When your first UofM clinical course arrives
In every UofM nurse practitioner track, the first precepted practicum lands in a Spring term: roughly twelve months after a Spring start, or about seventeen after a Fall start. Nursing Leadership can put you into immersion hours in your very first term. Below is the first clinical course for each program, plus the work that has to be finished before day one.
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.
First clinical course by program
UofM publishes term-by-term plans of study for most programs, and they show exactly where the first precepted course sits. The FNP and AG-ACNP rows come from part-time plans, since UofM posts no full-time FNP plan.
| Program | First clinical course | Fall start | Spring start |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP (part-time plan) | NURS 7643 FNP I Acute Problems Practicum, 250 hours | Term 5, Spring | Term 4, Spring |
| MSN AG-ACNP (part-time plan) | NURS 7622 AG-ACNP I Practicum | Term 5, Spring | Term 4, Spring |
| MSN PMHNP | NURS 7612 assessment and diagnosis practicum, 120 hours | Term 5, Spring | Term 4, Spring |
| MSN Nursing Education | NURS 7207 Nurse Educator Immersion I, 120 hours | Term 2, Spring | Term 4, Spring |
| MSN Nursing Leadership | NURS 7917 Nurse Leader Immersion I, 120 hours | Full-time: term 1, Fall. Part-time: term 4, Fall | Term 3, Fall |
| FNP or PMHNP certificate | NURS 7643 or NURS 7612 | Plans show Spring starts only | Term 1, Spring |
| Education or Leadership certificate | NURS 7207 or NURS 7917 | Education: term 2, Spring. Leadership: term 1, Fall | Education: term 4, Spring. Leadership: term 2, Fall |
| AG-ACNP certificate | NURS 7622 | No plan published | No plan published |
The bachelor's programs count in nursing sequences rather than plan terms. UofM assigns BSN clinical placements, and the first courses titled practicum arrive in the second nursing sequence, which for Accelerated BSN students is the Spring after a Fall start. In the online RN to BSN, NURS 4126, the community health course with direct and indirect patient care, falls in the third semester of the sample plan.
The Spring pattern in the NP tracks
Whichever NP track you choose, the first practicum is a Spring course. On the part-time plans, a Fall starter reaches it in term 5 and a Spring starter in term 4, which works out to about seventeen and twelve months after the first day of class. The FNP and PMHNP certificates compress the wait: their plans begin in Spring and put the first practicum in term 1.
That timing sets the whole preparation calendar. A student entering the Spring 2027 NP practicums, with classes beginning January 19, 2027, needs a preceptor, an approved preceptor agreement form and a cleared site in place during Fall 2026. The January 2027 on-campus session, required for all NP tracks, also lands at the start of that term, so the opening weeks are crowded; the campus intensives guide explains the visits.
What comes before the first practicum
The first clinical-style course in the NP tracks is NURS 7102, Advanced Health Assessment, Clinical, a one-credit course that needs a B or better to progress. On the FNP plan it sits one term before the first practicum. UofM does not say whether it involves an outside preceptor, so ask your clinical faculty how it runs for your cohort.
Clearance work also has to be finished before the first precepted day. Complio holds your background check, immunizations, TB test and AHA BLS card. The drug screen must fall within 30 days before each fall and spring clinical term. Each site's onboarding runs through myClinicalExchange, and UofM grants clinical site approval only once every required item has been accepted. The Complio guide lists what goes in.
Education and Leadership start sooner
The non-NP concentrations reach clinical work earlier. A full-time Nursing Leadership student with a Fall start begins NURS 7917 immersion hours in term 1, so the preceptor search overlaps with orientation to the program itself. Part-time Leadership students reach it in term 4 after a Fall start, or term 3 after a Spring start.
Nursing Education places NURS 7207 in term 2, a Spring, for Fall starters on both the full-time and part-time plans, and in term 4 for Spring starters. One wrinkle: the catalog lists completion of all non-practicum education courses as the prerequisite for NURS 7207, while the plans schedule it ahead of some of them. The Education certificate's Spring plan also puts Immersion I and II in the same term. Your advisor can confirm the order that applies to you, and the Leadership immersion guide covers the preceptor side.
When to start looking for a preceptor
UofM publishes no submission deadline for the preceptor agreement form, only that the Office of Community Partnerships and Practice must approve it before the first day of clinical. The preceptor agreement form guide covers what it involves. Health systems then add lead times of their own, which are often the tighter constraint.
Two Memphis examples show the range. Baptist Memorial asks graduate nursing students to apply online at least three months before the proposed start, and its application asks for the preceptors' names. Christ Community Health Services takes nurse practitioner student applications by fixed deadlines, such as July 15 for rotations beginning between January 2 and April 30.
Put together, the practical answer is a full term ahead at minimum, and earlier for a Spring practicum at a large system. If your first practicum is only weeks away, read need a preceptor fast.
How we get your first practicum ready
The first practicum is where UofM's process meets a real clinic for the first time, and it sets the pattern for every term after. Whatever part UofM plays in your placement, we find a preceptor and site near you that fit the course: a primary care practice for NURS 7643, a preceptor with inpatient practice for NURS 7622, or a psychiatric preceptor for NURS 7612.
We assemble the preceptor's license, certification and practice details for the preceptor agreement form, check your Complio and myClinicalExchange items against the whole term, and time everything to your plan of study so nothing is left for the week classes open. Tell us your program and start term with the form below, or read how it works.
Questions UofM students ask
Is there clinical work in my first UofM MSN term?
For most concentrations, no precepted practicum arrives in term 1. The exception is full-time Nursing Leadership with a Fall start, where NURS 7917 immersion hours begin right away. FNP and PMHNP certificate students on the published Spring plans also start a practicum in their first term, since the published certificate plans assume the advanced practice core is already done.
Why does the first NP practicum fall in a Spring term?
UofM's plans order the NP specialty sequence so the first practicum opens in Spring, with the later practicums following in the terms after it, summer included. The plans give no reason, but the effect is clear: preceptor planning for your first practicum belongs in the Fall before it, while there is still time to clear a site.
When is the first clinical in UofM's Accelerated BSN?
In semester 2, the Spring after a Fall start, when the first practicum courses of the nursing major begin. UofM assigns BSN clinical placements. The summer that follows is the heavy stretch, typically three or four clinical courses with 8- or 12-hour shifts that can include Saturdays, and may start with the May-mester.
Do I need a new preceptor for each UofM practicum?
Not always. UofM lets NP students return to a previous site for the residency, and Leadership students may too when preceptor qualifications are met. Nursing Education students go to a new site for their residency. FNP students still need at least one family practice rotation and at least one NP preceptor across the plan.
What if my plan of study differs from the published one?
Your own plan of study, agreed with your advisor, is the one that counts. The published plans are samples for Fall and Spring starters, and the full-time and part-time versions differ. Find the term of your first practicum on your own plan and give yourself at least one full term of preparation before it.
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.