When your first TTUHSC clinical course arrives
TTUHSC publishes a semester-by-semester plan for some nursing programs and not for others, so the first clinical course is easy to pin down in the PMHNP, midwifery and DNP tracks and harder in FNP, AGACNP and Pediatric NP. This guide names the first clinical course for each program, the certifications and experience that must come first, and how far ahead to start looking for a preceptor.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your TTUHSC program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your TTUHSC course.
First clinical course by program
The table follows TTUHSC's own plans. Where it says "not published," no public plan gives the semester, and the program plan you receive at orientation, along with your Graduate Enrolled Student Advisor, is the source.
| Program | First clinical course | When it falls |
|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | Primary Care I (NURS 5440) | Not published |
| MSN AGACNP | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care I (NURS 5460) | Not published |
| MSN Pediatric Primary Care NP | Pediatric Primary Care I (NURS 5580) | Not published |
| MSN Pediatric Acute Care NP | Pediatric Acute Care I (NURS 5500) | Not published |
| MSN PMHNP | Rotation with children and adolescents | Semester 4, the second spring (full-time); semester 7 part-time |
| MSN Nurse-Midwifery | Clinical Practicum A (NURS 5399) | Fall Two, a year after a fall start |
| BSN to DNP FNP | Primary Health Care I (NURS 6439) | Semester VII, summer of year three |
| BSN to DNP PMHNP | Children and Adolescents (NURS 6604) | Semester VI, spring of year two |
| Post-Master's DNP | Informatics and Technology (NURS 6325) | Semester II |
| MSN Advanced Nursing Leadership | Practicum I (NURS 5211) | Semester I |
| Post-graduate certificates | The track's own clinical courses | Set by your individualized plan |
MSN NP tracks: a named course, an unpublished semester
For FNP, AGACNP and both Pediatric NP tracks, TTUHSC names the first clinical course but prints no semester sequence, and TTUHSC's MSN FNP web page shows no course plan whatsoever. The advisor gives you your program plan at orientation, and that document, not a general web page, fixes your clinical start. These tracks admit in fall or spring, so two students in the same track can reach their first clinical course in different terms.
FNP has one more wrinkle. The catalog's FNP plan leaves out Primary Care I, yet the catalog's own course pages list NURS 5440 as the prerequisite for NURS 5541 and NURS 6660, and the post-graduate certificate uses different numbers for its primary care courses. The FNP clinical courses guide sorts that out.
Admission experience also shapes readiness. AGACNP applicants bring a year or more of ICU, emergency or flight RN work from the last five years, and Pediatric Primary Care applicants two years of pediatric RN experience.
Tracks with a fixed sequence
The MSN PMHNP admits only in spring, and its full-time plan puts three semesters of coursework first, so the first rotation, with children and adolescents, begins in the fourth semester, a year after you start. Part-time students reach it in semester seven. Nurse-Midwifery's published plan starts in fall and opens clinical work in Fall Two with NURS 5399, followed by NURS 6520 in spring and NURS 6610 in summer.
Both BSN to DNP tracks admit in summer only. PMHNP students begin clinicals in semester VI, the second spring, and FNP students wait for semester VII, their third summer in the program. The Post-Master's DNP, also a summer start, begins practice hours in semester II, and Advanced Nursing Leadership puts its first practicum in semester I. Course-level hours are on the 1,080-hour page and the nurse-midwifery practicums guide.
Undergraduates work differently: TTUHSC faculty place Traditional and Accelerated BSN students, whose clinical courses begin in the first semester.
What must be done before day one
Several requirements attach specifically to the first population-focus clinical course, on top of the checks every student completes at enrollment:
- ACLS for FNP and AGACNP students ahead of their first population-focus clinical course, and still valid for the FNP Practicum.
- PALS for both Pediatric NP tracks, on the same timeline.
- NRP, an EFM course and one year of birth-support experience for Nurse-Midwifery, plus the student's own malpractice insurance before midwifery clinical courses.
