Compliance & Clinical Onboarding
Nursing students must meet Health Sciences and School of Nursing compliance requirements before the start of the program and throughout enrollment. The Office of Clinical Placements (OCP) quarterly monitors:
- Student training
- Licensure
- Policy agreements
- Background checks, and
- HSIP immunizations
You will be alerted to pending expiration dates so you can renew immunizations/licensure/etc. and minimize interruption to your research or clinical rotations. However, you are responsible for ensuring that compliance items do not become overdue or are incomplete.
You must be fully compliant at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the quarter, following the UW Academic Calendar, to ensure clinical onboarding can be completed.
Compliance items that require renewal include CPR, TB, TDAP, health insurance, UW Privacy Agreement, and background check and disclosure. If an item expires part way through the quarter, you must renew it (typically 6-8 weeks) before the quarter begins. (This means items like TB and CPR may be renewed after only 9 months.)
2024-2025 Compliance Renewal Deadlines
| Quarter | Compliance items that expire on or before… | Renew by |
|---|---|---|
| Summer 2025 Start Date: Jun 23, 2025 End Date: Aug 22, 2025 Reg. Period 1: May 8, 2025 |
Aug 21, 2025 | Friday, May 9, 2025 |
2025-2026 Compliance Renewal Deadlines
| Quarter | Compliance items that expire on or before… | Renew by |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 Start Date: Sep 24, 2025 End Date: Dec 12, 2025 Reg. Period 1: May 8, 2025 |
December 11, 2025 | Friday, August 8, 2025 |
| Winter 2026 Start Date: Jan 5, 2026 End Date: Mar 20, 2026 Reg. Period 1: Oct 30, 2025 |
March 19, 2026 | Friday, November 14, 2025 |
| Spring 2026 Start Date: Mar 30, 2026 End Date: Jun 12, 2026 Reg. Period 1: Feb 12, 2026 |
June 11, 2026 | Friday, February 13, 2026 |
| Summer 2026 Start Date: Jun 22, 2026 End Date: Aug 21, 2026 Reg. Period 1: Apr 13, 2026 |
August 20, 2026 | Friday, May 8, 2026 |
Account Holds
Holds will be placed on student accounts when a requirement’s expiration date has passed.
If your hold is listed as coming from HSIP, it indicates that you are not in compliance with your immunization requirements. Please refer to the notes on your registration hold for further instructions.
Contact your compliance specialist at nscomply@uw.edu for questions regarding account holds.
Please add “HOLD on LNAME ACCOUNT” in the subject line so we can respond to you faster.
Health Sciences Immunization Program (HSIP)
The Health Sciences Immunization Program (HSIP) ensures students enrolled in health sciences academic programs comply with the requirements detailed in the University’s affiliation agreements with clinical and practicum training sites.
Please refer to the HSIP website here for more information about Immunization requirements and FAQ. If you have any questions in regards to Immunization forms, records, rejections from CB, please contact 206.616.9074 or myshots@uw.edu.
Castle Branch
Students access and submit their School of Nursing Compliance forms and immunization and test result documentation to a web-based system called Castle Branch (CB). The School of Nursing will send instructions for creating the CB account to accepted students, along with deadlines for meeting requirements.
You will be instructed to create 2 trackers with the 2 package codes that will be provided to you. Once you create both accounts, you can access the required compliance forms. All forms should be completed within CB (no paper/email copies need to be sent to the School of Nursing unless requested).
Tracker #1: School of Nursing – Trainings and Certificates
To create your School of Nursing Compliance CastleBranch account:
- Go to: https://portal.castlebranch.com
- Click Place Order
- Enter the appropriate code:
- UQ79 if you are an undergraduate student (enrolling into ABSN or BSN program) OR
- UQ78bg if you are a graduate student (enrolling into DNP, PhD, MS, Certificates)
- Castlebranch will guide you through creating your account and ordering your national/state background check, as well as the process of submitting your other compliance requirements.
Email nscomply@uw.edu if you have any questions or rejections made by CastleBranch to any compliance material. - There will be a one-time $96 account setup fee that includes your initial background check. Annual background check renewal will cost $24 and will be good for one year.**
Tracker #2: HSIP – Immunizations
BSN, ABSN, and DNP students must create a second CastleBranch account for tracking immunizations. You should use the same email for both accounts:
- Go to: https://portal.castlebranch.com/ux50
- Ensure it says University of Washington – Health Sciences Portal at the top
- Select “Place Order”
- Select the proper department – Nursing – and select the package UX64im: Nursing student
- Follow the rest of the prompts
- There will be a one-time $43 account set-up fee**
- Read through the HSIP Requirements Checklist
**Please contact HSIP at myshots@uw.edu with questions about immunization records or rejections by CastleBranch after submitting immunization records.
Visit the UW HSIP page HERE for for further information regarding your immunization requirements.
Clinical Placements Northwest (CPNW)
Undergraduate students will register for an account with Clinical Placements Northwest to complete additional training modules for clinical sites. Training includes, but is not limited to, bloodborne pathogens, patient rights/safety, and standard precautions.
You will need to complete eLearning modules annually. We prefer that you take the modules during July-August, as you will need to renew them before the start of the next year.
The CPNW website also includes links to site-specific paperwork and onboarding requirements for some clinical sites. If your site is not listed in CPNW, wait to hear from your clinical instructor.
There is a one-time account setup fee of $100 for A/BSN students and $75 for DNP students.**
DNP students
DNP students are only required to create a CPNW account if their clinical site requires it. Clinical practice begins in the second year of the program, during spring quarter. Once you receive confirmation from your Clinical Placement Coordinator, check your clinical site’s Canvas page to see if a CPNW account is needed. If CPNW is not mentioned, you do not need to create an account. You must repeat this process each quarter for every new clinical site assignment throughout your program.
Register online
Register for a CPNW account using the appropriate access code below. Allow 48-72 hours for account approval.
For technical support, email support@cpnw.org or nscomply@uw.edu.
ABSN Codes |
BSN Codes |
DNP Codes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Student | 86-36 | 85-36 | 235-36 |
| Faculty | 86-27 | 85-27 | 235-27 |
How to fill out the CPNW Clinical Passport
Please visit our CPNW Clinical Passport page to learn how to correctly fill out your clinical passport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please visit our FAQ page for commonly asked questions regarding compliance & clinical onboarding.
Need further assistance?
- General compliance and CB UQ78/79 questions – nscomply@uw.edu
- Immunizations and CB UX64 questions – myshots@uw.edu
- Castle Branch technical support – 888.723.4263 or visit their website HERE.
- CPNW technical support – support@cpnw.org