Every clinical document on file two months before you start

Updated September 27, 2026, reviewed by the NAU Preceptor placement team

Northern Arizona University's 2022-23 FNP Clinical Guidelines set one date that quietly governs the rest: your health and credential documents must be on file two months before the clinical rotation begins. Miss it and you can lose clinical orientation, be administratively withdrawn from the practicum and its paired theory course, and wait a year to retake them. Count back from your rotation's first day, not from the Green Form cutoff.

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2 monthsbefore the rotation, when NAU wants every clinical document on file

Numbered steps. A backward plan that works: 1 Six months out; 2 Four to five months out; 3 Three months out; 4 Ten weeks out; 5 Two months out. — A backward plan that works: 1 Six months out; 2 Four to five months out; 3 Three months out; 4 Ten weeks out; 5 Two months out.

The rule, and what a late file costs

The guidelines say it in capitals: "Students may not be allowed to participate in clinical experiences unless all documents are on file TWO MONTHS PRIOR to the clinical rotations." The next sentence spells out the penalty: paperwork that arrives late can cost you clinical orientation and end in NAU administratively withdrawing you from both the practicum and its companion theory course.

Withdrawal is not a short pause. The guidelines have the student retake the course when it is next offered, in the following academic year. Because NAU has taken its graduate clinical handbooks offline, this rule comes from the archived 2022-23 FNP edition; your course faculty and program coordinator hold the current version and can confirm the exact date for your rotation.

What goes in the file

The 2022-23 guidelines list these items for graduate FNP students. Health systems can add their own on top, which the next sections come back to.

Your RN license, unencumbered and valid wherever your clinic sits, uploaded to the tracking system (license rules)
BLS from the American Heart Association, earned in person rather than through an online-only course
Your immunization record and TB screening
An Arizona DPS fingerprint clearance card
Any background check or drug test the clinical agency asks for
Your own professional liability policy, at the minimum limits the guidelines name
Proof of NAU's HIPAA training, done before any rotation starts
A signed consent allowing NAU to pass your screening, insurance and immunization records to the facility

Submitted is not the same as current. The guidelines ask students to keep health and credentialing documents up to date in their student file and in Typhon, so check every expiry date, from the BLS card to the liability policy, against the last day of your final practicum.

Count back from your rotation's first day

The table assumes a rotation that opens on the first day of the term, which is the earliest it could start; a later start moves your document date later too. Green Form cutoffs appear in both published versions, newest first.

Two-month document dates beside NAU's Green Form cutoffs
Term and practicum	Term begins	Documents on file by	Green Form cutoff, 2022-23 form	Cutoff, 2021-22 form
Spring 2027, NUR 665	Jan. 11, 2027	Nov. 11, 2026	Oct. 31, 2026	Before Oct. 1, 2026
Summer 2027, NUR 661	May 10, 2027 (earliest session)	Mar. 10, 2027	Mar. 31, 2027	Before Mar. 1, 2027
Fall 2027, NUR 663	Aug. 23, 2027	June 23, 2027	June 30, 2027	Before June 1, 2027
Spring 2028, NUR 665	Jan. 10, 2028	Nov. 10, 2027	Oct. 31, 2027	Before Oct. 1, 2027

Two patterns stand out. In spring, the Green Form cutoff arrives first and the document date follows about a week and a half later. In summer and fall, the document date can fall one to three weeks before the 2022-23 cutoff, which means your own file has to be finished while NAU is still accepting preceptor requests for that term.

Why a withdrawal costs a full year

The FNP practicums follow a set order, one a term: summer brings NUR 661, fall brings NUR 663 and spring brings NUR 665. Each is paired with a theory course (NUR 660, NUR 662 and NUR 664), and the catalog chains them, so NUR 663 needs NUR 661 and NUR 665 needs NUR 663.

Lose one practicum and its theory partner to a late file and the next course in the chain is out of reach until you finish the missed pair a year later. That pushes graduation back a full cycle and eats into NAU's six-year limit for completing a master's degree. The progression rules page covers repeats and time limits, and our delayed graduation guide covers recovery.

The preceptor's half of the paperwork

Your own documents are only half of what clears you to start. NAU's approval steps also call for paperwork from the preceptor, a CV or resume, proof of license and any specialty certification, plus a signed affiliation agreement if the site has none. NAU's 2021-22 form put an agreement's turnaround at anything from days to months. Those items run on someone else's schedule, so ask for them the day the preceptor says yes.

