Liberty University nursing clinicals in Arkansas

Liberty programs and how placement works in Arkansas

Arkansas is open to every track below. What differs is who leads the search, and that's set by Liberty, not by Arkansas.

The full sequence is on the placement process.

Arkansas rules on out-of-state clinicals

We searched ASBN's rules and web guidance for any requirement that an out-of-state program obtain approval before clinical-only placements in Arkansas, and found none. 17 CAR Part 125, which holds the prelicensure standards, applies to an out-of-state institution only if it wants to establish a new program in Arkansas. 17 CAR Part 123, Subpart 10, the APRN program rules, handles new or established programs by way of national accreditation's "deemed status". ASBN staff haven't confirmed this reading, so take it as the current picture rather than a ruling.

Liberty's Arkansas lookup page names no extra state step. Should a hospital's student-placement office ask about Arkansas board approval, forward it to the practicum team; it's Liberty's question to answer. The Nurse Practice Act's student exemption (A.C.A. § 17-87-103(2)) covers students in ASBN-approved programs, but you're already a licensed RN, and Liberty wants that license valid in Arkansas.

Reduced practice and the physician agreement

Arkansas is a reduced practice state in AANP's ratings. In Arkansas, at least one element of NP practice has to be covered by a regulated agreement with a physician, and certain medications can only be prescribed under a physician protocol agreement. An Arkansas NP who precepts you will have that physician relationship in the background, and certain prescribing you observe happens under the protocol.

Arkansas's rules don't set Liberty's preceptor criteria. See preceptor requirements for what Liberty has made public, including the older PMHNP guidance.

Getting started from Arkansas

1. Check your licenseArkansas wrote the Nurse Licensure Compact into its Nurse Practice Act, and the compact has been in effect there since January 19, 2018. Liberty accepts an active Arkansas or multistate RN license. The APRN Compact isn't enacted here.
2. Watch the Gate courseLiberty collects practicum paperwork through zero-credit Gate courses. For FNP students, Gate 1 sits the semester before NURS 771.
3. Tell the practicum team where you areGive them your area and any leads you have. Liberty asks NP students to take an active role, and a site you decline for distance becomes yours to replace.
4. Gather the preceptor's documentsA CV, license details and site information are the core of what the Gate course asks for.

Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas and the edges

Per the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway has about 778,000 people and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers about 622,000. The Fort Smith metro counts about 193,000 on its Arkansas side, and Jonesboro about 139,000. Large systems include Mercy, with hospitals in both Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas; CHI St. Vincent and Baptist Health in Little Rock; and Arkansas Children's and UAMS Health. Treat them as places to ask, not approved sites.

The Fort Smith metro reaches into Oklahoma, which has its own conditions for out-of-state APRN students; read Oklahoma before you take a site across the line. Our research recorded no Arkansas preceptor incentive.

Why Arkansas students choose us

With no extra board step in Arkansas, Liberty's own checklist is the whole job, and that checklist is what we prepare for. We search your part of Arkansas for a preceptor and site that match your Liberty track and get the preceptor's documents ready for the Gate course, so Liberty's approval rests on a complete file. Each step is laid out under how it works; your search begins with the form below.