Find a PMHNP Preceptor
Near You
Post one placement request and board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner preceptors come to you. PMHNP preceptors across all 50 states. Sign up free and pay only after you accept an offer.
JO
J. Okafor, PMHNP
SR
S. Reyes, MD
TB
T. Boyle, PMHNP
Why finding a PMHNP preceptor is so hard
PMHNP enrollment has grown faster than any other NP specialty, and the training pipeline hasn't kept pace.
Demand exceeds supply
PMHNP enrollment has grown faster than any other NP specialty. Programs graduate thousands of students a year, while the clinical training pipeline has stayed roughly the same size.
Psych providers are overbooked
Many psychiatric providers see 20 to 30 patients a day on tight telehealth schedules. Supervising a student takes time they rarely have, even when they want to teach.
Hospitals favor affiliated programs
Inpatient psych units have a limited number of student slots, and hospital education departments give them to their own affiliated programs first. Outside students seldom get in.
How to find a PMHNP preceptor
Post one request and let qualified PMHNP preceptors come to you.
1
Sign up free
Create your account in about 2 minutes and submit a placement request with your PMHNP rotation details: outpatient or inpatient psych, across-the-lifespan or adult-only hours, telehealth eligibility, and whether your preceptor needs DEA registration to supervise prescribing.
2
Receive preceptor offers
We notify matching PMHNP preceptors, psychiatrists and psychiatric PAs in your area, and interested preceptors send you offers directly. Our AI preceptor outreach also recruits psychiatric providers from outside our network, including telehealth practices and integrated behavioral health teams.
3
Start your rotation
Compare offers, confirm the preceptor's DEA status and your program's telehealth policy, then choose the best preceptor. Pay nothing until you accept an offer. We handle the paperwork between you, your preceptor and your school. You're protected by our Money Back Guarantee if your school rejects the preceptor or the preceptor cancels.
PMHNP preceptors are joining our network every week.
Takes 2 minutes. No credit card required.
What to look for in a PMHNP preceptorship
A PMHNP preceptorship looks different from other NP tracks. You need a mix of medication management supervision and direct psychotherapy hours, usually split across inpatient psychiatric units, community mental health clinics and outpatient private practice.
A strong psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner preceptor is PMHNP-BC certified and can document encounters across the lifespan: pediatric behavioral health, adult psychiatry and geriatric mental health. Many students look for telehealth-friendly preceptors to fit clinical hours around class.
If your program needs a specific setting, we filter for it. We handle NP preceptor placement with your school directly, including the paperwork. Students on other tracks search the same way for FNP rotations, pediatric NP hours or WHNP placements. See hours and settings for every track in NP clinical placement across specialties. Our guide to PMHNP clinical hours explains the national requirements and which PMHNP rotations students request most.
Why PMHNP students choose Clinical Match Me
Built for the specialty where preceptors are hardest to find.
We recruit psych preceptors
Our outreach identifies psychiatric NP preceptors, psychiatrists and psychiatric PAs in your area and contacts them directly, including providers who have never precepted and would like to try.
Outpatient and inpatient psych sites
From outpatient behavioral health hours to inpatient psychiatric unit experience, we match you to the setting your program accepts. Our preceptors work in private psychiatric practices, community mental health centers, substance abuse treatment facilities, VA hospitals and inpatient units.
$0 until you accept an offer
Sign up, submit placement requests and message preceptors for free. Pay only after a preceptor sends you an offer and you accept it. The $1,995 NP preceptor cost is the flat rate most preceptors charge, and payment plans are available.
Money Back Guarantee
If your school rejects the preceptor, or the preceptor cancels at any point, choose a full refund or a new preceptor. Any reason counts.
PMHNP preceptors in all 50 states
Rural and suburban psychiatric practices have providers who want to teach and almost never hear from a student. Our outreach finds them.
You choose from multiple offers
More than one PMHNP preceptor can offer you a placement. Compare their settings, rates and telehealth policies side by side, then accept the one that fits your schedule and your program.
Thousands of NP students found their preceptor through us
We've placed students since 2014, and anyone can check our ratings.
Many PMHNP students find us after weeks of cold calls. Some students receive their first offer within 24 hours. Read Clinical Match Me reviews on Trustpilot and Google, or watch their student testimonials on video.
Students post their reviews on Trustpilot and Google once they know whether the preceptor showed up, whether the school signed off, and whether we did the paperwork we promised.
