JSU's nurse practitioner tracks for Tennessee residents
If you live in Tennessee, JSU's FNP and AGACNP tracks are open to your application, since the state sits inside JSU's five-state circle. The open question is legislative: a 2026 bill would halt Tennessee approvals of new nursing programs based in other states for two years, and JSU's standing there is not public. Here is what the bill says and what to ask JSU.
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Tell us your JSU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your JSU course.
How JSU's programs apply in Tennessee
JSU's admission-state rule names Tennessee alongside Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. Outside the NP tracks, JSU publishes no state list at all; for its other graduate programs, the instruction to non-Alabama applicants is simply to check with the School of Nursing first.
| Program | Tennessee residents | What JSU publishes |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP: Family Nurse Practitioner | Eligible for consideration | NP disclosure lists Tennessee as "Not yet determined" |
| BSN-DNP: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP | Eligible for consideration | Same disclosure status |
| Post-Master's DNP | Reach the School of Nursing first | Three residencies, 630 hours in all |
| MSN: Population Health and concentrations | Reach the School of Nursing first | Online with a required practicum |
| Graduate Certificate: Nursing Education | Reach the School of Nursing first | 100-hour teaching practicum |
| STEP RN-BSN | Reach the School of Nursing first | Online RN-BSN |
JSU's NP disclosure, dated October 15, 2021, answers yes for Alabama alone and leaves Tennessee undetermined with the other states; the disclosure guide explains what that label does and does not mean. Admission remains JSU's decision.
SB 2013/HB 1905: a pause on outside nursing schools
For two years, SB 2013/HB 1905 tells Tennessee's nursing board, applications from schools based in other states that want to operate, enroll students or use Tennessee clinical sites go unprocessed. Prelicensure, RN-BSN and APRN programs are all covered.
Existing approvals survive, with a string attached: those schools must share whatever the Board or the state's nursing advancement center requests, preceptor rosters and placement statistics included. The center's deadline for recommending new rules on outside schools that use Tennessee preceptors and clinical sites is June 30, 2027.
Three things remain unknown. Official confirmation that the bill became law could not be found, no existing Board rule turned up that plainly obliges an outside school to seek approval ahead of Tennessee placements, and JSU's own Tennessee status is not public. Ask JSU's School of Nursing directly, and early.
Get JSU's answer on its Tennessee status in writing from the School of Nursing before a Tennessee site becomes your plan for Practicum I or a residency.
Supervision, compact licenses and a preceptor incentive open to Alabama schools
AANP counts Tennessee among the restricted states. Physician supervision is required for NPs, prescribing in Schedules II through IV comes with limits, and opioid supplies are capped, so your Tennessee NP preceptor teaches from inside that supervision.
Tennessee's RN compact membership began in January 2018, though it has not adopted the APRN Compact. With Tennessee as your home state, a multistate license also covers RN work in Alabama and the other member states, and a Tennessee license meets both of JSU's RN wordings for Tennessee hours; the RN license guide sets them side by side.
THA's state-grant-funded nurse preceptor incentive counts students from schools in Alabama and several other nearby states when the hours happen in Tennessee, which can bring a JSU rotation within reach. A participating preceptor holds an unrestricted Tennessee or multistate license, completes UTHSC's preceptor course, which has a separate NP module, and logs a set minimum of one-to-one hours per cycle. This fall's cycle closes December 1, 2026, funding is limited, and THA's page carries the full terms.
Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga
Tennessee's population clusters in four metros, two of which reach into neighboring states.
| Metro area | People in Tennessee (Census Bureau, 2025 estimate) |
|---|---|
| Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin | About 2.2 million |
| Memphis (Tennessee portion) | About 1.0 million |
| Knoxville | About 970,000 |
| Chattanooga (Tennessee portion) | About 440,000 |
Major systems include Methodist Le Bonheur, Erlanger, Vanderbilt's medical center, Ballad Health and Covenant Health. They appear here as examples of where Tennessee nurses work; how each treats NP students from other schools sits outside what this guide covers, and listing them here says nothing about JSU placements. Southeast Tennessee sits closest to JSU's campus, while Memphis and upper East Tennessee are much farther away.
Campus days and residency timing from Tennessee
Trips to Jacksonville come with the online format, for program orientation, hands-on simulation and July's DNP Dissemination Day, and JSU keeps immersion dates off its public pages; the on-campus guide collects what is public. The residency brings its own clock: JSU's timeline sets the preceptor and site pairing in late May and asks for 16 months with the same pair, and the bill's two-year window and June 2027 date could fall inside that stretch, so settle JSU's Tennessee status before you commit a residency site.
Why Tennessee JSU students choose us
Tennessee rewards a search that tracks the law as closely as the map. We raise the moratorium question at the start and search near your home, or across the line in Alabama or Georgia when JSU approves that route. Whatever role JSU plays in your placement, the preceptor and practice we find are chosen to meet its rules.
Before the first call to a site, your CastleBranch record is current and JSU has approved your malpractice coverage, and the preceptor's license and certification sit in one file with the practice's contract details. For the residency, we look for a practice that can commit for 16 months. Send us your county and program with the form below.
Questions JSU students ask
Has Tennessee's pause on outside nursing programs taken effect?
It is unclear. SB 2013/HB 1905 takes effect once it becomes law, but official confirmation of enactment could not be found. Check the General Assembly's bill page and the state nursing board's site for the latest, and ask the School of Nursing how JSU reads the bill for your cohort.
Could the bill affect my JSU clinicals in Tennessee?
It could. The bill freezes new approvals for schools from other states seeking Tennessee placements, while schools approved earlier keep their status. JSU has not said publicly whether it holds a Tennessee approval, so get an answer from the School of Nursing before you plan a Tennessee practicum or residency.
Can a Tennessee preceptor hosting a JSU student use the THA preceptor incentive?
Possibly. THA's program lists Alabama among the states whose schools count, as long as the teaching happens in Tennessee. The preceptor also has to meet its license, UTHSC course and hour-minimum rules, and funding is limited, so the preceptor should read THA's terms directly.
What license covers JSU clinical hours in Tennessee?
For Tennessee hours, a license Tennessee issued, single-state or multistate, lines up with JSU's program pages, which want an active U.S. RN license, and with its catalog, which wants one for the state where you practice clinically. Tennessee has been a compact state since 2018, so the multistate version also reaches Alabama and Georgia.
Can I train in Alabama or Georgia instead if Tennessee is uncertain?
Possibly. In Alabama, JSU is a home program and the Board's out-of-state steps do not apply. Georgia sets no approval step for APRN programs but has license and APRN authorization rules. JSU has to sign off whenever your planned clinical location changes, so bring it to your program coordinator before anything is arranged.
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
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