Nursing students in hallway of hospital

The UW-Milwaukee School of Nursing prepares a diverse population of students to become science-based, compassionate, leaders through engaging educational programs across settings and levels of practice.

The Office of Clinical Placement partners with healthcare organizations and community agencies to provide real-world learning opportunities. Our students work to improve health through evidence-based practice and interprofessional collaboration. These experiences are a vital part of the UWM School of Nursing curriculum to develop leaders who transform health care delivery and health policy.

Group clinical placements

Our prelicensure students participate in small group clinical experiences in long term care settings, community agencies, hospital nursing units, and specialty care areas. These real-world experiences prepare our graduates to provide excellent care to individuals and groups for illness prevention and restoration of health. If you are interested in hosting instructor-led group clinical experiences, contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Precepted experiences

Our RN-BS students complete a capstone project which synthesizes knowledge from current and past learning experiences to apply clinical decision making and provide comprehensive nursing care to individuals, families, groups, and communities. To learn more about precepting a RN-BS capstone student, contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Our master’s degree students complete a unique capstone project in consultation with a clinical agency through a selected microsystem assessment. The capstone project targets a group, population, or community at the point of care. To learn more about precepting a master’s degree student capstone project, contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Our Doctor of Nursing Practice students study advanced practice roles working closely with expert practitioners in their selected specialty: primary care, psychiatric-mental health, gerontology, clinical nurse specialist or nurse executive. To learn more about precepting one of our DNP students contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Affiliation Agreements

The Office of Clinical Placement is the point of contact for our partnered agencies to complete and renew affiliation agreements. These agreements specify the terms of the partnership between the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and the clinical partner. To learn more about putting an affiliation agreement in place between your agency and the School of Nursing at UW-Milwaukee, contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Student Credentials

The Office of Clinical Placement manages student credentialling to verify students meet criteria for placement in experiences with our partnered agencies. Our students meet Wisconsin State-wide health requirements including immunization, communicable disease, and drug screening. All students undergo a caregiver background check in accordance with Wisconsin Caregiver Background Check statutes (Wis. Stat. §§ 48.685 and 50.065) and State regulations (Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 12). For questions related to student credentials contact the Office of Clinical Placement.

Preceptors Benefits

UW-Milwaukee appreciates all of our preceptors and offers our partners a few benefits for collaborating and mentoring our students.

All preceptors have access to:

  • Courtesy title of Adjunct Clinical Faculty
  • UW-Milwaukee Library access
  • Preceptor role orientation

Specialty Role Preceptors (DNP and APRN Certificates) have access to:

  • Prescriber’s Letter (includes six free pharmacology CEs)
  • AANP accredited CEs and Professional Development opportunities
  • ANCC recertification letter to verify preceptor hours

UW-Milwaukee students in the RN to BSN, Master of Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs work on a variety of quality improvement projects. A few examples of project titles are included below:

  • Standardized Readiness for Discharge Assessment to Reduce Hospital Readmissions
  • Improving Patient Sleep Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project 
  • Reducing Anxiety with Anthropometric Measures in Young Children with Spina Bifida
  • Improving the Care of Overweight and Obese Veterans in Primary Care
  • A Screening Protocol to Improve Identification of Human Trafficking Victims in a Behavioral Health Setting
  • Decreasing/Eliminating Patient Self-Extubations in a Medical-Surgical ICU 
  • Electronic Training Program for Preceptors of Advanced Practice and Student Adult Learners 

Contact the Office of Clinical Placement

UWM School of Nursing Office of Clinical Placement is here to work with partner organizations, preceptors and students. We welcome you to reach out to us and we will be happy to route your inquiry to the appropriate team member.

headshot of mary peters
  • Academic Program Specialist
Kristen Swanson
  • Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Preceptor Coordinator
Wendy Welsh
  • Academic Program Coordinator

Contact Information

UWM School of Nursing
Office of Clinical Placement

Cunningham Hall
6th Floor

nursing-placement@uwm.edu