APU clinical systems and rules, guide by guide

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

Azusa Pacific's graduate clinical path has several moving pieces, and this hub gives each of them its own guide: the Graduate Preceptor Request form, the placement team that reviews it, affiliation agreements, Medatrax, CastleBranch, every GNRS clinical course and the California rules sitting underneath. We wrote them from APU's catalog, the School of Nursing student hub and APU's request forms, and wherever two of those sources give different answers, the guide points out the gap.

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APU clinical systems and rules, guide by guide. Azusa Pacific's graduate clinical path has several moving pieces, and this hub gives each of them its own guide: the Graduate Preceptor Request form, the placem — Every APU clinical guide in one place: the request form, affiliation agreements, Medatrax, CastleBranch, GNRS clinical courses and California rules.

Where APU's official detail lives

Program requirements, clinical units and the rule of 45 hours per unit all come from APU's 2026-2027 catalog. The day-to-day specifics are on the School of Nursing student hub and in its Graduate Preceptor Request forms, which spell out what the placement team asks for, who is allowed to precept each course and the dates requirements fall due. Deeper material, such as the current student handbooks, the preceptor handbook and the DNP guidelines, is posted only behind the APU login.

When a question runs past APU's public pages, the guide names the APU source that should hold the answer. If this is your first APU clinical term, open the clinical placement process guide before anything else, and follow it with the page on how the Graduate Placement Team handles requests.

How your placement advisor uses these guides

These pages are also our working reference for Azusa Pacific. When a preceptor is being lined up for GNRS 600, one of the PMHNP population courses or a CNS course, your advisor first compares that preceptor's type with what APU's request form allows, then asks whether the clinic already has an affiliation agreement with APU on file. By the time APU's team sees the request, the match has cleared both checks.

Placement and preceptors

Clinical placement processHow graduate clinical placement works at APU, in order: program plan, compliance, finding a preceptor, the request form, clearance, Medatrax and evaluations.Finding your own clinical siteWhat APU's shared placement model means, why a clinical placement is not promised, and how to find a site and preceptor near home in Southern California.APU Graduate Placement TeamWhat APU's Graduate Placement Team and student placement coordinators handle: preceptor vetting, affiliation agreements, placement offers and one-week replies.Graduate Preceptor Request formAPU's Graduate Preceptor Request form field by field: which version to file, one form per preceptor, and why the clinic's legal name and legal signer matter.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept APU nursing students: MD, DO, NP and PA rules for NP tracks, PMHNP and CNS preceptors, educators, leaders, and the family and own-unit rules.Affiliation agreementsEvery APU clinical site needs an affiliation agreement. What it covers, which request form fields feed it, who signs, and why a new site needs lead time.No-placement drop ruleNo clinical site by the first third of the semester? APU's recent guidelines say drop the course. How the deadline works, when fees are waived, what to do next.Clinical rotation rulesThe rules for an APU graduate clinical rotation: concurrent didactic courses, steady hours, no night shift before clinical, faculty pauses and incompletes.Placement costs: who paysWho pays for what in APU clinicals: CastleBranch or Complio, background checks, the clinical fee and malpractice, iHuman cases and facility onboarding fees.

Hours, logs and evaluation

Clinical hours by programClinical hours for every APU nursing program and course, from FNP and PMHNP to the DNP, with the 45-hour unit rule and the places APU's own figures disagree.45 hours per clinical unitAPU counts 45 clinical hours per clinical unit. What 2, 3, 4 or 6 units a term means for your week, how to read APU's unit notation and where the math stops.GNRS 600 NP clinical courseHow APU's GNRS 600 works: 12 units and 540 hours for MSN FNP and AGPCNP, up to 17 units and 750 direct-care hours for BSN to DNP, 2 to 6 units a term.FNP pediatric hoursAPU FNP students place 135 pediatric hours inside GNRS 600. Which settings qualify, the six-pediatric-patients-a-day rule for family practices, and planning.Medatrax hour loggingHow APU nursing students log clinical hours in Medatrax: the weekly rule, academic warnings for missed entries, and why unapproved-site hours are removed.Evaluations and OSCEsHow APU assesses NP clinicals: preceptor and faculty evaluations, OSCEs and the summative OSCE, iHuman virtual cases, remediation and the clinical portfolio.Graduate grades and probationAPU graduate nursing grades: the 3.0 GPA, the B- line in NP courses, probation, repeats, incompletes, withdrawals, appeals and the eight-year time limit.DNP residency hours (GNRS 732)How APU's GNRS 732 DNP Clinical Residency works: 1,000 hours, up to 500 transferred from a master's, and how BSN-to-DNP clinical hours build toward the total.

