Completing your Loyola University New Orleans practicum outside Louisiana

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Loyola Preceptor placement team

Depending on the program, a Loyola University New Orleans practicum can take place in Louisiana, in another state, or both. An out-of-state practicum works when three pieces line up: Loyola's approval for your program in that state, an RN license active where the site is, and the host state's own rules for schools based elsewhere. Here is how each piece fits, and where the programs differ.

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Tell us your Loyola program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Loyola course.

6months' notice for a Nurse-Midwifery rotation request outside Louisiana

90minutes from New Orleans, past which AGACNP site visits move to Zoom

Numbered steps. The same Loyola process at a longer distance: 1 Confirm the state for your program; 2 Match both licenses to the site; 3 Look for an agreement already in place; 4 Get a new agreement moving early; 5 Submit, then wait for Placement Approved. — The same Loyola process at a longer distance: 1 Confirm the state for your program; 2 Match both licenses to the site; 3 Look for an agreement already in place; 4 Get a new agreement moving early; 5 Submit, then wait for Placement Approved.

Loyola plans for practicums near where you live

The 2026-27 bulletin says FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP certificate practicums are completed with preceptors in practice settings located in the geographic areas where the student resides. The Nursing Student Handbook adds that, depending on the program, practicums take place in Louisiana, outside it, or both. The MSN FNP page ties every practicum to a state where you hold a valid nursing license.

Near home is not always around the corner. The FNP practicum letter tells students to be ready to travel beyond their city for a site in any semester. Even in Loyola's fully online programs, where no course meets in person, the practicum itself happens face to face with a preceptor.

Some programs place students instead: Nurse-Midwifery assigns sites, Nurse Anesthesia and the dual program use program-affiliated sites, and the BSN and ABSN train in Greater New Orleans. Those exceptions appear further down this page.

The license has to follow the site

Loyola's handbook sets two license rules for graduate students. Any state where you plan a practicum must be a state where your RN license is active. Separately, you keep a Louisiana RN license or a multistate one throughout your enrollment. FNP and PMHNP students need the Louisiana or multistate license before the second semester, and Loyola monitors every license through Nursys e-Notify.

Your preceptor has a matching rule. The FNP guide asks for a current, active, unencumbered license in the state where the site sits, and DNP project preceptors need an unencumbered license in the practicum state. The preceptor's license has to match the site's state, not yours and not Louisiana's. The RN license page covers encumbrances and timing in full.

Two licenses have to match the site's state before the Wishlist goes in: yours and your preceptor's. A mismatch on either stops the placement.

Host states set their own rules for outside schools

Each state decides, through its board of nursing or a higher education agency, whether a school based elsewhere may place students within its borders. Loyola's State Approvals Map shows where the School of Nursing reports approval; the host state's rules explain the steps behind that color. A few examples, taken from the states' own pages:

How selected host states treat nursing programs based outside their borders (state sources)
State	What the state's own source says
Alaska	Each APRN student from a school outside Alaska registers individually with the Board of Nursing for a preceptorship, for up to 12 months
Arizona	Out-of-state APRN programs apply to the Board for approval before any student starts clinicals in Arizona
Alabama	Outside advanced practice programs file a letter of intent with approval documents at least 15 days ahead of clinicals
Mississippi	The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning reviews outside programs offering clinicals in the state, a process that may take up to three months
Texas	The Board of Nursing's approval rules for outside programs cover pre-licensure programs, not graduate or APRN programs
Georgia	The Board of Nursing does not regulate post-licensure programs, so outside MSN and NP programs need no Board approval to place students
New York	Outside and online nursing programs need NYSED registration or approval before placing students in clinical rotations

In most of these examples the filing falls on the school; Alaska's individual registration is the one that lands on the student. Each state guide gathers that state's board, compact status and rules for outside programs.

Extra compliance items in other states

The handbook warns that some states may require compliance items beyond Loyola's standard list, and the FNP guide notes that sites set their own extras on top. Those can include proof of liability insurance, HIPAA training, license proof, CPR, background screening, a physical, drug screening, health insurance and immunizations. Any additional fee a site charges is the student's cost.

Loyola's core items travel with you wherever you train: the background check and drug screen ordered through the School of Nursing's contracted company, BLS, health insurance, immunizations and TB screening, each uploaded to Exxat. The School of Nursing's malpractice coverage extends to practicum hours, and Loyola posts certificates of liability insurance an out-of-state site can review. The compliance requirements page lists each item.

The same Loyola process at a longer distance

Confirm the state for your programLook up the practicum state on the licensure table and the July 15, 2026 map. Where they disagree, the licensure disclosures page shows the conflict and who at Loyola resolves it.
Match both licenses to the siteCheck that your RN license and your preceptor's license are active in the state where the site sits.
Look for an agreement already in placeSearch Explore Clinical Locations in Exxat Prism. Loyola holds agreements with hundreds of organizations, and sites on that list move through quickly.
Get a new agreement moving earlyA site with no agreement signs the Standard Loyola Affiliation Agreement (2026-27, three-year term). When a site edits the form heavily or insists on its own, review can stretch across several months, so keep a second site in reserve.
Submit, then wait for Placement ApprovedFile the Wishlist with the preceptor's CV, license and Preceptor Agreement, and log no hours until the whole request shows Placement Approved.

