Where NKU lets you spend clinical hours, track by track

NKU's online FAQ lists expected sites for each concentration under its preceptor qualifications answer. The table puts the settings and the limits side by side. Who may precept in each setting is a separate question, answered on our preceptor requirements page.

FNP hours belong mainly in primary care: clinics, physician offices, long-term care and hospice all appear on NKU's list. Specialty offices are allowed in measure. The FAQ names urgent care and cardiology as examples and caps specialty time at 125 hours.

NKU words the cap two ways. The concentration answer says specialty offices may be used for up to 125 hours, while a general line says specialty settings "should be limited to up to 125 hours per specialty rotation." If you plan more than one specialty stint across MSN 650L to MSN 655L, ask your Clinical Coordinator which reading applies before you commit.

Urgent care is the setting most easily misfiled. The patients can look like a primary care panel, but NKU places urgent care with the specialty offices, so those hours draw on the same 125-hour allowance.

AGACNP rotations belong in acute care hospitals. Emergency departments and urgent care count, but NKU's FAQ limits them to up to 50% of your hours. NKU does not say whether the half is measured per rotation or across all 750 hours; across the program it would be 375 hours by our arithmetic.

The later residencies lean harder into acuity. NKU's program page steers Clinical Courses IV and V toward high-acuity and specialty areas, and the 2024-25 catalog sets 150 hours of direct patient care for each of MSN 659L, MSN 661L, MSN 662L and MSN 663L.

A preceptor who splits time between an ICU and an ED can work well, provided the hours logged in each setting are tracked from the first week. Our AGACNP clinicals guide maps the five courses.

PMHNP students rotate through inpatient hospital units, outpatient clinics and treatment centers, or dedicated psychiatric and mental health facilities, with a PMHNP or psychiatrist precepting. Therapy experiences with a psychologist, LICSW or LPCC count too, capped at 80 hours for the entire program.

The age spread needs early planning. NKU's FAQ recommends 170 pediatric, 165 adult and 165 geriatric hours. Those figures add up to 500, the older program total, while the current program pages list 750, so treat them as a guide to balance rather than a quota. NKU calls them recommendations but says hours in every age group are needed for ANCC certification.

A site that sees only adults cannot carry all five courses. Plan where pediatric and geriatric hours will come from before MSN 664L begins; the PMHNP clinicals page lays out the sequence.

Nursing Education has two clinical pieces. MSN 614L needs 50 direct patient-care hours with a preceptor; NKU's FAQ gives wound care, clinics, acute care units, nurse midwives, outpatient and surgery centers and the PACU as examples. The MSN 670 capstone happens in an educational setting with a preceptor who works as an educator. The program page lists 150 capstone hours, while the FAQ says about 100 to 150.

Nurse Executive Leadership students spend 100 hours in MSN 631L with an MSN-prepared nurse leader at nurse manager level or above. NKU names a hospital as the usual setting, and the NEL coordinator can approve others. NKU's FAQ describes shadowing, meetings or a small capstone project as typical activities.

Some limits students expect are not in NKU's published rules. NKU publishes no cap on the share of hours spent with MD, DO or PA preceptors, though NKU accepts PAs only where the state allows them to precept. NKU publishes no telehealth rule either; our virtual clinical options page lists the questions to put to your coordinator.

You may work with one to four preceptors across the MSN, according to the FAQ, and weekly minimum and maximum hours vary by course and sit in the syllabus. Track totals and the older 500 to 600 hour wording are covered on our clinical hours page.

A placement advisor starts with your track's limits, not just an open schedule. For FNP students we look for primary care first and use specialty time deliberately; for AGACNP students we confirm how a preceptor's ED shifts fit the 50% line; for PMHNP students we plan the age spread across all five courses. If a rotation ends up heavier in one setting than planned, the next match is chosen to rebalance it.

Each match arrives with the preceptor's documents gathered and a named site contact, ready for your Medatrax request. NKU makes the final call, and we make sure the setting you submit already fits its rules. Tell us your track and next L course with the form below.