Practicum in Kentucky for Liberty nursing students
Kentucky is approved for practicum in every Liberty online nursing program. The Kentucky Board of Nursing doesn't approve out-of-state programs or their Kentucky clinicals; what it does watch is the license your preceptor holds. The rest is Liberty's process: a Kentucky or multistate RN license, the Gate course paperwork and Liberty's approval of the site and preceptor.
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Tell us your Liberty track and where you live. A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.
Which Liberty tracks can train in Kentucky
All of them. Liberty's state licensure lookup marks Kentucky approved for practicum across its online nursing programs and, unlike its pages for Alabama or Louisiana, lists no extra Kentucky filing. The clinical courses below come from the 2026-27 catalog.
| Program | Kentucky | Practicum courses |
|---|---|---|
| DNP: Family NP | Approved | NURS 771, NURS 772, NURS 838 |
| DNP: PMHNP, Post-BSN or Post-MSN | Approved | NURS 768, NURS 769, NURS 770 |
| PMHNP post-graduate certificate | Approved | NURS 754, NURS 755 per the catalog |
| DNP, post-master's | Approved | NURS 840 to NURS 843 |
| MSN tracks, MSN/MBA, MSN/MSHA | Approved | Three courses, 300 hours |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | Observation hours in NURS 440 |
Hour totals, and where the catalog conflicts with Liberty's web pages, are on Liberty clinical hours.
KBN's hands-off rule for out-of-state programs
According to the Kentucky Board of Nursing, it doesn't approve nursing education programs from other states, and those programs don't need its approval. The same applies when a school with no presence in Kentucky runs a clinical component there. KBN approves and regulates only prelicensure programs that originate within Kentucky. RN-to-BSN programs sit outside its jurisdiction; graduate programs that lead to licensure sit inside it.
That jurisdiction shows up in supervision. In online MSN and DNP APRN programs, nursing faculty who precept in Kentucky or supervise students in a Kentucky clinical setting need an active, unencumbered Kentucky RN and APRN license. A person whose home is in a compact state needs just the Kentucky APRN license. RN-to-BSN clinical faculty and preceptors need an active Kentucky RN license, except those residing in a compact state.
Confirm a Kentucky NP's APRN license is active and unencumbered before the preceptor's details go into your Gate course.
Reduced practice: what Kentucky NPs work under
AANP rates Kentucky as reduced practice. According to its state summary, a qualifying NP needs two physician agreements covering the prescribing of controlled and non-controlled substances, unless the Board grants an exemption. New licensees also have employer-setting requirements during their first year. Any Kentucky NP who precepts you works inside those arrangements.
Kentucky's rules don't decide who Liberty approves. Liberty hasn't published an FNP preceptor credential list, and an older PMHNP FAQ names a PMHNP or psychiatrist. Read preceptor requirements before you approach a physician.
Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky
The Census Bureau's 2025 estimates put about 1.12 million people in the Kentucky part of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro, about 535,000 in Lexington-Fayette, about 475,000 on the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati metro and about 197,000 around Bowling Green. The large systems are St. Elizabeth Healthcare, UofL Health, Baptist Health (Kentucky and Southern Indiana), Norton Healthcare and UK HealthCare. They're leads to ask, not sites Liberty has already cleared.
Our research recorded no Kentucky preceptor incentive. The preceptor outreach guide covers what to send. If the practicum team offers a site far from home and you turn it down for distance, Liberty asks you to find the replacement.
The RN license Liberty expects in Kentucky
Kentucky's Nurse Licensure Compact membership took effect on January 19, 2018, so Liberty accepts an active Kentucky RN license or a multistate one. The APRN Compact isn't enacted here. RN license for practicum covers how Liberty checks this.
KBN also points to an exemption in KRS 314.101. It covers a nurse from another state who is doing a Kentucky clinical rotation through a school that holds a Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education license or is a SARA institution. Don't plan around it: Liberty still asks for a Kentucky or multistate license. If you move to Kentucky mid-program, file Liberty's State Change Notification form, since a myLU address change doesn't update your licensure record.
Why Kentucky students choose us
We look for a Kentucky preceptor and site that suit your track, check the preceptor's Kentucky licenses before anything reaches Liberty, and prepare what your Gate course collects. Liberty approves every site and preceptor, and it sees each Kentucky lead with the license question already answered. Your track and county in the form below are enough to begin.
Questions Liberty students ask
Does Liberty need Kentucky Board of Nursing approval for my clinicals?
No. KBN doesn't require out-of-state programs to get its approval, even when a program without any Kentucky presence runs a clinical component there. Liberty's Kentucky lookup page adds no board filing either. Your site and preceptor still need Liberty's approval, and the preceptor still needs the Kentucky licenses KBN expects.
Can I log telehealth hours with a Kentucky preceptor?
Only in a PMHNP track, where Liberty allows telehealth for up to 50% of practicum hours. FNP students can't use telehealth sites at all. Nothing in Kentucky's recorded rules changes either limit. Ask the practicum team how it checks a telehealth preceptor's license before you log anything; telehealth hours has the detail.
I live in Northern Kentucky. Can my practicum site be in Cincinnati?
Ohio is on Liberty's approved list, so an Ohio site can work if Liberty approves it. The site's state, not your home address, decides which rules and license apply. Check Liberty's Ohio lookup page for the RN license it asks for there, and read our Ohio page before you choose a side of the river.
Do Kentucky preceptors get paid for taking a Liberty student?
Our research found no Kentucky incentive for preceptors, and whether Liberty pays NP preceptors today is unknown: a 2023 Liberty page linked stipend information that couldn't be opened. Under Liberty's rules, any fee a site or preceptor charges is the student's to pay, negotiated directly with the site. Preceptor fees covers what to ask.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against Liberty's own published sources. The practicum team and Liberty's current handbook have the final word.
More leads, sooner, for your practicum.
Tell us your Liberty program, your county and when your practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit Liberty's rules for your track, and help you get the Gate-course paperwork right.
- Matched to your track: FNP, PMHNP, DNP or MSN
- Paperwork ready for the Gate course and the site contract
- In person near you, or telehealth where your track allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a Liberty-ready preceptor and site look like for you.