Health systems stack their own onboarding on top. Northern Arizona Healthcare wants compliance items complete four weeks before a student starts, and HonorHealth wants onboarding done three weeks ahead, both inside myClinicalExchange; the health systems guide lists each one. Whatever the site, NAU tells you when you may begin, and your first clinical shift waits for that notice.

A backward plan that works

Six months outConfirm the rotation's start date with course faculty, list every item that expires before your last practicum ends, and settle on a preceptor.
Four to five months outSubmit the Green Form with the site's approval and ask whether NAU already holds an agreement with the site.
Three months outRenew BLS or TB screening if either lapses before your last practicum, update the liability policy, and apply for the fingerprint card if you have none.
Ten weeks outUpload everything, leaving a buffer to replace anything that comes back incomplete.
Two months outThe file is complete. Start any health system onboarding the site requires.
Start dayBegin clinical hours only after NAU notifies you that you may.

How we keep your preceptor side ahead of the date

We plan from your rotation's first day backward. The preceptor we find fits your course and passes Arizona's four-part preceptor test on license, experience, focus and certification. Their CV, license and certification are in hand as soon as they agree, and the site's approval is confirmed, so the Green Form can reach NAU with room to spare before both the cutoff and the two-month date.

A site that needs a new NAU agreement gets flagged the day we find it, health system onboarding goes on your list early, and the next two practicums are planned alongside this one, so each term's paperwork starts with a head start. If you are already close to a cutoff, our fast preceptor page explains how we move quickly. Send your details through the form below.

Questions NAU students ask

Is the two-month document deadline the same as the Green Form deadline?

No. The Green Form cutoff is the date NAU needs your preceptor request for a term; the two-month rule covers your own health and credential documents and is counted from your rotation's start. For spring the form comes first. For summer and fall starts, the document date can land earlier than the form's cutoff.

Does the two-month rule apply to my preceptor's paperwork?

The rule sits with the student's health and credential documents. The preceptor's CV, license and certification belong to NAU's approval steps, and NAU clears you to start only when both halves are done. Treat the two-month date as the target for everything, then confirm the preceptor-side deadline with course faculty.

What if my BLS card or TB screening expires partway through a practicum?

The guidelines ask you to keep documents current, not just submit them once. Renew before the expiry date and upload the new copy to NAU's tracking system; a lapsed item puts your clinical days at risk. Checking dates against your final practicum at the start saves this trouble.

Does the two-month rule apply to PMHNP students?

The published rule comes from NAU's FNP guidelines. NAU's 2023-24 APRN handbook, which spoke to PMHNP students, has been taken down, so NAU's current PMHNP document deadline is not public. Ask your program coordinator for the date that applies to NUR 680, and plan as if the two-month rule holds until you hear otherwise.

FormThe Green FormWhat NAU's FNP Preceptor/Agency Green Form asks, its two boxes, where to find it, who files it, and the term cutoffs on both versions of the form.ComplianceFingerprint clearance cardNAU NP students need an Arizona DPS IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card: why, when it must be on file, which category to pick, and where the out-of-state steps are.TrackingTyphon and ExxatWhich clinical tracking system NAU nursing students use, Typhon or Exxat, what each source says, and what goes in: license, documents, logs, evaluations.AgreementsAffiliation agreementsWhy every NAU clinical site needs an affiliation agreement, your own employer included, how long a new one can take, and who at the site signs it.Deadline closeNeed a preceptor fastA Green Form cutoff or NAU's two-month document rule is close. The dates by term, what takes longest, and how to get a complete preceptor request in on time.GraduationDelayed graduationHow one missed NAU practicum can push graduation back a year: the practicum sequence, conferral dates, time limits, and how to plan your way back on track.

Last checked 2026-09-27

We check these pages against Northern Arizona University's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your program coordinator and course faculty have the final word.

NAU welcomes a preceptor you arrange. We arrange one close to home.

Tell us your NAU track, your town and your next practicum. We line up preceptors who fit the course and Arizona's preceptor rule, confirm the site's approval, and gather the CV, license and certification the Green Form needs, well before NAU's cutoff.

Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages family primary care for FNP, psychiatric settings for PMHNP
License, experience and certification checked against the rule NAU applies, before the Green Form goes in
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