Behind on hours with weeks left in the session

Start with numbers, not worry. Take the hours your course requires, subtract the hours already verified in Medatrax, and divide by the weeks left. The table shows how fast the weekly load climbs as the session runs down; the figures are our arithmetic, rounded.

Check that result against your syllabus. NKU's FAQ says weekly minimums and maximums vary by course and appear in the syllabus, so a late surge may run into a weekly cap.

Only hours logged in Medatrax and verified by your preceptor build your total. Preceptors verify weekly and verified entries lock, so log each shift the day you work it and ask for sign-off before the week closes. Hours sitting unverified at the end of the session are the hardest kind to fix.

Setting rules still apply when you are catching up. FNP specialty-office time is capped at 125 hours, PMHNP counseling with a psychologist, LICSW or LPCC at 80 hours across the program, and AGACNP emergency or urgent care at half your hours. Workplace hours count only off your own unit, away from your supervisor and outside paid time. Our NKU clinical hour logs page covers logging in detail.

Your Clinical Instructor is the course-level contact for anything about hours, and you can find the name in myNKU under Class Schedule or in Canvas. Write while there are weeks left, not days. Include hours logged, hours verified, hours remaining, weeks remaining and what caused the gap, whether a canceled clinic day, an illness or a preceptor's leave.

Ask three things: the weekly maximum for your course, whether a second preceptor could join, and what NKU expects if the session ends short. Only NKU can answer the last question, and its answer shapes everything else. For course-level detail, our pages on FNP clinicals and PMHNP clinicals set out each course in sequence.

• Add days with your current preceptor, inside your course's weekly maximum and their clinic schedule.
• Bring in a second approved preceptor. NKU allows one to four preceptors across the MSN, and each needs approval through Medatrax.
• Use settings NKU allows for your track, such as an FNP specialty office or PMHNP counseling hours, within their caps.
• Shift your work schedule so clinical days do not collide with paid shifts, since paid hours never count.

A second preceptor is usually the biggest lever, and also the slowest, because the new preceptor and possibly the site need NKU's review. That is why the conversation with your Clinical Instructor comes first and the search starts the same week. If your current preceptor is the reason for the shortfall, the preceptor dropped out page covers replacements.

NKU's catalog limits you to one clinical per 7-week session, and most clinical courses list the previous one as a prerequisite. So hours cannot be made up by taking two clinicals together later, and a course that runs over pushes the ones behind it. The delayed graduation page shows how one late course can move a finish date.

The practical move is to line up your next rotation now, while you fix this one. If the next preceptor is already approved and the dates are firm, a short extension here, should NKU allow it, does less damage to the rest of your plan. Tell the next preceptor your current end date as well, so a late change is no surprise.

When hours are short, a placement advisor searches for a second preceptor who meets NKU's rules for your track, practices near your current site and has open days in the weeks you need. Sites already covered by an NKU affiliation agreement go first, because they clear faster.

The new preceptor's paperwork is collected the day they agree, so your Medatrax request goes in complete and review can start at once. At the same time, we start on your next rotation so the following session is secure. You get a clear list of open items and one contact until approval arrives. NKU gives the final approval. Contact a placement advisor with your hours and weeks remaining.