NUR 661: the first FNP practicum at NAU
NUR 661 Family Primary Health Care Practicum I is the first of Northern Arizona University's three FNP practicums: 180 clinical hours in summer, in family primary care across the lifespan. Its paperwork falls due in spring while you are still in coursework, and because it opens the sequence, every document, agreement and approval is being filed for the first time.
Set up NUR 661 early
Tell us your start term and where you live. We plan your summer preceptor with fall and spring in view.
What NUR 661 covers
NAU's catalog calls NUR 661 the first primary care practicum, where you build beginning proficiency with common health and illness conditions across the lifespan. It carries 3 units and 180 clinical hours, runs in summer, and pairs with NUR 660, the course you take alongside it.
| Item | What NAU lists |
|---|---|
| Full title | Family Primary Health Care Practicum I |
| Units and hours | 3 units, 180 clinical hours |
| Term | Summer, first of three practicums |
| Taken with | NUR 660 (corequisite) |
| Completed first | NUR 510, NUR 520, NUR 530, NUR 540, NUR 550, NUR 560, NUR 650, NUR 675, NUR 676 |
| Leads to | NUR 663, which requires NUR 660 and NUR 661 |
That prerequisite list means you arrive with most of the core finished, including advanced assessment in NUR 650. The post-master's certificate follows a shorter catalog list that leaves out NUR 510, NUR 530 and NUR 676, so certificate students can check with a graduate nursing advisor how their plan meets the prerequisites.
Spring decides your summer practicum
Most of the work for NUR 661 happens months before it starts. NAU's 2022-23 Green Form asks for summer requests by March 31 and cautions that later ones may not be finished before the term; the 2021-22 form set the cutoff at March 1. The form itself is explained on the Green Form page.
The document rule can bite first. Under the 2022-23 guidelines your clinical paperwork must be complete two months ahead of the rotation, and if yours opens with the first summer sessions on May 10, 2027, two months back is about March 10, three weeks ahead of the Green Form date. Missing that mark can get you administratively withdrawn from both the practicum and its paired theory course, with a retake the following academic year; the document deadline guide builds a backward plan.
Site agreements carry their own lead time. The 2021-22 form warned that a new affiliation agreement might be done in days or drag on for months, so a preceptor confirmed in late winter leaves room, while one found in late March may not.
For a May start, the two-month document rule lands in early March, before the March 31 Green Form date. Plan from whichever date comes first.
The first practicum is the setup practicum
Because NUR 661 opens the sequence, each item below is filed for the first time. In NUR 663 and NUR 665, most of it only needs keeping current.
- Clearance card and license.An Arizona DPS IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card, which the 2022-23 guidelines require before enrollment, and an RN license good in whichever state you train in, uploaded to NAU's tracking system.
- Health and safety records.American Heart Association BLS (an online-only card is not accepted), immunizations and TB screening, and any background check or drug test the agency requires.
- Coverage and training.A personal professional liability policy at the limits the guidelines set, and NAU's HIPAA training before clinicals begin.
- Your preceptor's file.A CV or resume, professional license and specialty certification, sent to NAU for the FNP Program Coordinator's approval.
- The site's side.The Green Form with the site's approval, plus a new affiliation agreement when the agency, your own employer included, has no existing one with NAU.
- The go-ahead.NAU notifies you when you may begin, and your clinical time starts after that notice.
The weekly load in summer
Summer is shorter than fall or spring, so 180 hours weighs more than it looks. NAU's summer 2027 sessions start on three dates: May 10 for the 3-, 8- and 12-week sessions, June 1 for the first 5-week and the 10-week sessions, and July 6 for the second 5-week session, and summer degrees are conferred Aug. 3, 2027. No NAU page says which session NUR 661 follows, so get your dates from course faculty.
| If the course runs | Hours per week | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 12 weeks | 15 | Two 7.5-hour days |
| 10 weeks | 18 | Two 9-hour days |
| 8 weeks | 22.5 | Three 7.5-hour days |
Weekend, holiday and break-week clinical needs the FNP Program Coordinator's sign-off beforehand, so these hours come out of your weekdays. Pacing your clinical hours shows how to fit them around a nursing job.
