Louisiana practicum for Liberty nursing students
Louisiana is approved for practicum in every Liberty online nursing program, and its board keeps a close hand on schools based elsewhere. The Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN) approves out-of-state programs that offer clinicals there, and Liberty's Louisiana page says each clinical facility must be submitted on the Clinical Facility Form and approved by LSBN before your start date.
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The short version, by program
Liberty's facility step is written on its NP pages. Louisiana's rule itself reaches undergraduate and graduate programs alike, which is why the other rows point you to the practicum team.
| Liberty program | Louisiana | Before your first clinical day |
|---|---|---|
| DNP: FNP; DNP: PMHNP; PMHNP certificate | Approved | LSBN approves your facility, submitted by Liberty on the Clinical Facility Form |
| DNP, post-master's | Approved | Louisiana's rule covers graduate programs; ask the practicum team which steps apply |
| MSN tracks, MSN/MBA and MSN/MSHA | Approved | Same: confirm the Louisiana steps for your track |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | The rule covers undergraduate programs too; confirm before booking observation hours |
LAC 46:XLVII.3539: what the program files
Louisiana Administrative Code 46:XLVII.3539 says a nursing program administratively controlled from another state must have LSBN approval before it offers courses or clinical experiences in Louisiana. No later than six months ahead of the offering's start, the program sends a letter of request that identifies the clinical agencies and units and includes:
- pass data for NCLEX and certification exams
- faculty qualification forms and a clinical facility survey form
- the catalog, the syllabi and the curriculum
On top of that, the program needs regional accreditation, national nursing accreditation the board recognizes, and approval from its home state. LSBN's approval runs for as long as three years, and the program can petition to renew it. This is Liberty's filing, not yours. Once approved, the program owes the board a clinical experience spreadsheet for graduate students within two weeks of the experience's start.
Your facility and the calendar
Because LSBN must approve your facility before you start, the site you settle on sets your timeline more here than in most states. Our research doesn't show how long facility approval takes, or whether adding a new facility means waiting out the six-month window. Confirm both with Liberty's practicum team as soon as you have a lead, and read state board notices for how filings sit in Liberty's process.
A Louisiana site found late may not clear LSBN before your term starts, so lock yours in early and report any change the day it happens.
Faculty contact your preceptor should expect
The same rule sets supervision terms. When clinicals are precepted, program faculty have to confer with both the preceptor and the student once a week or more, and make a site visit at least once each semester or quarter. To teach in Louisiana, faculty need a graduate nursing degree, two or more years of clinical practice, and a current Louisiana RN and/or APRN license. In board-approved preceptorships, a single faculty member can oversee at most nine APRN students on a clinical day.
Liberty's public pages don't describe site visits, so ask the practicum team how it meets this in Louisiana, and let your preceptor know the rule expects weekly faculty contact.
Practice, places and licensing
Louisiana is reduced practice in AANP's ratings. At least one element of an NP's practice has to fall under a regulated collaborative agreement with a physician, so a collaborating physician sits behind every NP you approach. Liberty's own preceptor requirements decide who qualifies.
New Orleans-Metairie (about 971,000 people in the 2025 Census estimates) leads the state's metros, with Baton Rouge (about 889,000) next and Lafayette and Shreveport-Bossier City after it. Big systems include Willis-Knighton Health, Baton Rouge General, Ochsner Health, FMOL Health and LCMC Health. For Community Health students, the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health is another option.
Louisiana's Nurse Licensure Compact membership took effect on July 1, 2019, which means a Louisiana RN license or a multistate one meets Liberty's rule. We search for a Louisiana preceptor and site and get the facility details ready early, which gives Liberty and LSBN, who do the approving, room to work.
Questions Liberty students ask
How long does LSBN take to approve my clinical facility?
Our research found no published turnaround for facility approval. The rule's six-month lead applies to the program's request, which names its clinical agencies. Ask Liberty's practicum team what lead time they need for a new Louisiana facility, and give them your site details as early as the Gate course allows.
What if my Louisiana preceptor drops out mid-term?
Tell the practicum team at once. A replacement at a different facility would need LSBN approval before you log hours there, so a new preceptor at the same approved facility may be the quicker fix. Our preceptor dropped out page walks through what to do first.
Will a Liberty faculty member visit my Louisiana site?
Under Louisiana's rule, faculty should make a site visit to precepted clinicals once a semester or quarter at minimum, and check in with the preceptor and student every week. Liberty's public pages say nothing about site visits for any online track, so ask the practicum team how it handles Louisiana and brief your preceptor.
Would a site in Texas or Mississippi be quicker than Louisiana?
Possibly. The Texas board's out-of-state approval rules don't cover graduate or post-licensure programs, and Liberty reports Mississippi's IHL review already done; neither adds a per-facility board approval. Each site still needs Liberty's approval, and all three states accept a multistate license. See Texas and Mississippi.
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.
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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
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