Your UofM clinical schedule, schedule changes and site changes
At UofM the clinical schedule is an approval step in its own right. It is due to your clinical faculty on the Monday of week two, no clinical day happens without their prior approval, changes travel in writing a week ahead, and a move to a new site needs two written approvals, one from the clinical faculty and one from the clinical coordinator.
Keep your practicum on schedule
Tell us your course, your term and what has changed.
The schedule rule, word for word
The 2026-27 LCON Academic Bulletin sets the rule in three sentences: "Students are expected to provide a clinical schedule to the clinical faculty by Monday of the second week of the semester for approval by the clinical faculty. Under no circumstances should a student be engaged in clinical practice without prior approval of the clinical faculty; violation of this policy is grounds for dismissal from the course. Any changes in the schedule should be provided in writing one week in advance of the change."
Read closely, the schedule is a clinical approval rather than a courtesy notice. The deadline also lands early in the term, which means the days and hours have to be worked out with your preceptor before classes begin, not during the first week.
The schedule is one of three approvals, along with the preceptor agreement form and site clearance in myClinicalExchange. All three need to be in place before a clinical day counts.
Building a schedule that clears approval
Check each draft against these
- Stretch the hours over seven weeks or longer, the shortest span UofM accepts for a course.
- Leave university breaks and holidays off unless program faculty and administration have arranged otherwise. In 2026-27 that includes Fall Break on October 10-13, Thanksgiving on November 25-29 and Spring Break on March 8-14.
- Match the days your preceptor actually sees patients, since every scheduled day needs the preceptor on site.
- Leave room for your clinical faculty's closing visit, which serves as your clinical performance evaluation.
- Keep Complio and myClinicalExchange items valid through the last scheduled day, because UofM treats a clinical absence caused by an expired document as unexcused.
- Work around any on-campus intensive your NP track holds that term.
Which part of term each MSN practicum uses is not published, so check your course's Canvas site for the window your hours must fall inside. The academic calendar guide lists the rest of the 2026-27 dates.
Changing the schedule mid-term
Once approved, the schedule is the plan your clinical faculty expects you to follow. When days or hours need to move, UofM's rule gives a clear sequence.
- Put the change in writingSend it to your clinical faculty rather than arranging it only with the preceptor.
- Send it a week aheadThe Bulletin asks for written notice one week before the change takes effect.
- Wait for approval before working new datesRescheduled days fall under the same prior-approval rule as the original plan, so the new dates wait for a yes.
- Use the leave form for planned absencesFor a planned excused absence such as a professional conference, file UofM's Practicum Leave of Absence Request Form with your clinical instructor a week or more beforehand. The instructor can say no, and make-up work is possible.
Unplanned gaps carry the heaviest penalty: under the Bulletin, missing clinical without approval fails the course outright, so for anything sudden, follow your syllabus and contact your clinical faculty right away.
When the site itself has to change
A new site is a bigger step than a new set of dates. The Bulletin's rule reads: "If a change in clinical site is deemed necessary, written approval must be obtained by the clinical faculty and the clinical coordinator." Two approvers sign off, and both approvals are written. The Bulletin does not define which office holds the graduate clinical coordinator role, so ask your clinical faculty who that is for your course.
Site changes can follow a preceptor leaving, a practice pausing student rotations or a site whose requirements you cannot meet. UofM's MSN documents page cautions that a partner's vaccination policy may leave no room for a waiver, and if no other site can be found, finishing the course may not be possible. A new site also means a new preceptor agreement approval and fresh myClinicalExchange clearance before hours resume there.
UofM publishes no graduate rule on how quickly a replacement must be found or what happens to the course if none is. Meanwhile, the seven-week minimum keeps running against the days left in the term. Backup preceptors and when a preceptor drops out cover the recovery.
Who approves which change
| Change | Approval UofM requires | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| First clinical schedule | Clinical faculty | By Monday of week two |
| New days or hours | Clinical faculty, in writing | One week before the change |
| Planned absence | Clinical instructor, through the Practicum Leave of Absence Request Form | At least one week ahead; not automatic |
| Clinical day on a break or holiday | Program faculty and administration | Arranged in advance |
| New clinical site | Clinical faculty and the clinical coordinator, in writing | Before any hours at the new site |
| Placement where you work | Faculty and program administration, with documentation | Before the placement begins |
The last row rarely comes up mid-term, but it matters when a replacement site turns out to be your employer. The workplace clinicals guide explains that rule.
How we keep your schedule and site steady
However your placement came together, our team builds the schedule with the preceptor before the term opens, so it can reach your clinical faculty well ahead of the week-two Monday. The draft spreads hours over at least seven weeks, skips UofM's breaks and follows the preceptor's real clinic days.
If a preceptor steps back or a site pulls out, we act fast. We find a replacement that fits your track, prepare the preceptor and site details your clinical faculty and clinical coordinator need to approve the change in writing, and rebuild the schedule around the weeks that remain. Faculty hold every approval, and what we send them is complete from the start. Use the form below to tell us what changed.
Questions UofM students ask
Can I start clinical hours before my schedule is approved?
No. The Bulletin allows no clinical practice at all until your clinical faculty has approved it, and a violation can end your place in the course. Hours logged ahead of approval put the course at risk. Wait until both the schedule and the preceptor agreement form are approved.
Are clinical days allowed over Spring Break?
Only if program faculty and administration set it up. Otherwise UofM keeps practicum days off university breaks and holidays. Spring Break 2027 falls on March 8-14, and the university closes for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18, so leave those days off your schedule unless faculty have arranged otherwise.
What if my preceptor cancels a week of shifts?
Tell your clinical faculty in writing as soon as you know, and propose new dates that still spread the course's hours over at least seven weeks. Changes normally need a week's notice. If the preceptor cannot continue at all, it turns into a site change, which your clinical faculty and the clinical coordinator must both approve in writing.
Can BSN students ask to change clinical sites?
UofM says BSN practicum assignment changes cannot be requested, since BSN students are assigned their placements. BSN students who raise a concern such as prior employment at a facility before assignments are made may be considered for an alternate site if one is available. The graduate site-change rule applies to MSN and certificate students.
Does a site change mean a new preceptor agreement?
Plan on it. Each preceptor agreement needs the partnerships office's approval before clinical starts, and a new site usually brings a new preceptor. Site clearance in myClinicalExchange also has to be complete before hours begin there. Confirm with your clinical faculty exactly what paperwork your change needs.
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.