The Azusa Pacific background check and drug screen, explained
Every Azusa Pacific University (APU) nursing student completes a background check before placement at a clinical site, a rule APU traces to the Joint Commission, its contracted facilities and the School of Nursing. The drug screen works differently: it happens only if a site calls for one. Some sites go further and ask for Live Scan, more frequent checks or CB Bridges, so learn your site's rules early.
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Who needs itWhat the check coversDrug screensSite add-onsWho paysTimingWhere we fitQuestionsWho needs the background check, and when
Nobody is exempt. APU's catalog says the Joint Commission, contracted clinical facilities and the School of Nursing all require a background check for every undergraduate and graduate nursing student before placement at a clinical site. For an NP student, that means the check is done before the first rotation, whether that rotation is GNRS 600, GNRS 535 or GNRS 590A.
The check belongs to the same term-by-term compliance work as your immunizations and training modules. APU's graduate guidelines tie it to the compliance vendor subscription students buy, which is CastleBranch at most campuses and Complio in San Diego; the CastleBranch and Complio page covers package codes and review times.
A background check is not always a one-time event. Some facilities want checks more often, so a check that satisfied your first site may not satisfy the next one.
What the Clinical Participation Form authorizes
The scope of the check is set by a form you sign. APU's Clinical Participation Form gives permission for:
- A criminal search reaching back seven years in each county where you have lived or worked.
- Searches of sex-offender and child-abuse registries.
- Checks against the OIG and GSA exclusion lists.
- Release of drug screen results, on the occasions a site requires a screen.
Because the county search follows your address and job history, give a complete list of both. A missing county is a gap the search cannot cover.
Keep a copy of the signed form with your records. It is one of four signed forms APU's handbook lists, alongside the Student Handbook Acknowledgement, the Authorization to Release Student Education Records and the Health Care Provider Assessment of Physical and Technical Standards Form.
The same form also commits you to keeping health insurance through the practicum; that promise is covered on our health requirements page.
Drug screens: only when a site asks
APU does not screen every student by default. The SON Student Handbook and the Clinical Participation Form make the drug screen a site requirement: it happens when the clinical site you are placed at requires one. CastleBranch gives drug screens their own package codes for exactly that reason, so they can be ordered on their own once a site asks.
Since the screen depends on the site, it enters the picture once a site is in view, which puts the order, the collection visit and the result into the stretch between site approval and your first day. Ask every candidate site about it early rather than after the agreement is signed.
Results carry real weight. APU's handbook says any positive screen, marijuana included, can affect placement, progression and completion of the program. Because the handbook names marijuana explicitly, plan as if any positive result will be reviewed.
Live Scan, repeat checks and CB Bridges
Some facilities ask for more than APU's standard check. The Clinical Participation Form warns that certain sites require Live Scan or background checks at shorter intervals, and APU's CastleBranch overview notes that some sites require CB Bridges. Each of these is a condition set by the facility, so the request comes from the site's onboarding instructions or through APU's placement staff.
Every add-on is a step with its own appointment or setup, and it runs alongside the affiliation agreement and APU's written clearance, not after them. A hospital that wants a fresh check plus a Live Scan appointment is far easier to schedule when you know about it early. Our affiliation agreements page explains why a new site already needs lead time.
When a site names CB Bridges, follow the steps in APU's CastleBranch overview and the site's instructions, and ask the placement staff if the two seem to disagree.
Who pays: what APU's pages say
APU's sources do not agree, so go by your own program's page. The three versions below all appear on current or recent APU pages.
| APU source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Graduate catalog and most program pages | The student pays, and international students pay more |
| School Nurse Services Credential page | The cost is included in lab fees for the first clinical course |
| 2023-24 MSN Advanced Practice guidelines | Students purchase the compliance vendor subscription |
Ask one precise question: is the check for your program billed to you directly, folded into a lab fee, or bought as part of the vendor subscription? Those are the three answers APU's pages give. If your program page and your placement coordinator give different answers, follow the coordinator and keep the reply. Our placement costs page sets this charge beside the clinical fee, iHuman cases and facility onboarding fees, without printing any amounts.
Fitting screening into your placement timeline
Work from APU's dates. Requirements for Fall 2026 closed on August 1, 2026, and its recent guidelines ask anyone with a newly found preceptor to notify the placement coordinator 6-8 weeks before the term. A background check ordered in June sits comfortably inside that window; one ordered in late July competes with review time and with the site's own onboarding.
Lateness costs more than time. APU's 2023-24 guidelines list missed document deadlines among the reasons a late-drop fee is not waived, and a student with no cleared site by the first third of the semester has to drop the course. The no-placement drop rule page covers the waivers in detail.
If something on your record is flagged, speak with your placement coordinator directly. APU's public documents do not describe how a flagged result is reviewed; the current handbook behind the APU login and your placement coordinator decide how it is handled.
The background check is required before placement, and APU says you may not report to a site until the placement team clears it in writing.
Why APU students choose us for sites with extra screening
Screening rules are part of how we vet a site for you. Before you commit, we find out whether the facility wants a drug screen, a Live Scan, CB Bridges or a newer background check, and we hand you that list along with the preceptor's credentials and whether APU already has an affiliation agreement with that clinic.
Knowing the add-ons up front means you order the right screen once, early enough for review, and the placement request that reaches APU's Graduate Placement Team is ready to clear. If a site's screening rules turn out to be more than your timeline allows, we go back to the search and bring you another preceptor who fits your course and area. Start with the form below, or see how it works for the full sequence.
Questions APU students ask
Does APU require a drug test for nursing clinicals?
Only when your clinical site requires one. APU's handbook and Clinical Participation Form make the drug screen site-driven, and CastleBranch keeps separate package codes so it can be ordered at that point. If your site asks, order under the drug screen code, and keep in mind that APU says any positive result, marijuana included, can affect placement and progression.
How far back does the APU nursing background check go?
The Clinical Participation Form authorizes a seven-year criminal search in the counties where you have lived or worked. It also covers sex-offender and child-abuse registries and the OIG and GSA exclusion lists. Individual sites may ask for more, such as Live Scan or more frequent checks, so seven years is APU's baseline rather than every site's limit.
What is CB Bridges, and does every APU student need it?
CB Bridges is named in APU's CastleBranch overview as something some clinical sites require. Whether you need it depends on the site, not on your program. If a facility's onboarding instructions or APU's placement staff mention it, follow their steps; if nobody has mentioned it by the time your site is chosen, ask before your start date.
Is the background check included in APU's nursing fees?
It depends on which APU page you read. The catalog, along with most program pages, puts the cost on the student; the SNSC page puts it inside the lab fees charged with the first clinical course; and the 2023-24 guidelines have students buying the vendor subscription. Check your program's page and confirm with the placement team.
Can I start clinicals at APU while my background check is pending?
Not at a site APU has not cleared. The check is required before placement, and APU says a student may not report to a site until the placement team approves it in writing. Any hours from a site APU has not approved come out of Medatrax, so order the check early enough that review time does not collide with your start.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against APU's own catalog and program pages. Your syllabus, your clinical faculty and APU's student placement coordinators have the final word.
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