Tennessee NP clinicals for University of Southern Indiana students
Tennessee residents can enroll in every online University of Southern Indiana nursing program, and USI marks the NP routes as meeting Tennessee's requirements. The open question is newer: a 2026 Tennessee bill freezes, for two years, board approval of new out-of-state nursing programs seeking Tennessee clinical sites, so check USI's Tennessee standing before you recruit a preceptor.
Planning Tennessee clinicals?
Tell us your USI track, your Tennessee city and when your specialty courses begin.
Tennessee in USI's disclosure
USI's table, dated "Updated Fall 2025", keeps Tennessee off every Enrollment Not Allowed list and in the Meets Requirements column for all APRN programs.
| Program | Tennessee answer | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP / AGACNP / PMHNP | Meets | Not restricted |
| Post-master's certificates, all three specialties | Meets | Not restricted |
| BSN-to-DNP APRN tracks and post-MSN DNP | Meets | Not restricted |
| NEL, HSL, OSL and the RN-to-BSN | No license at stake | Not restricted |
The table answers enrollment and curriculum. It predates, and says nothing about, Tennessee's new approach to clinical placement.
Tennessee's pause on out-of-state programs
SB 2013/HB 1905, the Nursing Education Integrity and Oversight Act, adds a new part to Title 63, Chapter 7 of the Tennessee Code. The Board of Nursing must then hold off, for twenty-four months, on accepting or granting applications from any nursing program headquartered outside Tennessee, whether it seeks to operate, to enroll Tennesseans or to send students to Tennessee clinical sites, with no carve-out for RN-BSN or APRN programs. Programs holding approval from before the law survive, but they must answer data requests, down to preceptor lists and placement statistics, from both the board and the nursing-advancement center.
Two cautions. Official enactment could not be confirmed (a secondary source reports April 27, 2026), and no current Board of Nursing rule was found that expressly demands approval before out-of-state clinicals. That center must deliver its recommended out-of-state program standards by June 30, 2027. Whether USI's Tennessee placements are affected is for USI to say, so ask the Graduate Clinical Liaison before anyone signs a Preceptor Packet.
Ask USI how Tennessee's moratorium applies to its students before you approach Tennessee preceptors.
Supervision rules and Tennessee preceptors
Tennessee lands in AANP's restricted column. Physician supervision is the rule for Tennessee NPs, who also face limits on Schedule II-IV drugs and on how large an opioid supply they may prescribe. Your preceptor still has to meet USI's standard, and FNP and AGACNP students may also learn from physicians or PAs, while PMHNP students need a PMHNP or psychiatrist (who can precept).
Tennessee also runs a grant-funded Nurse Preceptor Incentive Program through the Tennessee Hospital Association for preceptors who give 70 or more hours of one-to-one teaching. On the student side it counts accredited Tennessee programs, plus schools in Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia when the hours are logged in Tennessee. Indiana is missing from that list, so a USI student's preceptor would not appear to qualify.
Licenses, metros and systems
Tennessee's compact membership, live since January 2018, lets a multistate RN license issued by Indiana, Kentucky or Tennessee cover Tennessee sites and satisfy USI's rule. The Memphis and Chattanooga metros spill into Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia, which belong to the compact as well. Telehealth hours for FNP and PMHNP students follow the patient's location (telehealth rules).
NP students look across greater Nashville (Nashville-Davidson, Murfreesboro and Franklin), Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one large system; Erlanger, Ballad Health, Covenant Health and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare are others. Each has its own student process, and naming one here does not make it a USI site.
Why Tennessee USI students choose us
With Tennessee's rules in motion, thoroughness matters most. We have you confirm USI's Tennessee position first, then search for preceptors who fit your track at sites that know who signs agreements, and we keep a backup plan ready. The packet reaches USI typed and complete, well before the six-week mark, and all three semesters are mapped together. Start with the form.
Questions USI students ask
Does Tennessee's moratorium stop USI students from doing clinicals there?
Not necessarily. The moratorium blocks new approvals for out-of-state programs, programs approved earlier keep theirs, and official enactment could not be confirmed. Our research did not establish USI's status with the Tennessee Board of Nursing. The Graduate Clinical Liaison, who approves every site, is the person to ask before you plan Tennessee hours.
Can Tennessee residents enroll in USI's online PMHNP program?
Yes. Tennessee is on none of the psychiatric-track enrollment bans, and USI's table says the MSN, certificate and BSN-to-DNP PMHNP routes all meet Tennessee's requirements. Given the placement question above, ask USI how it is handling Tennessee clinicals before your first clinical course, NRSG 653, begins.
Will I need to go to Evansville for campus visits?
Only if your faculty call for it. USI's MSN NP tracks have no set on-campus immersion, but USI's roles page warns that students may be required to come to campus to show clinical competency. Faculty also rely on conference calls with preceptors, site visits and video recordings, so not every competency check means a trip.
Does the Tennessee Hospital Association preceptor incentive cover preceptors of USI students?
It does not appear to. The program's student eligibility covers accredited Tennessee programs and schools in seven named neighboring states, and Indiana is not among them. For preceptors whose students do qualify, the fall 2026 window opened August 1 and closes December 1.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against USI's own bulletin, program pages and Graduate Nursing Handbook. Your handbook, course faculty and the Nursing Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
USI makes the search your job. We make it the easy part.
Tell us your USI track, your city and your next clinical semester. We find preceptors who fit the NRSG course and fill the Preceptor Packet and Clinical Education Agreement request with typed, complete details, well before USI's 6-week window.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for FNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, PMHNPs and psychiatrists for PMHNP
- Preceptor license, certification, years of practice and the site's agreement signer ready for the packet
- Fall, Spring and Summer planned together, close to home in a state USI enrolls
Start your placement plan
Track, city and clinical start is all we need to begin.