PMHNP preceptors are among the hardest to find, so the reviews worth your time come from students who found one anyway.
Inpatient and outpatient PMHNP hours, and what your program will accept
PMHNP programs typically divide clinical hours between outpatient and inpatient psychiatric settings. Knowing which your program mandates keeps your school from rejecting a rotation you've already started.
Outpatient settings include private psychiatric practice, community mental health centers, integrated primary care behavioral health, and telehealth practices. Most programs accept telehealth hours when the supervising preceptor is actively seeing patients during your shift, though some require a minimum in-person component. Partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs usually count too.
Inpatient settings include acute psychiatric hospitals, hospital-based behavioral health units and addiction medicine programs. Many PMHNP programs require a minimum number of inpatient hours, though training keeps shifting toward outpatient as community-based care grows.
DEA registration matters in later semesters. PMHNP rotations involve controlled-substance prescribing, so if you'll write prescriptions under supervision your preceptor needs DEA registration. Telehealth adds a second complication: APRN Compact states let a preceptor supervise across state lines, while non-compact states may require licensure in your state. Your program office sets the rule, and we'll match against it.
PMHNP preceptor questions students ask
Common questions from psychiatric mental health NP students.
What credentials does a PMHNP preceptor need?
Most programs require a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC), a psychiatrist, or a psychiatric PA, and some accept clinical psychologists for certain rotations. The preceptor usually practices in an outpatient psychiatric clinic, community mental health center, inpatient unit or substance abuse treatment facility. We verify preceptor credentials before matching.
Can you find preceptors for both adult and child psych rotations?
Yes. Many PMHNP programs require across-the-lifespan hours, which means preceptors in both adult and child or adolescent settings. Submit a separate placement request for each rotation as soon as you sign up. Child and adolescent psych preceptors are especially scarce, so signing up early gives our outreach more time to find one.
Why are PMHNP preceptors harder to find than other specialties?
PMHNP student numbers have surged while the psychiatric provider workforce hasn't grown nearly as fast. Many psychiatric providers run high-volume schedules with little room for supervision. And many psychiatric settings, especially private telehealth practices, aren't set up for in-person observation. That's why we contact providers directly rather than waiting for them to find us.
How much does it cost to find a PMHNP preceptor through Clinical Match Me?
Registration is free and you pay nothing until a preceptor sends you an offer and you accept it. Most preceptors charge a flat rate of $1,995 for rotations up to 250 hours. That price includes our fee and the preceptor's honorarium (their compensation for teaching you). A smaller group of preceptors charge hourly rates, which vary by individual. If you'd like to spread out the cost, payment plans are available. See the full NP preceptor cost breakdown.
Do you have PMHNP preceptors who accept telehealth hours?
Some do, and whether it counts depends on your program. Many PMHNP programs now allow a share of clinical hours by telehealth observation, particularly for outpatient psychiatric visits. Tell us your program's policy in your placement request. If your program allows telehealth, we'll match you with preceptors who offer it. If it requires every hour in person, we'll match you only with sites that can do that.
What clinical settings are available for PMHNP rotations?
Our PMHNP preceptors work in outpatient mental health clinics, community mental health centers, private psychiatric practices, substance abuse treatment facilities, inpatient psychiatric units, telehealth practices and integrated primary care clinics with behavioral health services. Most programs accept any setting where you gain experience in psychiatric assessment, diagnosis and medication management.
Will my school accept a preceptor I find through Clinical Match Me?
Yes. We verify preceptor credentials before matching, so schools approve most of our preceptors. We also handle the paperwork between you, your preceptor and your school. If your school rejects the preceptor, you're protected by our Money Back Guarantee. Choose a full refund or a new preceptor.
How many clinical hours do PMHNP rotations typically require?
Most PMHNP programs require between 500 and 750 total clinical hours split across several rotations, which may include adult psych, child and adolescent psych, and substance abuse. Individual rotations usually run 120 to 250 hours each. Specify your exact requirements in your placement request. Our flat rate applies to rotations up to 250 hours.
When should I start looking for a PMHNP preceptor?
As early as you can. PMHNP is one of the fastest-growing NP specialties, so clinical sites get competitive quickly. Many students are placed within days, but the sooner you submit your placement requests, the more offers you'll have to choose from. Registration is free and you owe nothing until you accept an offer.
Find your PMHNP preceptor and get back to studying.
Free to join and no credit card required. Pay nothing until you accept an offer.