About Pawnee

Pawnee Mental Health Services provides compassionate, community-based behavioral health care to individuals and families across our region. Our nursing, medical, and behavioral health teams work together to support individuals with mental health and substance use needs through coordinated, person-centered care.

Pawnee provides opportunities for nursing students to gain exposure to psychiatric nursing and medication services while completing academic clinical or preceptorship requirements.

About the Experience

Pawnee Mental Health Services offers unpaid clinical placements and preceptorships for eligible nursing and advanced-practice nursing students.

These experiences are designed to support students completing required clinical hours, competencies, or other academic requirements while providing exposure to behavioral health nursing in a community mental health setting.

Students are paired with an approved Pawnee preceptor based on their educational program, required clinical experience, learning objectives, and preceptor availability.

Clinical and preceptorship placements are educational experiences and are not employment positions.

Psychiatric Nursing & Medication Experience

Depending on the student's program, education level, clinical objectives, and approved scope, experiences may include exposure to:

• Psychiatric and behavioral health nursing
• Psychiatric medications and medication management
• Medication administration processes
• Medication reconciliation
• Monitoring medication effectiveness and potential side effects
• Client education related to medications and treatment
• Psychiatric and behavioral health assessments
• Therapeutic communication
• Recognition and documentation of changes in psychiatric symptoms
• Coordination with nurses, prescribers, pharmacies, and other members of the treatment team
• Integrated physical and behavioral health needs
• Interdisciplinary treatment planning and care coordination
• Behavioral health nursing documentation and clinical communication

Students may observe or participate in activities only when appropriate for their education level, academic program, approved clinical objectives, and scope of practice and when appropriate supervision is available.

Clinical Placements

Clinical placements provide nursing students with structured behavioral health experiences required by their educational program. Students complete approved clinical activities under the supervision of a qualified Pawnee professional while working toward established academic competencies and required clinical hours.

Preceptorships

Preceptorships provide a more individualized clinical learning experience. Students work with an approved Pawnee preceptor to complete specific academic objectives, competencies, and required clinical hours.

The student's school and Pawnee will establish the expectations for the experience before the placement begins, including required hours, learning objectives, permitted clinical activities, evaluation requirements, schedule, location, and supervision.

Advanced-Practice Nursing Students

Pawnee may also consider preceptorship requests from eligible advanced-practice nursing students seeking psychiatric or behavioral health experience.

Available experiences depend on the student's academic program and clinical objectives as well as the availability of appropriately qualified providers and preceptors.

Placement Availability

Clinical and preceptorship opportunities are not guaranteed. Each request is reviewed individually based on:

• Student program and education level
• Required clinical hours
• Academic and clinical objectives
• Requested experience
• Placement dates and schedule
• Preferred location
• Preceptor qualifications and availability
• Clinical team capacity
• Pawnee's ability to provide an appropriate educational experience 

Before a Placement Begins

Students must complete all required placement requirements before participating in any clinical experience. Requirements may include:

• Pawnee onboarding
• Required background checks and screenings
• Health and immunization documentation
• Confidentiality, privacy, safety, and compliance training
• Documentation required by the student's educational program
• An approved affiliation agreement or memorandum of understanding between Pawnee and the educational institution, when required
• Any additional requirements established by Pawnee, the educational institution, or the placement site

Shadowing

Pawnee does not offer same-day or informal shadowing. Students may not participate in clinical, preceptorship, observational, or shadowing activities until all required approvals, onboarding, screenings, documentation, and applicable affiliation agreements have been completed.

This version makes the distinction much clearer: the student is there to learn under a preceptor, not to fill a nursing role or provide staffing coverage. It also still gives you enough detail about psychiatric medications and nursing to attract students specifically looking for behavioral-health clinical hours.