Clinical Placement Cycle

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Clinical Placement Process

All students and faculty are required to meet the health and safety requirements outlined by their university or college as well as all health and safety requirements of the clinical facility prior to in-person clinical education.  If students or faculty are unable to meet the health and safety requirements of clinical facilities, they may be unable to participate in clinical rotations.

All necessary information for student and faculty preparation, including health and safety requirements, should be provided to your school. Please contact your faculty at your academic institution if you have any questions about clinical rotations/placements.

Clinical Placements Overview


Students and faculty are discouraged from cold-calling clinical facilities for a preceptor or for rotation availability. Securing clinical placements must be done through your academic institution’s clinical placement coordinator.  Please contact faculty at your academic institution if you have any questions about clinical rotations/placements.

Student clinical placements are scheduled through the individual’s academic institution’s clinical placement coordinator.  The academic institution’s clinical placement coordinator requests placements from participating/affiliated clinical facilities at prescribed times.  Placements are typically made 6 months prior to the start of a clinical rotation. Affiliation agreements must be in place between the academic institution and the clinical facility.

Our partnerships with the community, universities or colleges, and clinical facilities provide for the following student learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate-level nursing students:

Cohort-Based Learning: Beginning to advanced level nursing students are placed in cohorts that are accompanied by clinical faculty on clinical units to gain hands-on clinical learning experiences.

Preceptorships: Advanced students are placed with expert clinicians to gain hands-on clinical learning experience and mentorship.

Clinical settings include:

  • Hospitals,
  • Clinics and medical offices,
  • Nursing homes,
  • Mental health and addiction treatment centers,
  • Hospice care facilities,
  • Dialysis facilities,
  • Imaging and radiology center, and
  • Other settings.

Requirements for Clinical Placements

Students and faculty are required to provide proof of:

  • Immunizations – MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella, Tetanus, TB clearance
  • TB Clearance
  • CPR Training
  • HIPAA Training Module
  • Bloodborne Pathogen Module
  • COVID-19 Training

Students and faculty may also be required to provide proof of, but not limited to the following:

  • TD or TDAP
  • Drug Screen
  • Cleared Criminal Background Check
  • Fingerprints
  • Government issued photo ID or school photo ID
  • Current Influenza Vaccination (Seasonal)
  • Full COVID-19 Vaccination (*including boosters)

Please contact your faculty at your Academic Institution if you have any questions about clinical rotations/placements.

HIPAA Training Module


Students are expected to complete the Information Security & Privacy Training Module (HIPAA)  and HIPAA Training Post-test prior to participating in any clinical rotation of the HCPC participating facilities. The student should complete the module and as instructed at the end, take the survey posttest, PRINT out the certificate of completion and present it to your designated school clinical placement coordinator.

Training Instructions:

  • Education about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is required each year for professional nurses and other health care personnel.
  • Complete this post-test only after reviewing the PowerPoint presentation.
  • You must answer every question.
  • You will not be allowed to advance past a question until you answer it correctly.
  • You will be provided an opportunity to print a HIPAA Post-Test Completion Confirmation at the end of this test.   Before proceeding, please ensure you are connected to a printer or have the capacity to print an image or pdf copy of the confirmation for your records

Students unable to successfully print proof of completion should report the issue to their school clinical placement coordinator or email batwood@hawaii.edu.

Bloodborne Pathogens Module


Students and Faculty are required to complete the Bloodborne Pathogens Knowledge Review Module and Bloodborne Pathogens Module Post-test prior to participating in any clinical rotation of the HCPC participating facilities. Students and Faculty should complete the module and as instructed at the end, take the survey posttest, PRINT out the certificate of completion, and present it to your designated school clinical placement coordinator.

Training Instructions:

  • Bloodborne Pathogens Knowledge Review is required to be completed prior to undertaking clinical rotations at HCPC partner facilities and is to be updated annually.
  • Complete this post-test only after reviewing the PowerPoint presentation.
  • You must answer every question.
  • You will not be allowed to advance past a question until you answer it correctly.
  • You will be provided an opportunity to print a Bloodborne Pathogens Module Completion Confirmation at the end of this test.   Before proceeding, please ensure you are connected to a printer or have the capacity to print an image or pdf copy of the confirmation for your records

Students unable to successfully print proof of completion should report the issue to their school clinical placement coordinator or email batwood@hawaii.edu.

Clinical Placement Handouts


• HCPC Clinical Placement Student Handout
• Clinical Agency Requirements for Students and Faculty
• Clinical Agency Dress Codes

Resources for Faculty and Preceptors