Midwifery, anesthesia and AGACNP site visits

Nurse-Midwifery follows its own rules. The program assigns sites, and the majority sit in Louisiana, chiefly greater New Orleans. A rotation outside Louisiana is possible only when a CNM or approved clinician signs a letter agreeing to precept, the letter reaches the Program Director at least six months before the course, and the Program Director approves it. The bulletin's certificate entry uses the home-area sentence instead, a conflict the Nurse-Midwifery page explains.

Nurse Anesthesia and dual AGACNP/Nurse Anesthesia students go to program-affiliated sites, and Loyola says an RN license in the states where those sites operate may be required. For AGACNP practicums, faculty visit each site yearly, and the visit happens by Zoom when the site is more than 90 minutes from New Orleans.

Why out-of-state Loyola students choose us

Distance is where a placement search usually slows: health systems you have never worked with, a license check in another state, and an affiliation agreement Loyola may never have signed with that site. We carry that work in your state. We confirm the state against both Loyola sources, find preceptors licensed where the site sits, check Explore Clinical Locations for an existing agreement, and gather the CV, license, Nursys PDF and Preceptor Agreement the Wishlist needs.

We also flag the host state's rules early, so a board step or a site's extra onboarding never surprises you in the final month. Loyola's placement office and faculty give the final approval; what we deliver is a request that already meets Loyola's rules and the host state's, with nothing missing. Start with your state and term.

Questions Loyola students ask

Can I do my Loyola FNP clinicals in my home state?

In most states, yes. The bulletin places FNP practicums with preceptors in the area where you live, and the MSN FNP page requires a state where you hold a valid nursing license. Look up your state on Loyola's licensure table and State Approvals Map first: New York clinicals cannot be completed in-state, and a few states read differently between the two sources.

Do I need a nursing license in the state where my practicum is?

Yes. Under Loyola's handbook, a graduate student's RN license must be active in every state where a practicum is planned, on top of the Louisiana or multistate license held while enrolled. Your preceptor also needs a current, unencumbered license in the site's state. Confirm both before the Wishlist goes in, because a gap in either one holds up approval.

Does NC-SARA cover my out-of-state practicum?

Loyola participates in SARA, which lets it offer online programs in member states. SARA has no effect on professional licensing rules, and California does not participate. Your practicum still depends on the School of Nursing's state approvals, an RN license active in the host state and any rules that state sets for nursing programs based elsewhere.

Will Loyola faculty visit a site outside Louisiana?

For AGACNP practicums, Loyola's practicum guide says faculty visit each site yearly, using Zoom when the site is more than 90 minutes from New Orleans. The Standard Loyola Affiliation Agreement also gives faculty the right to visit any site. For FNP, PMHNP and DNP project practicums, ask your course faculty how they will stay in touch with your site and preceptor.

Who pays extra site fees for an out-of-state practicum?

Loyola's FNP guide says any extra fees a practicum site charges are the student's responsibility. Out-of-state sites may also add onboarding items of their own, such as HIPAA training or a separate background screening. Ask each site for its student requirements before the Wishlist is filed, so the cost and the timeline are clear from the start.

State rulesLicensure disclosuresLoyola University New Orleans publishes a licensure table and a State Approvals Map. See both side by side and the nine places where they disagree.State rulesState Approvals MapHow to read the Loyola University New Orleans State Approvals Map: restrictions in Alaska, California and New York, and red for Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming.RN licenseRN license for practicumThe RN license Loyola New Orleans students need: active in each practicum state, Louisiana or multistate while enrolled, Nursys e-Notify and encumbrances.ComplianceCompliance requirementsEvery compliance item Loyola New Orleans nursing students need before a practicum, the 60-day vs thirty-day deadline conflict, and how a compliance hold works.ContractsAffiliation agreementsThe Standard Loyola Affiliation Agreement for 2026-27: its three-year term, site-written contracts, months-long reviews and why early hours are forfeited.GuideLoyola practicums by stateDoing Loyola practicum hours outside Louisiana? Fifty state guides: Loyola's licensure table and approvals map, RN license rules and where to look locally.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Loyola's own bulletin, program pages, practicum guides, forms and licensure disclosures. Your plan of study, your practicum guide, your program director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.

Loyola asks you to select your own preceptor and site. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Loyola program, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check whether the site already has a Loyola affiliation agreement, and prepare everything your Exxat Wishlist needs.

Preceptors matched to the course: outpatient primary care for NURS G823, pediatrics and obstetrics for NURS G829, acute care for NURS G902, psychiatric care for NURS G856
Preceptor CV, license and Nursys PDF, the Preceptor Agreement and the site's signer details ready for the Wishlist
In your own community, in Louisiana or any state where Loyola approves your practicum

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