- BLS for every student; from May 1, 2027 the SON accepts only American Heart Association BLS.
- Immunizations, a background check, drug screens and yearly HIPAA training, with drug screens before most clinical placements and at random times.
A clinical site can refuse an immunization exemption affidavit, and TTUHSC warns that this could delay or prevent placement and graduation. The immunizations and certifications guide has the details.
When to start the preceptor search
TTUHSC does not publish a graduate deadline for submitting a preceptor. What it does publish is the chain every placement passes through: a preceptor you secure, SON staff and faculty approval of that preceptor and the facility, a facility affiliation agreement where one is needed, and an electronic preceptor agreement for that semester. Each link takes time, and the facility side is often the slowest to move.
Work backward from the first class day on the academic calendar. Course faculty and the Graduate Coordinator can tell you when your paperwork is due, and a preceptor should be committed well before that date. A student moving out of Texas owes TTUHSC 60 or more days' notice before the move, and another state's clinical approval is decided case by case, so a move near your first clinical course calls for an even earlier start.
Our recommendation is to begin a full term before your first clinical course, and earlier still if you live far from a city or need a specialty setting such as acute care, pediatrics or birth care.
How we set up your first rotation
A first clinical course is where TTUHSC's process is newest to you, and where a clean start pays off most. We begin with your program plan and the course's population, then search near home for a preceptor and facility that fit it. We collect your preceptor's credentials and practice information plus the site's details, so the electronic preceptor agreement and SON approval move without back-and-forth.
We also look one course ahead, so the preceptor for your second clinical course is in view before the first one ends. If a preceptor drops before or during the term, the placement desk finds a replacement fast. Final approval of each preceptor and facility rests with TTUHSC's staff and faculty, and we see to it that the paperwork in front of them is complete and fits the course from day one. Tell us your program and start term in the form below.
Questions TTUHSC students ask
When do TTUHSC FNP students start clinicals?
TTUHSC names Primary Care I as the first FNP clinical course but leaves its semester off every public plan, and start points vary because the MSN admits in fall and spring. The program plan from orientation and your Graduate Enrolled Student Advisor give the term. ACLS must be in hand before that first population-focus course.
Do TTUHSC BSN students find their own clinical placements?
No. TTUHSC's handbook places undergraduate students, and the decision on clinical placement rests with the faculty teaching the course. Traditional BSN clinical work starts in the first level, and Accelerated BSN students take Experiential Learning I in their first semester.
What is TTUHSC's deadline to submit a preceptor?
The graduate submission deadline is not on TTUHSC's public pages. Your course faculty know it, as does the Graduate Coordinator, part of SON's Clinical Placement, Affiliation Agreements, and Preceptor Management unit. Plan to have your preceptor confirmed well before their date, since facility approval can take longer than the preceptor side.
Do post-graduate certificate students start clinicals at the same point?
Not necessarily. TTUHSC individualizes every post-graduate plan, so your first clinical term follows the plan written for you. Confirm it with the program director before starting the preceptor search, and have your certifications current before that term.
Can I start TTUHSC's MSN PMHNP program in the fall?
No. The MSN PMHNP accepts students once a year, for spring, and the first rotation follows a year later on the full-time plan. The BSN to DNP PMHNP route admits in summer only and begins clinical work in its sixth semester.
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.
Your TTUHSC preceptor search, run by specialists.
Tell us your TTUHSC track, your next clinical course and the town you'll train near. We find preceptors who fit the course and pull together what SON staff and faculty need to approve both the clinician and the facility, early enough for the electronic preceptor agreement to go through before the term.
- Preceptors matched to the track: family primary care, adult-gerontology acute care, pediatrics, psychiatric mental health
- License, certification and facility details ready for TTUHSC's preceptor and facility approval
- In Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, the Permian Basin, Dallas-Fort Worth and the states TTUHSC accepts
Start your placement plan
Your track, your town and your next clinical term is all we need to begin.