Choosing a preceptor with the next two practicums in mind
Your NUR 661 preceptor must meet the Arizona standard NAU applies: a current license where they practice, a year or more practicing as a physician or APRN, a family-comparable population focus and, for nurse preceptors, certification in that role and focus. The preceptor requirements guide takes each point in turn.
Think past August when you choose. A family clinic with a pediatric panel and well-woman visits lets you start on the recommended hour mix early, and a preceptor willing to continue into NUR 663 spares you a second search in the busiest stretch of the year. The archived guidelines say nothing either way about keeping one preceptor across practicums, so put that question to the FNP Program Coordinator.
Distance matters as well. NAU can offer a placement, but its guidelines warn that overnight stays may be needed and that a student who turns one down is not owed another on travel grounds. A preceptor you arrange near home keeps a compressed summer workable.
How we set up NUR 661 for NAU students
We start in winter, ahead of both spring dates. Your placement advisor finds family primary care preceptors near where you live, confirms each against R4-19-502, and collects the CV, license and certification NAU reviews. Once the site agrees, your Green Form can go in with the approval box checked, and if the agency has no NAU agreement we tell you right away so it can start early.
We plan NUR 663 and NUR 665 in the same pass, so the summer preceptor fits a year-long route rather than one term. Give us your first clinical term and your county below, and your advisor maps all three practicums.
Questions NAU students ask
Do post-master's FNP certificate students take the same NUR 661?
Yes. The 2025-26 catalog lists NUR 661, NUR 663 and NUR 665 in the FNP certificate, and the 2022-23 guidelines use one hours table for the MS and the post-master's certificate, so the 180 summer hours and the approval steps match. Only the coursework required beforehand differs.
Can I start my NUR 661 hours before the summer term opens?
Only with NAU's go-ahead. The 2022-23 guidelines say NAU notifies you when you may begin, and time during university breaks requires the coordinator's approval first. If a preceptor's schedule makes an early start appealing, send the request to the coordinator in writing and wait for the answer before booking days.
What if my NUR 661 preceptor backs out in the spring?
NAU's archived guidelines set out no process for a withdrawn preceptor, so let the Clinical Placement Coordinator and course faculty know the same day. A replacement goes through the same approval route as the first, Green Form included, so every week counts against the document deadline. The preceptor dropped out guide lays out your options.
Can I complete NUR 661 outside Arizona?
No NAU source settles it. The 2022-23 guidelines expect you to hold an RN license where you do your clinicals and accept a preceptor licensed where they practice, which leaves room for other states, while NAU's program pages describe clinicals across Arizona. Confirm with your program coordinator before committing to a preceptor in another state.
What grade do I need to pass NUR 661?
NAU's graduate handbook for AY 21-22 requires 84% or better in MS-FNP and post-master's certificate courses, and a C or lower must be repeated, with the first C or F repeatable on advisor approval. Since NUR 663 requires NUR 661, a repeat can delay the two practicums that follow.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Northern Arizona University's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your program coordinator and course faculty have the final word.
- Northern Arizona University, FNP Clinical Guidelines AY 2022-23 (archived copy)
- Northern Arizona University, FNP Clinical Guidelines AY 2021-22 (archived copy)
- Northern Arizona University, Graduate Student Handbook: Academics AY 21-22 (archived copy)
- Northern Arizona University Academic Catalog 2026-27, MS Nursing, Advanced Practice (archived copy)
- Northern Arizona University Registrar, important dates
NAU welcomes a preceptor you arrange. We arrange one close to home.
Tell us your NAU track, your town and your next practicum. We line up preceptors who fit the course and Arizona's preceptor rule, confirm the site's approval, and gather the CV, license and certification the Green Form needs, well before NAU's cutoff.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages family primary care for FNP, psychiatric settings for PMHNP
- License, experience and certification checked against the rule NAU applies, before the Green Form goes in
- All three FNP practicums planned together, near home instead of a long drive away
Start your placement plan
Track, town and next practicum is all we need to begin.