Placement services charge $2,400 to $10,000+. Many preceptors would take you for free — if you could find them.
These are real numbers from real students — shared on TikTok, Reddit, and nursing forums.
For 224 clinical hours through a placement service. That's over $10/hour just for the introduction.
Per semester for a "guaranteed placement." No refund if you have problems with the preceptor.
Just for a single rotation. One student reported paying this four times across their program.
Hourly rate some agencies charge. For a 500-hour program, that's up to $5,000 on top of tuition.
"Clinical training should be about learning, not about who can afford it."
The truth is, many preceptors are willing to mentor students at no cost. They volunteer because they care about training the next generation. The problem isn't a shortage of willing preceptors — it's that students can't find them. Placement services exploit that gap.
A typical FNP program requires 4 clinical rotations. On Preceptor.Network, each match costs $10 — flat, no hidden fees. That's $40 total for your entire program.
Compare that to $6,000+ through a placement service — or the hundreds of hours lost cold-calling.
Every preceptor in our network has a verified NPI, public license data, and a profile showing their specialties, availability, and student reviews. You're not paying for a name on a list — you're getting a qualified match.
"I'm already $80K in debt. Now they want another $5,000 just so I can do the clinical hours my tuition was supposed to cover?"
— NP student, via TikTok"My school partners with a placement company. Convenient for them. $2,400 out of my pocket."
— FNP student, via TikTok"The preceptor I was placed with said she doesn't get paid anything from the service I paid $3K to. Where does the money go?"
— PMHNP student, via TikTok430,000+ preceptors. $10 per match. No hidden fees. No subscriptions.
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