Tennessee Clinical Requirements for Health Science Students

This page collects what Tennessee law and state agencies say about background checks, immunizations and training for nursing and allied health students, with a link to each primary source. Most day-to-day clinical requirements, such as the drug screen panel, TB schedule and CPR level, are set by your clinical sites and affiliation agreements rather than by the state; see your program’s guide for those.

Background checks

Nursing students. The Board of Nursing’s rules for nursing education programs say students shall meet health standards and criminal background check requirements, and that background checks shall include a search of abuse and sex offender registries as well as Nursys. (source) Check that the background check your program uses covers each registry the rule names.
Licensure is fingerprint-based. The Department of Health requires applicants for licensure to obtain a criminal background check conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, and links to IdentoGO for fingerprinting. (source) The Board of Nursing’s rule requires the exam application to include the result of a biometric criminal background check. (source)
Timing. The board’s exam application instructions tell graduates to complete the fingerprint background check about 6 weeks before graduation. (source)

Immunizations

Hepatitis B for health science students. Department of Health rules require students in a school of medicine, nursing, dentistry, laboratory technology or another allied health profession to present proof of protection against hepatitis B before they are expected to perform procedures with potential exposure to infectious blood, unless exempted by law. (source) See hepatitis B non-responders.
MMR and varicella for new students. The same rule requires new full-time students at higher education institutions with more than 200 students to show two doses of MMR (if born in or after 1957) and two doses of varicella (if born in or after 1980). (source)

Nurse aide training

75-hour program. Tennessee’s nursing home rules describe a 75-hour nurse aide training program and require a program instructor to be present or readily available on-site during all clinical training hours, including direct patient care. (source) See CNA programs.

Drug Free Schools does not take fingerprints. For Tennessee licensure, the Department of Health points applicants to IdentoGO. For any other fingerprint check, students use the provider the agency or site names, usually Fieldprint, IdentoGO or the local police department. We handle the name-based background check, the drug screen and the tracking, so the rest of the student’s clinical file is ready.

How Drug Free Schools helps programs in Tennessee

On-campus drug screening from $25 a student, depending on cohort size: our team comes to your campus and screens the whole cohort in one visit. Students who miss the date can test at any Quest location for $40–$55.
Name-based background checks through Checkr: Standard ($35) covers SSN trace, national criminal, sex offender and global watchlist searches; Premium ($70) adds 7-year county criminal and FACIS Level 3 healthcare sanctions.
N95 fit testing on campus, $25–$35 a student.
Tracking for every requirement in our clinical compliance tracking portal: every upload reviewed within 24 hours, email and text reminders before anything expires, $30 per student, one time.

$30

per student portal, one time for the whole program. Free staff accounts.

From $25

per student for on-campus drug screening (by cohort size); $25 in-house kits for small groups

$40–$55

10-panel, 11-panel with alcohol or 12-panel at Quest locations nationwide

$35/$70

background checks; N95 fit testing on campus $25–$35

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Frequently asked questions

Do nursing students in Tennessee need a background check?

Yes. The Board of Nursing’s rules say nursing students shall meet criminal background check requirements, including a search of abuse and sex offender registries and Nursys. Licensure later requires a separate TBI and FBI fingerprint check.

Where do Tennessee nursing graduates get fingerprinted?

The Department of Health links applicants to IdentoGO for fingerprinting. Drug Free Schools does not take fingerprints.

Does Tennessee require hepatitis B for health science students?

Yes. State rules require students in medicine, nursing, dentistry, laboratory technology and other allied health programs to show proof of protection against hepatitis B before procedures with potential blood exposure, unless exempted by law.

Sources

This page summarizes Tennessee statutes, rules and state agency pages as checked on 14 October 2026, with a link to each source. Rules change; confirm with the agency, your school and your clinical sites. Clinical sites can require more than the state does. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Quest Diagnostics, Checkr, Fieldprint and IdentoGO are trademarks of their respective owners.