UTA asks for, and we help you put the approval packet together.
- Matched to your track's population and setting
- Paperwork prepared the way UTA's clinical team expects it
- In person near you, or a virtual option where your course allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a UTA-ready preceptor and site look like for you.