Sarah Dawson
Director of Clinical Placement
UNCM
Manage Clinical & Non-Clinical Experiential Learning
How UNMC Launched a Clinical Placement System Faculty Actually Use
March 13, 2026
Making Clinical Education Technology Work in the Real World
Clinical education teams across nursing and health programs are managing extraordinary operational complexity.
Placements, preceptors and/or clinical faculty, affiliation agreements, evaluations, and compliance reporting all intersect in ways that can quickly overwhelm teams.
And for many programs, those processes are still managed through a mix of spreadsheets, legacy systems, and emails.
That reality was the starting point for a recent webinar with Sarah Dawson, Director of Clinical Placement at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Nursing, about how her team launched a clinical placement system that faculty actually use.
What stood out most to me, from Sarah’s experience wasn’t just the technology itself. It was the way the UNMC team approached the rollout: intentionally, incrementally, and with faculty workflows in mind.
The Challenge: Managing Complex Clinical Placements
The College of Nursing at UNMC supports multiple programs across campuses, including traditional and accelerated BSN tracks, RN-to-BSN pathways, MSN programs, and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.
With students distributed across programs and clinical sites, managing placements quickly becomes complex.
Before implementing CORE ELMS, the team faced several common challenges:
- Managing clinical placements across programs and sites
- Tracking affiliation agreements and renewal timelines
- Coordinating preceptor and faculty communication and evaluations
- Building faculty buy-in for a new system
Like many programs, their team needed better visibility and consistency across their clinical operations. But success wasn’t just about getting faculty to log in. It was about helping them understand the system, see its value, and feel a sense of ownership in using it to support their work.
Faculty Adoption Was the Turning Point
For the UNMC team, faculty adoption was a critical factor in a successful rollout.
Faculty already manage teaching, mentoring, and clinical responsibilities. Introducing a new platform can easily feel like one more system unless the value is clear.
So, the team focused on small, practical improvements first.
“Once faculty saw how easy evaluations were—the hesitation started to disappear.” — Sarah Dawson, Director of Clinical Placement, UNMC
Instead of rolling everything out at once, the team started with high-impact workflows and short training sessions. Early wins helped faculty see how the system could simplify their day-to-day work.
Over time, the perception shifted.
They began to see [learning] CORE not as extra work, but as a tool that made their day smoother.
Simplifying Preceptor Communication
Another major improvement came from streamlining communication with preceptors and clinical faculty.
Previously, evaluations and documentation were scattered across emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. Tracking down completed forms often required repeated follow-ups.
With CORE ELMS, many of those processes became automated and centralized.
Preceptors receive forms through simple links, and credential information can be updated quickly without starting from scratch each term.
“It’s essentially a one-stop messaging center. Everything happens in one place instead of chasing emails and paperwork.” Sarah said.
Students also benefit from mobile access to log clinical hours and track evaluations, reducing administrative friction for everyone involved.
For a deeper look at how this worked in practice, you can watch Sarah Dawson share her experience implementing CORE ELMS.
Why Starting Small Made the Difference
One of the most practical lessons from UNMC’s rollout was the decision to start small.
Rather than transforming every workflow at once, the team focused on the areas that would deliver immediate value:
- Clinical scheduling
- Evaluation management
- Preceptor communication
Those early improvements created momentum. As faculty saw time savings and smoother workflows, adoption naturally expanded.
This incremental approach is something we see across many successful clinical education implementations. When technology aligns with real workflows and demonstrates value quickly, adoption follows.
Turning Operational Complexity into Clarity
As clinical education programs add cohorts and program types, and expectations around compliance and accreditation reporting continue to increase; it makes operational infrastructure just as important as the educational experience itself.
When systems are fragmented, teams spend valuable time chasing paperwork and tracking information across multiple tools. When those processes are connected, teams can focus more on supporting students and clinical partners.
The experience at UNMC offers a strong example of how thoughtful implementation can turn operational complexity into clarity.
By focusing on faculty workflows, starting with high-impact improvements, and building momentum over time, the team successfully launched a clinical placement system that people actually use.
Learn More
If your program is navigating similar challenges, whether you're exploring clinical placement technology or looking to increase faculty adoption of existing systems, you can learn more about how UNMC approached this transition.
Watch Sarah Dawson’s video testimonial about implementing CORE ELMS or explore the platform further by getting a personalized demo of CORE for Nursing.
Schedule a Demo
Explore how CORE ELMS supports experiential learning, from placements to compliance to student outcomes.
Let's Get Started
Manage Clinical & Non-Clinical Experiential Learning
Still Reconciling Data for CAEP? There’s a Better Way
Experiential Learning Campuswide