TTUHSC Pediatric Primary Care NP: the MSN track and its clinicals
TTUHSC's MSN Pediatric Primary Care NP is a 45-credit online track with occasional campus travel, three precepted clinical courses and an entry bar of two years of pediatric RN work. You find a preceptor who cares for children near your home, and TTUHSC approves both the clinician and the practice. Pediatric rotations need clinicians who see children every day, so the search deserves an early start, and we are ready to run it.
Find a pediatric preceptor
Tell us where you live and when Pediatric Primary Care I starts.
The pediatric primary care track at a glance
TTUHSC describes the track as an online program that calls for occasional trips to its campuses. The sections below cover what the experience rule and PALS mean in practice, how the three clinical courses fit together, and how the pediatric preceptor search works.
| Item | What TTUHSC states |
|---|---|
| Credits | 45 |
| Format | Online, with occasional travel to TTUHSC campuses |
| Start terms | Fall or Spring |
| Experience | Two years of RN pediatric experience before applying |
| Certifications | BLS for all students; PALS before the first population-focus clinical course |
| Clinical courses | Pediatric Primary Care I, Pediatric Primary Health Care II, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Practicum |
| Clinical hours | Set per course; no track total printed |
| Other routes | No pediatric post-graduate certificate or BSN to DNP track in the 2026-27 catalog |
Two years with children, then PALS
TTUHSC asks for "two (2) years of RN pediatric experience prior to application." Unlike the acute care pediatric track, the primary care track names no preferred setting for those two years. If your hours are split between adult and pediatric patients, check with the Admissions Team before applying.
Those years usually leave you with colleagues in pediatric offices and hospitals, and those contacts are a natural first call when the preceptor search begins.
PALS must be in place before the first population-focus clinical course, alongside the BLS every TTUHSC student holds. From May 1, 2027, the catalog accepts only American Heart Association BLS. Check that both cards will stay current through the practicum.
Ahead of the clinical courses, the plan includes Foundations of the Well Child, Foundations for Care of the Sick Child, and Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning with its on-campus intensive.
The three clinical courses
Pediatric Primary Care I (NURS 5580), Pediatric Primary Health Care II (NURS 5681) and the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Practicum (NURS 6680) each carry a clinical section, and each is marked as requiring an on-campus skills lab. Hours follow the 1-to-4.25 credit-to-clock scale TTUHSC uses for NP clinical courses, and TTUHSC states no total for the track.
Each course runs in its own term, and TTUHSC's agreement covers a preceptor for one semester at a time, so a preceptor who takes you for two courses is filed twice. The pediatric NP clinical courses page sets out the weekly pattern and order for both pediatric tracks side by side.
TTUHSC does not publish the term in which Pediatric Primary Care I falls, so get your sequence at orientation and count back a full semester to start the search.
Finding a pediatric preceptor near home
The graduate rules match every MSN NP track. You locate the preceptor, SON staff and faculty approve the clinician and the practice, and the electronic preceptor agreement is completed for each preceptor every semester. The agreement guide lists what to have ready.
TTUHSC gives current graduate students a list of preceptors used over the past two years, a sensible first filter, though in some areas it may hold few pediatric names. Who can precept is covered on the preceptor requirements page, and course faculty confirm fit for each pediatric rotation.
Geography shapes a pediatric search. In the Metroplex, Austin, San Antonio or Houston, pediatric practices sit fairly close together; in rural West Texas, the nearest one may be a long drive, which is worth weighing before you promise a preceptor several days a week.
Primary care or acute care?
TTUHSC offers two pediatric NP tracks, and the clinical setting is what separates them. The primary care track, at 45 credits, centers on children's ongoing care in outpatient practices. The acute care track, at 46 credits, points toward hospital-based pediatrics and prefers RN experience in critical care, emergency or acute care.
Both ask for two years of pediatric RN experience and PALS, and both pair an on-campus skills lab with each clinical course. The practical difference in the search is the facility: acute care rotations usually sit inside hospitals with their own student offices and agreements. The Pediatric Acute Care NP guide covers that track.
Neither pediatric track has a post-graduate certificate or a BSN to DNP version in the 2026-27 catalog, so the MSN is the route TTUHSC offers for pediatric NP preparation.
Campus travel and where you can live
Across the program, TTUHSC's MSN NP tracks call for seven to eight days on campus, covering the health assessment intensive, the skills labs attached to the clinical courses and OSCEs, which are held in Lubbock.
Clinicals happen where you live, including outside Texas in most states. TTUHSC's licensure page lists ten states, among them California, New York and North Carolina, from which it cannot accept graduate students, and online students must notify TTUHSC at least 60 days before moving. Out-of-state applicants are asked to confirm eligibility with the Admissions Team first, and clinical approval after a move is decided case by case. The licensure disclosure page has the full list.
Our pediatric preceptor search
Pediatric primary care searches go best when someone works them full time, and that is our job. We focus on pediatric nurse practitioners, pediatricians and practices that see children, close to where you live, and we build each request around the course on your plan of study.
- Preceptor candidates for Pediatric Primary Care I, Primary Health Care II and the practicum, confirmed for your term before you commit.
- License, certification and practice details for each preceptor, plus the practice's facility details, collected and checked for TTUHSC's approval.
- The electronic preceptor agreement items prepared each semester, well ahead of the start date.
- A fresh search right away if a practice changes its plans.
Approval stays with TTUHSC's staff and faculty, and we make sure the request they review is complete. Read how it works or use the form below to tell us your area and start term.
Questions TTUHSC students ask
Does TTUHSC offer a post-graduate pediatric NP certificate?
Not in the 2026-27 catalog or on TTUHSC's current program list. The post-graduate NP certificates cover family, adult-gerontology acute care and psychiatric mental health, and the BSN to DNP offers only FNP and PMHNP tracks. For pediatric primary care, the route TTUHSC offers is this MSN track.
How much pediatric experience does TTUHSC's PNP program require?
Two years of RN pediatric experience before you apply. The primary care track names no preferred setting for that time, while the acute care pediatric track asks for the same two years and prefers critical care, emergency or acute care experience. Check borderline cases with the Admissions Team.
When do I need PALS for TTUHSC's pediatric primary care track?
Before your first population-focus clinical course. BLS is required of every student as well, and the catalog moves to American Heart Association BLS only on May 1, 2027. Renew both on a schedule that keeps them current from Pediatric Primary Care I through the practicum.
How many clinical hours are in TTUHSC's Pediatric Primary Care NP?
TTUHSC does not state a total for the track. Each clinical course is measured on the 1-to-4.25 credit-to-clock scale for NP courses, and the syllabus sets the requirement. Confirm the figure with your course faculty before settling a weekly schedule with a preceptor.
Will TTUHSC place me with a pediatric preceptor?
TTUHSC does not promise placement for its MSN NP tracks. You identify the preceptor, SON staff and faculty approve the clinician and the practice, and the electronic agreement is completed each semester. We run that search for you, starting with the pediatric practices nearest your home, and prepare the approval details.
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.