Virginia clinicals for Frontier students
Virginia's Board of Nursing leaves post-licensure programs, and programs run from other states, outside its regulation and approval, so any FNU track can plan Virginia clinicals through FNU's usual steps. NPs there practice in AANP's restricted category, and the state's preceptor incentive is limited to students at Virginia schools.
Need a Virginia preceptor?
Tell us your track, your region of Virginia and your Clinical Bound term. A placement advisor will reply.
Virginia in one table
Virginia is on FNU's list of states where its graduates meet the educational bar for CNM, FNP, PMHNP and WHNP licensure. Here is what else shapes a Virginia clinical plan.
| Item | Virginia |
|---|---|
| Board | Virginia Board of Nursing |
| Nurse Licensure Compact | Implemented January 19, 2018 |
| APRN Compact | Not enacted |
| AANP practice environment | Restricted |
| Out-of-state programs | Not regulated or approved by the Board |
| Preceptor incentive | Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program, Virginia schools only |
What the Virginia Board does and doesn't regulate
The Board states that out-of-state nursing education programs, and post-licensure ones, are outside what it regulates or approves. Its 80%-in-Virginia clinical rule and its clinical-site approval rules in 18VAC90-27 apply to Virginia-approved pre-licensure programs, not to FNU's graduate tracks.
Virginia Code § 54.1-3001 also exempts from licensure a student in an advanced professional nursing program whose RN license, current and unrestricted, comes from another state, DC or a US territory; the exemption stops at the clinical practice the curriculum requires. FNU's compliance rule goes further: you need a license that is valid in Virginia, or compact eligibility, except at a site that accepts a license from any state. Follow FNU's rule, and leave board questions to Clinical Credentialing.
Patient care teams and your preceptor
AANP rates Virginia restricted: a practice agreement tying the NP to a patient care team physician is required unless the NP attests to three full-time years' worth of clinical experience, so a preceptor with less than that works in a team that includes a physician.
That team can help fill your plan. Physicians and PAs may supervise up to 40% of an FNP student's hours, physician-supervised visits count toward WHNP totals, and a psychiatrist can precept a PMHNP student for any share of the practicum. Whoever it is, FNU still wants an unencumbered license and a year in the advanced practice role. See who can precept.
Virginia's preceptor incentive, and why FNU students fall outside it
Virginia's Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program is open to Virginia-licensed physicians, PAs, APRNs, RNs and LPNs, paying by hours precepted per semester on a sliding scale, but only for students of Virginia's public or private nonprofit nursing schools. SB 405, signed March 31, 2026, made the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center its administrator in place of the Virginia Department of Health; applications there cover hours finished on or after July 1, 2026.
The student has to attend a Virginia school, and FNU is based in Kentucky, so a preceptor who takes you can't claim it. Say so when you ask, and point to what FNU offers instead: the FNU honorarium, six ANCC contact hours through The Gift of Precepting, library access to DynaMed, and 10% off FNU's non-matriculating courses.
Don't tell a Virginia preceptor that taking you qualifies them for the state incentive; FNU students aren't covered.
Where Virginia students search
The 2025 Census metros and systems below point to where preceptors practice; listing them doesn't mean any has agreed to host FNU students.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: about 3.18 million Virginians in a metro of 6.47 million
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC: about 1.74 million of 1.80 million in Virginia
- Richmond: about 1.39 million
- Roanoke: about 317,000
Large systems include Sentara Health, Inova, UVA Health, VCU Health and Carilion Clinic. The Washington metro spans DC, Maryland and West Virginia, and the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro reaches into North Carolina, so check the other jurisdiction's license rules before taking a site across a line; the North Carolina page covers that state.
Licensing for Virginia clinicals
Virginia entered the compact on January 19, 2018, as did North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee next door. At Virginia sites, you train on the multistate license issued by the compact state of your primary residence. Telehealth adds a license check for every patient's state and counts against your track's cap; the RN license page explains verification.
Nurse-midwifery students in Virginia
The Virginia rules on this page cover NP practice only. The patient care team requirement above comes from AANP's NP fact sheet and shouldn't be read as a rule for certified nurse-midwives, so check midwife preceptor questions with the Virginia Board of Nursing or your RCF. FNU's numbers don't move: 40 births (eight or more in a hospital), plus 40 labor management experiences, 40 newborn assessments, and a qualified supervisor physically in the room for every birth.
Why Virginia students choose us
We look for a Virginia preceptor who fits your track and your part of the state, pull together with you what the CSAF and the credentialing team will ask for, and stay available if the preceptor withdraws. Your RCF and Clinical Credentialing approve each site, and your paperwork reaches them in order. Share your plan with us.
Questions FNU students ask
Does FNU need approval from the Virginia Board of Nursing?
No. By the Board's own account, out-of-state and post-licensure programs sit beyond its regulation and approval, and its 80%-in-Virginia clinical rule applies to Virginia-approved pre-licensure programs. FNU's approvals still govern: the RCF must accept the site, and credentialing must finish the affiliation agreement and preceptor review before day one.
Will my Virginia preceptor get the state incentive for precepting me?
No. Under the current terms, the Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program covers preceptors whose students attend public or private nonprofit nursing schools in Virginia, and FNU is based in Kentucky. FNU pays its own honorarium after your practicum, based on program and hours.
Can I rely on Virginia's licensure exemption for students?
Not for FNU. Virginia Code § 54.1-3001 exempts an RN licensed in another state while enrolled in an advanced nursing program, for required clinical practice only, but FNU's compliance list is written around licenses, not exemptions. Plan on a Virginia license or a multistate one, unless your site is the kind that accepts any US nursing license.
Can I train in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk area if I live in North Carolina?
Yes, with a North Carolina multistate license and FNU's approval of the site. Both states have accepted multistate licenses from January 19, 2018 onward, and the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro reaches into North Carolina. Sentara Health is among Virginia's large systems. Your RCF reviews the site through the CSAF like any other.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against FNU's own published sources. Your Clinical Advisor, your RCF and FNU's current guidelines have the final word.
Your site submitted before Clinical Bound.
Tell us your FNU track, your county and your Clinical Bound date. We look for a preceptor and site that fit FNU's rules for your track, and help you get the CSAF and credentialing details right.
- Matched to your track: CNM/CM, NP, or the right mix FNU allows
- Ready for the CSAF, the RCF and Clinical Credentialing
- In person near you, or telehealth within FNU's caps
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