NP preceptors in Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana
Southwest Louisiana's three hospital names each work differently. CHRISTUS Ochsner wants a signed affiliation agreement before the term and promises no rotation, Lake Charles Memorial publishes nothing for NP students, and Ochsner American Legion in Jennings follows Ochsner's school-only InPlace route. The parishes around Lake Charles carry mental health shortage designations. For UL Lafayette students who live here, the practices around Lake Charles and Jennings are where we build the match.
Find a Lake Charles preceptor
Tell us your course and your parish.
Southwest Louisiana's clinical picture
Lake Charles, in Calcasieu Parish, is the region's medical hub, with Jefferson Davis, Allen and Beauregard parishes around it. Three hospital names matter most to a nurse practitioner student here: the CHRISTUS Ochsner hospitals, Lake Charles Memorial Health System and Ochsner American Legion Hospital in Jennings.
Each follows a different rulebook, and one publishes no rulebook at all. That mix is why a Southwest Louisiana search starts with the question of which route a site uses, then turns to the preceptor. For UL Lafayette students living in Crowley or farther west, Lake Charles is also the western option along I-10 when Acadiana practices are full.
CHRISTUS Ochsner: an agreement before the term
St. Patrick Hospital and Lake Area Hospital operate as a CHRISTUS and Ochsner joint venture. CHRISTUS Health's clinical learning page lists Advanced Practice Practitioners among the rotation types it hosts, and it sets a firm order of events. A signed Clinical Education Affiliation Agreement, which CHRISTUS calls a CEAA, has to be complete before the term begins.
CHRISTUS handles the agreement with the school itself, so its office expects to hear from a school's faculty advisor about processing it. It also states that a rotation placement cannot be promised. No Louisiana-specific portal or deadline appears on the page.
One question stays open: neither CHRISTUS nor Ochsner says whose student process governs the joint-venture hospitals. Before any request, the school needs to confirm whether the CHRISTUS agreement or Ochsner's InPlace route applies to the unit in question.
A preceptor's yes at St. Patrick or Lake Area helps only if the affiliation agreement is signed before classes begin. Late interest cannot carry a rotation into a term the agreement does not cover.
Lake Charles Memorial Health System
Lake Charles Memorial's training page covers an extern program for RN students and a school of medical technology. There is no process for nurse practitioner or APRN students from outside programs, so no portal, calendar or preceptor rule to follow.
As with any hospital that publishes nothing, a rotation here would begin with an agency contract between the school and the hospital. The ICMSN requires that contract, with the rest of the clinical paperwork, on file before your first clinical day. Course faculty can say whether one already exists.
Ochsner American Legion in Jennings
East of Lake Charles, Ochsner American Legion Hospital in Jennings follows Ochsner Health's published process for outside programs. Requests go through the InPlace Network, which only a school representative can reach. A new school agreement needs at least four months, placements depend on capacity, and students are asked not to contact Ochsner providers or staff directly.
If you know a nurse practitioner at the Jennings campus, Ochsner directs you to pass that name to your school coordinator. The full Ochsner calendar, with submission and compliance dates for each term, is on the Lafayette guide.
Shortage areas in Southwest Louisiana
HRSA's mental health designations reach across the Lake Charles area. Calcasieu Parish has a designation for its low-income population, scored 19 on a 0-25 scale. Jefferson Davis, Allen and Beauregard each carry a parish-wide geographic mental health designation, with scores from 18 to 19. Statewide, 57 of Louisiana's 64 parishes hold a mental health designation and 58 hold one for primary care.
Those figures describe patient access, not the number of clinicians. For a PMHNP student, they point to psychiatric practices and behavioral health clinics serving large, underserved caseloads, the kind of setting where NURS 591 through NURS 593 hours can build steadily. The PMHNP practicums page explains what each course asks for.
Why Southwest Louisiana students choose us
Whatever part UL Lafayette plays in arranging your clinicals, we deliver a preceptor and site that already satisfy its rules, and we sort out each site's route before anyone spends time on a request that cannot move.
- Independent and community practices around Lake Charles, Jennings and the rural parishes, approached directly
- Every nurse practitioner checked for an active Louisiana license, population certification, the ICMSN minimums and the Board's two-student limit
- CHRISTUS and Ochsner interest handled the way each system requires, with timing set by the affiliation agreement
- The preceptor's CV, the site details and the letter of agreement ready well ahead of your term
- A fresh search started at once if a preceptor drops out
How it works shows the full sequence from first call to first clinical day.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
Does CHRISTUS Ochsner in Lake Charles take nurse practitioner students?
CHRISTUS lists advanced practice rotations among the types it hosts, so NP students are within its scope. The condition is a signed Clinical Education Affiliation Agreement between the school and CHRISTUS before the term begins, arranged through the school's faculty advisor. CHRISTUS also states that it cannot promise any rotation placement.
Which student process applies at St. Patrick and Lake Area hospitals?
Neither CHRISTUS nor Ochsner says. The two hospitals are a joint venture, and CHRISTUS publishes a CEAA process while Ochsner publishes its InPlace route. The school has to confirm which one governs before submitting anything, so we raise that question early rather than waiting for a rejection.
Does Lake Charles Memorial have an NP student program?
Its training page covers an RN student extern program and a medical technology school, with nothing for nurse practitioner students from other programs. A rotation there would depend on an agency contract with the school and the hospital's own decision. Independent practices in Lake Charles often offer a quicker path.
Can I do my clinicals in Jennings?
Yes, if the site and preceptor meet the rules. Ochsner American Legion Hospital follows Ochsner's school-submitted InPlace process, and independent practices in Jefferson Davis Parish choose their own students. Either way the preceptor needs an active Louisiana license and certification that fits your course.
How underserved is Southwest Louisiana for mental health care?
The official measure is access. HRSA designates Calcasieu's low-income population and all of Jefferson Davis, Allen and Beauregard parishes as mental health shortage areas. For a PMHNP student, that signals strong patient need at local psychiatric and behavioral health sites. The Acadiana guide shows the parishes to the east.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog, its online program and state authorization pages, the ICMSN student handbook and Louisiana's nursing rules. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UL Lafayette helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UL Lafayette program, the practicum coming up and the Louisiana town you train near. We look for preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather the license, CV and agency details that must be on file before your first clinical day.
- Preceptors who meet Louisiana's rules: an active Louisiana license, most hours with an APRN in your population focus
- The preceptor's CV, the agency details and your letter of agreement items gathered early
- Across Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana, plus DNP residencies in your home state
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.