Behind on clinical hours in a TTUHSC course
A shortfall in clinical hours is fixable when you spot it early and costly when you spot it in the final week. TTUHSC grades the clinical portion of graduate courses pass/fail, so the hours carry the whole course. Measure the gap, talk to your course faculty, and add time through an approved preceptor, whether that means more days with your current one or a second preceptor for the term.
Catch up on your hours
Your TTUHSC course, the hours still owed, the weeks left and your town. A placement advisor replies with ways to close the gap.
Why hours slip
Hours usually slip for reasons outside the student's control. A preceptor's clinic days shrink, the practice closes for a week, or the patient mix turns out thinner than the course needs. Campus commitments claim clinical days as well: MSN NP and midwifery students spend seven to eight days on campus across the program, and BSN to DNP students visit campus at least once a semester. The intensives and OSCEs guide lists them by program.
The calendar adds gaps of its own. TTUHSC's 2026-27 holidays include Thanksgiving (Nov. 26 and 27), Dec. 24, 25 and 31, Jan. 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18), a spring break holiday on March 19, Memorial Day (May 31) and July 5. Practices close on some of those days, so build them into your schedule at the start rather than discovering them along the way.
If your preceptor has stopped altogether, begin with what to do when a preceptor drops out.
Put a number on the gap
Before choosing a fix, measure the problem. Your course sets the required hours, and TTUHSC converts credits to clock hours with ratios that differ by program; the 1-to-4.25 guide explains them. Work it out on paper so you and your faculty are looking at the same figures.
- Hours owedTake the course's required hours and subtract the hours already recorded and confirmed.
- Weeks leftCount the clinical weeks until the term closes (Dec. 18 in fall 2026, April 23 in spring 2027, Aug. 13 in summer 2027), minus holidays and campus days.
- Pace neededDivide hours owed by weeks left, then set that weekly figure beside what your preceptor can actually offer.
- The shortfallAny difference is the time you need to add, and the figure to bring to your course faculty.
Ways to add clinical time
| Option | What it takes | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| More days with your current preceptor | Room in their schedule and the site's willingness to host extra shifts | Your preceptor and the site, with course faculty informed |
| A second preceptor this term | A clinician who fits the course, TTUHSC approval of preceptor and facility, and an electronic agreement for them | SON staff and faculty |
| Hours past the end of the term | Work that extends beyond the semester, recorded with an In Progress (PR) grade | Your course faculty |
| An Incomplete | Satisfactory work left unfinished for reasons beyond your control | Your course faculty, with conditions in writing |
TTUHSC's agreement rule, one electronic agreement for every preceptor used in a semester, already anticipates students who work with more than one. A second approved clinician is often the steadiest way to add hours, since it spreads your schedule across two calendars instead of relying on one.
Whichever route you choose, agree it with your course faculty before the extra hours begin, so every added shift counts toward the course.
What PR and an Incomplete really mean
The handbook reserves PR, In Progress, for course work that runs beyond the semester and says it appears mainly in clinical, practicum, thesis and dissertation courses. It sets no minimum number of completed hours before PR becomes an option, so that judgment rests with your course faculty.
An Incomplete is narrower. It covers work that is satisfactory in quality but unfinished for reasons beyond your control, it is never a stand-in for an F, and an I left on the record for a year turns into one. Neither grade is automatic, and both depend on raising the shortfall early. The grades and progression guide explains the surrounding rules on repeats and dismissal. If you think either may apply, ask in writing and keep the reply with your records.
Make sure the added time will count
Before planning catch-up days, confirm the time will count. Direct patient care with an approved preceptor is the baseline for NP and midwifery courses. The BSN to DNP separates direct from non-direct care, and TTUHSC's Post-Master's DNP catalog lists a broader range for practice hours, from observational experiences to relevant meetings.
Hours with a clinician TTUHSC has not approved, or at a facility it has not approved, put the whole plan at risk. Midwifery students should also note that TTUHSC's course text warns that reaching competency may take more than the listed hours. The what counts guide goes course by course. When an activity is borderline, ask your course faculty before you log it rather than after, and save their answer alongside your hour records.
How we help you catch up
Students behind on hours come to us for a second preceptor who fits the same course and can offer the days the gap requires. We search near you, confirm weekly availability against the weeks left in the term, and prepare the license, certification, practice and facility details SON staff and faculty review for the new agreement. Speed matters here, because every week of a short term counts.
We plan ahead with you too: a realistic weekly schedule, holidays and campus days mapped in, and a backup for your next clinical course so the same squeeze doesn't repeat. TTUHSC keeps the approval decision; we hand it a request with nothing missing. Choose "Already started, behind on hours" in the form below and tell us your course and the hours still owed.
Questions TTUHSC students ask
Will TTUHSC let me carry unfinished hours into the next term?
Possibly, through the In Progress (PR) grade, which TTUHSC uses mainly for clinical and practicum work that extends beyond a semester. Your course faculty decide whether it fits your case, and TTUHSC publishes no minimum number of hours that must be done first. Ask as soon as the shortfall is clear, and bring a plan for finishing.
Is adding a second preceptor allowed partway through a term?
TTUHSC requires an electronic agreement for every preceptor a student uses in a semester, which assumes more than one is possible. The second clinician still needs approval along with their facility, and your course faculty should agree that the split meets the course's goals. Set it up as early in the term as you can.
What happens if I don't finish my clinical hours?
The clinical portion of a TTUHSC graduate course is pass/fail, and an unsatisfactory clinical result produces an F for the course whatever your exam scores. A graduate course can be repeated only once, and further grades of C or lower trigger dismissal rules. That is why raising a shortfall early, while PR or a second preceptor is still possible, matters so much.
Do on-campus intensive days count toward my clinical hours?
TTUHSC publishes no rule that folds intensives, skills labs or OSCEs into precepted clinical hours, so treat them as separate unless your course faculty say otherwise. Plan your clinical weeks around campus dates; TTUHSC has said OSCE dates reach students a couple of months ahead, which gives you time to adjust.
How many clinical hours a week should I be doing?
Your course plan is the place to look. TTUHSC's web plans print weekly clinical hours for many clinical courses as the third figure in each credit listing, though in some tracks that figure means something else, and the syllabus is the final word. Divide the hours still owed by the clinical weeks left to see whether your current pace will finish on time.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against TTUHSC's catalog, Student Handbook, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty, your program director and the plan of study for your cohort have the final word.
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