Compliance and licensing

CastleBranch and ComplioHow Azusa Pacific nursing students use CastleBranch or Complio: the right package code, the 7-10 business day review, and the August 1 style term deadlines.Background check and drug screenWhat the Azusa Pacific clinical background check covers, when a site orders a drug screen, where Live Scan and CB Bridges fit, and what APU says about who pays.Immunizations and health requirementsImmunizations, the yearly TB test, the AHA BLS card, the physical and facility COVID-19 rules for Azusa Pacific clinicals, and where APU's documents differ.Malpractice insurance and clinical feeWhat Azusa Pacific's pages say about malpractice insurance for nursing clinicals, the clinical fee that includes it, and where APU's sources split on who pays.RN license and SoCal residenceAzusa Pacific's gates before NP and CNS clinicals: a current California RN license, a home in Southern California and a year of nursing experience, by program.GNRS 611 and the furnishing numberHow APU's GNRS 611 Advanced Pharmacology supports your California furnishing number: the BRN's course verification, the BreEZe application and Schedule II.BRN NP certificationHow APU NP graduates earn California BRN certification under Method One, which national exam fits each track, and how to time both after your clinicals.

Clinical courses

GNRS 612 and the pre-clinical gateHow APU's GNRS 612 health assessment lab and the B- rule in pathophysiology, pharmacology and assessment set the term your first clinical course can start.PNP-PC clinical coursesAPU's PNP-PC clinical sequence course by course: GNRS 590A, 532, 590B and 542, the hours each works out to, pediatric preceptors and the settings that count.PMHNP clinical coursesAPU's four PMHNP population courses, GNRS 535 to 538: 135 hours each, who may precept each one, the PMHNP request form and settings that fit each population.CNS clinical coursesAPU's Clinical Nurse Specialist clinicals: GNRS 520 or 530, 521 or 531 and 543, the 180 hours in each, CNS and nurse leader preceptors, and hospital settings.School Nurse Credential coursesAPU's School Nurse Services Credential clinicals: GNRS 550A in school settings, GNRS 590C, the audiometry practicum and how the hours add up on each SNSC path.Nursing Education practicumsAPU's Nursing Education practicums: GNRS 518 direct care hours, the 135-hour GNRS 663 capstone with a nurse educator preceptor, and how to secure both sites.Healthcare Administration practicumAPU's MSN Healthcare Administration and Leadership practicum: GNRS 562 and GNRS 567, Practicum Surveys A and B, published deadlines and the learning contract.

Campuses, calendar and state rules

APU campuses and programsAzusa, Monrovia, Inland Empire, San Diego and High Desert: which APU nursing programs each campus runs, and where APU's own campus lists disagree.Academic calendar and termsAPU's 2026-27 graduate calendar for nursing students: 16-, 12- and 8-week sessions, add, drop and withdrawal dates, and when clinical requirements are due.State authorization and licensureWhy APU sits outside SARA, the states where it is not enrolling distance students, and what APU's nursing licensure disclosures say for each state.Nursing accreditationAPU nursing accreditation explained: CCNE terms through 2028, BRN approval of the NP and prelicensure programs, WSCUC, and what clinical sites check first.Student systems mapThe APU systems nursing students use for clinicals: the SON student hub, Canvas, APU Gmail, home.apu.edu, CastleBranch or Complio and Medatrax, task by task.

Questions APU students ask

Where does APU publish its clinical rules?

APU spreads them across three sources. Program and course requirements are in the catalog; the placement process is on the School of Nursing student hub and its request forms; and the current handbooks are posted behind the APU login. Each course syllabus then layers on that course's own expectations.

I'm new to APU clinicals. Where do I begin?

Open the clinical placement process guide. It lays out APU's graduate route from the first step to the last, then hands you off to the deeper guides on the request form, affiliation agreements, compliance and Medatrax.

Can these guides stand in for APU's handbook?

No. Each one condenses what APU had made public as of the date printed on that page. For your own program, the handbook, your syllabus, your clinical faculty and APU's placement team decide.

Do the GNRS clinical courses get their own guides?

Yes. GNRS 600 and its FNP pediatric hours have coverage, and so do the PNP, PMHNP and CNS course sequences, the courses for the school nurse credential, and the practicums in education and leadership.

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.

APU says the clinical site and preceptor are yours to find. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your APU program, where you live in Southern California and when your next clinical term starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare what APU and the site need before anything is approved.

Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for GNRS 600, pediatrics for the PNP courses, psychiatric care for PMHNP
Credentials, license and site details ready for APU's review and the affiliation agreement
Close to home, from the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire to San Diego

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