Behind on clinical hours: a catch-up plan that fits UofM's rules
Falling behind in a practicum usually starts small: a late start, a few canceled clinic days, a preceptor with fewer open sessions than expected. UofM's rules on pace, breaks and approvals decide how you can recover, so the plan has to be built around them. Here is how to size the gap and close it.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UofM program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UofM course.
Size the gap before you act
Start with the target. Your course's total comes from your plan of study, and UofM's sources do not always agree: FNP totals appear as 750, 730 and 720 in different documents, and AG-ACNP as 750 and 780. Our NP clinical hours guide explains how to confirm the figure that applies to you.
Then do the weekly arithmetic. Divide the hours left by the weeks left, after taking out university breaks and holidays. As an example, if a 250-hour practicum spans the full Spring 2027 term, January 19 to April 28 with Spring Break removed, the load is close to 19 hours a week. Lose the first four weeks and the same course needs about 27 hours a week to finish on time.
That number tells you which fix you need. A small gap can often close with a few added days. A large one usually needs a second clinician or a conversation about the calendar.
The rules that shape a recovery
Every catch-up option has to sit inside UofM's clinical policies. These are the ones that matter most when you are behind.
- Clinical hours for a course cannot be completed in fewer than seven weeks, so a very late start may leave too little calendar, not just too few days.
- Breaks and holidays stay off limits unless program faculty and administration arrange otherwise.
- Clinical faculty approve every clinical day in advance, and schedule changes go to them in writing one week ahead.
- Hours at your current employer need compelling circumstances plus approval and documentation from faculty and program administration.
- During the NP residency, no more than 60 hours may be spent in a specialty area, and only with the Track Coordinator's approval.
The what counts as clinical hours guide explains each rule in full.
Options your faculty can approve
Several routes can close a gap, and all of them run through your clinical faculty. Bring a written proposal rather than a problem: the hours left, the weeks left and the change you are asking for.
- More days with your current preceptorIf your preceptor has open sessions, a revised schedule sent in writing a week ahead may be the simplest fix.
- A second preceptor or siteAdding a clinician can double your available days. A new site needs written approval from clinical faculty and the clinical coordinator, plus an approved agreement form for the new preceptor.
- An IncompleteAt your faculty's discretion, an Incomplete gives graduate students one major term to finish, and an unfinished Incomplete turns into an F automatically.
- A faculty-arranged exceptionClinical days during a break are possible only when program faculty and administration arrange them, so ask rather than assume.
Why hours slip, and how to stop the slide
Most shortfalls come from a handful of causes: a preceptor whose clinic days turn out fewer than planned, cancellations that pile up, approvals that finish later than the term's first week, or a clearance item that lapses. Track your hours against the weekly target every week, not at midterm, so a gap is visible while it is still small.
Watch your clearance dates as closely as your hours. UofM treats clinical time missed because a document expired as an unexcused absence, and it can place a hold on registration, so keep every Complio item valid through the course's last day.
Hours logged on days your clinical faculty did not approve are a risk, not a shortcut: UofM treats unapproved clinical practice as grounds for dismissal from the course.
How we help you catch up
When the answer is a second clinician, we find one. Your placement advisor searches near home for a preceptor whose setting fits your course and whose open days fill the gap, then confirms availability for the weeks you have left. We prepare the new preceptor's license, certification and practice details for the agreement form and check the site's onboarding requirements, so the approvals can start immediately.
We also rebuild your schedule so the combined days meet your target without touching breaks or holidays, giving your clinical faculty a plan that is realistic from the first look. If the gap began because your preceptor left, our preceptor dropped out guide covers that path. To start, send your hours completed, hours required and the term dates through the form below or our contact page.
Questions UofM students ask
Can I make up hours over Spring Break or Thanksgiving?
Only if program faculty and administration arrange it. UofM keeps practicum days off university breaks and holidays by default. In 2026-27 that includes Fall Break, October 10 to 13, Thanksgiving, November 25 to 29, and Spring Break, March 8 to 14. Plan your catch-up around those dates unless your faculty tell you otherwise in writing.
Can I take an Incomplete if my hours run short?
It is your faculty's call. Under the Graduate School policy LCON follows, a graduate Incomplete must be finished within one major term, faculty may set an earlier date, and an unfinished Incomplete becomes an F. If you plan to graduate that term, check graduation deadlines too, because they can arrive before the Incomplete deadline.
Can I split my remaining hours between two preceptors?
Ask your clinical faculty first, since UofM publishes no rule on dividing one course between clinicians. Any new site needs written approval from faculty and the clinical coordinator, and a new preceptor needs an approved agreement form. The rotation rules for your track still apply to the combined experience.
Will being behind affect my practicum grade?
Hours are one part of passing. UofM practicum courses require a B or better, and you must show progressive improvement and satisfactory ratings on every competency by semester's end. Both your clinical faculty and your preceptor must judge you competent. Our grades guide covers the rest.
Do hours at my own job count if I am behind?
Not by default. UofM excludes practicum hours at a current employer unless compelling circumstances exist, and faculty and program administration then have to approve and document the placement. Being behind is unlikely to qualify by itself, so treat a workplace site as an exception to request, never a fallback to count on.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UofM's 2026-27 catalog, the LCON Academic Bulletin, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your clinical faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UofM helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UofM concentration, your next practicum and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and prepare what the preceptor agreement form needs, early enough for approval before the first clinical day.
- Preceptors matched to the rotation rules: an NP preceptor, family practice for FNP, inpatient and critical care for AG-ACNP
- License, certification and site details ready for the preceptor agreement form, with your Complio items in order
- Across the Mid-South, Tennessee and the states UofM serves
Start your placement plan
Your concentration, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.