Contact the placement desk
Start with the form on this page, or open the chat from any page when a question is short. Send your JSU program, the clinical course coming up and your home town, and your placement advisor handles the rest.
Message the placement desk
Your JSU program, your town and the term of your next clinical course. An advisor replies with the next steps for that course.
Two ways to reach us
The form is built for a full request. Select your program from the list, mark when your clinical course begins, enter your town and add anything else in the message box. It all arrives together, so your advisor can answer with a plan rather than a string of follow-up questions.
Chat is built for speed. Open the chat on any page to ask about a course, a deadline or the way our search works, then switch to the form once you are ready to begin. Both routes land at the same placement desk, and your advisor carries the conversation forward whichever one you used first.
What to put in your message
A handful of details let your advisor get moving immediately. Missing one or two is fine; your advisor works out the gaps with you in the first reply.
Include as many of these as you can:
- Your JSU program, or "Not sure yet" while you are still deciding.
- Your next clinical course (for example
FNP 7873orDNP 8796) and its term. - Your town and the distance you can comfortably commute.
- Your timing: next semester, a few months away, or already under way and short on hours.
- Clinicians you have approached so far, and their answers.
- The status of your JSU malpractice coverage and CastleBranch items.
What happens after you send it
Every request follows the same path, so you always know which step comes next and who is handling it.
- Your advisor reads itOne placement advisor picks up your request and keeps it from the first reply to your final clinical hour.
- A reply with questions or a planYou hear back with anything still missing and an outline of the search for your course.
- A quote for your courseYour advisor walks through what shapes the quote for your program and timing; the cost page covers those factors.
- The search beginsOnce you give the go-ahead, outreach starts, timed around your malpractice approval and JSU's clearance.
When it is urgent
If your term is close or already running, put that at the top of your message and mark "Already started, behind on hours" or "Next semester" on the form. Your advisor handles it as urgent from the very first reply and starts with the steps that take longest.
Two guides are worth reading while you wait: need a preceptor fast for a start date only weeks away, and preceptor dropped out if a preceptor has just withdrawn. Each lists the details that speed up a search, so you can have them ready for your advisor.
Clinicians and clinical sites
Nurse practitioners, physicians and organizations interested in teaching a JSU nursing student reach us through this form as well. Select the preceptor option in the program list, then describe your specialty, your town and the semesters that suit you. The page for preceptors explains what hosting a JSU student involves, from a single practicum to a 16-month DNP residency.
Your advisor replies with the JSU courses that fit your practice and the timing you prefer, and takes care of the matching and paperwork from there.
Questions JSU answers directly
Some questions belong with JSU's School of Nursing, and knowing the right title saves time. Reach those offices through your GEM email and your Canvas courses.
- Grades, registration and your plan of study: your course faculty, advisor or program coordinator.
- CastleBranch problems: the School of Nursing's CastleBranch coordinator, the Director of Clinical Services.
- A move or a change to your planned clinical setting: your course faculty, your program coordinator and the Administrative Coordinator, Graduate Programs.
- DNP project and residency questions: your DNP Chair and the DNP Clinical Coordinator.
- Final approval of any preceptor or site: JSU's faculty.
Your placement keeps moving alongside those conversations, and your advisor can help you prepare for each one.
Questions JSU students ask
When will I hear back from the placement desk?
Your advisor answers once your message has been read and checked against your JSU course, and requests marked as already under way are handled first. Chat is the faster route for a short question. For a full plan, the form gives your advisor everything needed to respond in one reply.
Do I need to know my course number before I get in touch?
No. Pick your program, or "Not sure yet", and say which term you began and how far along you are. Your advisor matches that to JSU's 2026-27 catalog and names the course and its hours for you. Having the number helps, but it is not needed to begin.
Should I reach out before my first JSU semester?
Yes, early contact pays off. In the BSN-DNP, Practicum I arrives in the spring of your second year and the DNP residency asks for a 16-month commitment from one preceptor and site. An early conversation lets us plan the whole sequence and start each search well ahead of its term.
How is my information used?
Your details are used to plan and run your placement search. Information about you goes to a preceptor or site only as needed to arrange your placement, and the privacy page explains how we handle it. Share only what the form asks for; your advisor will ask if anything else is needed.
Can I use the chat instead of the form?
Yes. Chat is open from every page and works well for quick questions about a course, a deadline or the process. When you are ready to start a search, your advisor may ask you to fill in the form so your program, term and town are recorded together.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against JSU's 2026-27 catalog, nursing handbooks, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether JSU helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your JSU program, your next practicum or residency and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather what JSU's faculty need to clear them, early enough for the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan, adult-gerontology acute care, DNP residencies
- License, certification and site details ready for JSU's clearance, with your CastleBranch and malpractice items in order
- Across Alabama and in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.