Liberty practicum in Vermont
Vermont is on Liberty's approved list for practicum in every online nursing track. The state's Board of Nursing spells out who can serve as an APRN student's preceptor. It has to be a physician or APRN holding an active Vermont license, with a matching role and population focus, and never a physician assistant. New Hampshire, which shares the Lebanon-Claremont area with Vermont, is also approved; New York to the west is closed to Liberty NP practicum.
Get your placement plan
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.
Vermont for Liberty students, in one table
Every Liberty online nursing program shows Vermont as approved for practicum in Liberty's licensure lookup. Liberty still signs off on each site and preceptor, and the track rules below come with you.
| Program | Vermont practicum | Carried rule |
|---|---|---|
| DNP – FNP | Approved | No telehealth sites |
| PMHNP DNPs and PMHNP certificate | Approved | Telehealth capped at 50% of hours |
| DNP (post-master's) | Approved | 560+ hours; MSN hours count toward 1,000 post-BSN |
| MSN specializations and dual degrees | Approved | 300 hours with an approved preceptor you secure |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | Community observation in NURS 440 |
Who may precept an APRN student in Vermont
The Board of Nursing addresses this in its FAQ. A physician or an APRN can precept an APRN student if they hold an active, unencumbered Vermont license, have experience in the student's role and population focus, and work directly with faculty from the program. A physician assistant can't serve as preceptor for an APRN student.
For a Liberty FNP student, that points to a preceptor with family-focused experience; for a PMHNP student, psychiatric experience, which lines up with Liberty's older guidance naming PMHNPs and psychiatrists. A PA-run clinic, however welcoming, won't satisfy Vermont's rule. Liberty's own FNP preceptor list isn't public, so confirm fit with the practicum team as well; our preceptor requirements page sums up what Liberty has said.
In Vermont, physician assistants can't precept APRN students, whatever a clinic offers.
Vermont's rules on programs based elsewhere
Part 5 of the Board's rules took effect May 11, 2023. It says no one may conduct a nursing education program in Vermont unless the Board approves it, with one exception: online-only programs carrying Vermont Agency of Education approval. The related statute is 26 V.S.A. 1584. Nothing we found in the rules, the FAQ or the statutes directly addresses programs from other states sending students to clinical sites in Vermont, and Liberty's Vermont page lists no added state step.
Vermont's statute also exempts students: 26 V.S.A. 1583(2) covers practice that is incidental to study in a program the Board has approved. Liberty's own requirement is separate, and it says your RN license has to be valid in Vermont. Put any question about how Vermont views a Liberty placement to the practicum team at APRN.DNPPracticum@liberty.edu.
Licenses and the NP practice picture
Since February 1, 2022, the Nurse Licensure Compact has been in effect in Vermont. Board Rule 4.1 lets you practice as an RN in Vermont without a Vermont license if your active multistate license comes from another compact state, so long as your primary state of residence isn't Vermont. That fits Liberty's rule of a Vermont or multistate license; see RN license for practicum.
AANP counts Vermont as a full practice state, with one catch. An NP who has practiced for less than 24 months and 2,400 hours works under a collaborating agreement with an APRN or physician licensed in Vermont. That condition applies to your preceptor's practice, not to your placement.
Burlington, Rutland and the state lines
The systems on our list are Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Rutland Regional Medical Center and University of Vermont Health. UVM Health covers UVM Medical Center, Porter Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is a member of Dartmouth Health, which is based in New Hampshire. They're landmarks for a search, not Liberty affiliates. Burlington-South Burlington is the largest metro at about 228,000 people; the Lebanon-Claremont area straddles the New Hampshire line, and Rutland is smaller.
Crossing into New Hampshire is simple for Liberty students: it's approved for every program and in the compact. Heading west isn't. Liberty won't place FNP, PMHNP or PMHNP certificate practicum in New York.
Under Act 183 of 2022, Vermont funded Nurse Preceptor Incentive Grants. The money was appropriated once, for fiscal year 2023, and went to nurses at the state's critical access hospitals for precepting students enrolled in Vermont nursing programs. Programs from other states, Liberty's included, weren't covered, and we found no sign the grants continued.
Why Vermont students choose us
Our search in Vermont screens for clinicians who satisfy both the Board's APRN preceptor rule and your Liberty track, and we get the preceptor and site paperwork ready for the Gate course. Approval of each site and preceptor rests with Liberty. Tell us about your track using the form below.
Questions Liberty students ask
Can a physician assistant precept my Liberty NP practicum in Vermont?
No. According to the Board of Nursing's FAQ, a PA can't serve as an APRN student's preceptor. You need a physician or APRN who holds an active, unencumbered Vermont license and has experience in your role and population focus. Liberty also approves each preceptor, so run any name past the practicum team before you commit.
Can I use my New Hampshire multistate license for Liberty clinicals in Vermont?
Yes, while New Hampshire remains your primary state of residence. Vermont's Rule 4.1 lets a nurse holding another compact state's active multistate license work in Vermont without a Vermont license until they move their primary residence there. That satisfies Liberty's requirement for a license valid where the practicum happens.
Does Vermont's preceptor grant apply to Liberty students?
No. Act 183 of 2022 paid for those grants with a single appropriation in fiscal year 2023, and the only eligible nurses worked at Vermont critical access hospitals and precepted students enrolled in Vermont's own nursing programs. Liberty is based in Virginia, and no source we found shows the grants running past that year.
I live in western Vermont. Can my FNP hours be in New York?
No. Because of New York's nurse practitioner rules, Liberty says it can't place FNP or PMHNP students in practicum anywhere in that state. Look to Vermont or another approved state. Liberty warns that NP students may travel longer distances, and declining an offered site over distance means finding a replacement yourself.
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.