Behind on clinical hours in a 7-week YSU practicum

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the YSU Preceptor placement team

Seven weeks leaves little slack. If you are behind on hours in a Youngstown State University practicum, tell your preceptor and clinical faculty now, bring exact numbers and a make-up plan, and add time only in ways YSU approves. Below: sizing the gap, what an unfinished practicum does to your program, and closing it.

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150hours per YSU NP practicum in the online FAQ's course list

7 weeksto complete them, one practicum per term

Numbered steps. Talk to your clinical faculty this week: 1 Bring the numbers; 2 Tell your preceptor and clinical faculty together; 3 Propose specific make-up dates; 4 Confirm the plan in writing; 5 Tell the coordinator if the preceptor is the cause. — Talk to your clinical faculty this week: 1 Bring the numbers; 2 Tell your preceptor and clinical faculty together; 3 Propose specific make-up dates; 4 Confirm the plan in writing; 5 Tell the coordinator if the preceptor is the cause.

How far behind are you, really?

Put a number on the gap before you talk to anyone. The course list in YSU's online FAQ gives each FNP and AGACNP practicum 150 hours, which by our arithmetic means about 21 or 22 hours a week across a 7-week term. Another FAQ answer puts the target at 180 hours for a 7-week term, closer to 26 each week, so ask your clinical faculty which target your course uses.

Hours banked by the end of each week at an even pace (our arithmetic, not a YSU schedule)
End of week	Pace toward 150	Pace toward 180
1	21	26
2	43	51
3	64	77
4	86	103
5	107	129
6	129	154
7	150	180

Set your verified hours in Exxat against the row for the week just finished. Missing one clinical day in week two is easy to absorb; the same gap in week six leaves almost no room.

Talk to your clinical faculty this week

Clinical faculty assign the practicum grade, weighing preceptor evaluations, logs and clinical documentation, so they should hear about a shortfall from you first. The earlier you talk, the more ways remain to fix it.

Bring the numbersHours logged and verified, hours still needed, days left in the term and the dates your preceptor can still offer.
Tell your preceptor and clinical faculty togetherThe handbook asks students who miss clinical time to notify both the preceptor and the clinical faculty member as soon as possible. Treat a shortfall the same way.
Propose specific make-up datesThe handbook has missed clinical hours made up when both the preceptor and clinical faculty agree, so arrive with options: added clinic days, longer days, or shifts you can clear with your employer.
Confirm the plan in writingA short email recording the agreed dates protects you if a schedule changes again.
Tell the coordinator if the preceptor is the causeWhen the gap comes from a preceptor cutting days or leaving, YSU's FAQ asks you to inform the Graduate Clinical Coordinator promptly.

What an unfinished practicum does to the sequence

YSU's NP practicums form a chain. Each of NURS 7062 to NURS 7065 requires a B or better in the course before it, and the AGACNP run from NURS 7071 to NURS 7075 works the same way. Only one practicum runs per 7-week term, so a practicum that closes without its hours holds the next one back by at least seven weeks, and every later term shifts with it. The preceptor already lined up for your next practicum agreed to specific dates, so warn them early if those dates may move.

An Incomplete is available only when more than 60% of the course is done with satisfactory work and the cause is beyond your control, and under the 2026-27 handbook you cannot progress while one is open. The 2022-23 handbook gave FNP students a progress grade and seven more weeks to finish hours; the current edition drops that rule, so ask what applies to you. Grades and time limits has the full rules, including repeats.

Hours that never count

Catching up means adding the right hours; some can never be added, however they are logged.

Hours from your job: under the handbook, paid employment never substitutes for practicum time, including at a site that employs you.
Hours on the clock: YSU's FAQ rules out clinical time during any period you are paid as an employee.
Hours on your home unit or in your usual patient care area, or under your immediate supervisor, both excluded by the FAQ.
Hours with a preceptor YSU has not yet approved, since approval must come before clinicals.
Hours outside your track's setting, primary care for FNP and acute care for AGACNP; settle anything unusual with clinical faculty before you log it.

Never round up a log to close a gap. The handbook counts misstated hours or patient encounters as unsafe practice, a far bigger problem than a short week.

Adding time with a second preceptor

When your preceptor simply has no more days to give, a second preceptor can supply them. YSU's FAQ allows more than one approved preceptor per practicum, without a set limit, so hours with a second preceptor add to your running total instead of starting a new one.

The condition is approval. A second preceptor goes through the same review as the first, and YSU's usual standard is preceptor details two months before a practicum, so a mid-term addition is for your clinical faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator to decide. Ask before any hours with the new preceptor begin. Another NP or physician at your current site, where the facility's paperwork is already done, is often the simplest candidate. Check credentials against YSU's preceptor requirements: the 2026-27 handbook lets FNP students spend up to 150 hours with an approved physician assistant after the first practicum, while the older FAQ excludes PAs.

Keeping the next practicum on pace

The best time to prevent a shortfall is the first week of the term. YSU leaves the schedule to you and your preceptor, so agree on fixed weekly days at the start, and arrange your work shifts around them, which the handbook makes your responsibility. Log hours and encounters in Exxat as you go, and check your running total against the pace table at the end of each week.

Front-load where you can. Hours banked early absorb a canceled clinic day later, while hours still owed in week six have nowhere to go. FNP students should also watch YSU's recommended pediatric and women's health minimums, so a short term leaves no hole in the hour mix.

How we help you catch up

Tell your placement advisor your practicum, hours logged, hours left and the days you can give. We look for a second preceptor who can add clinical days inside the term, starting with your current site and nearby practices in the same setting, check each one against YSU's rules, and hand you the details your clinical faculty will need to review.

We also keep the next practicum's preceptor in view, so a short term now does not turn into an empty one later. If your preceptor is leaving altogether, the same search becomes a replacement search; if your preceptor drops covers YSU's side of that. YSU's clinical faculty approve every preceptor. Ask for a second preceptor.

Questions YSU students ask

Can I carry missing hours into my next YSU practicum?

YSU publishes no rule that rolls unfinished hours into the next course, and each practicum needs a B before the next can start. The current handbook also bars progression while you hold an Incomplete. Ask your clinical faculty how a shortfall is handled in your course before the term ends, and keep the answer in writing.

Do hours at my own hospital count if I do NP-level work there?

Not while you are working as an employee. YSU's handbook does not let hours from your job stand in for practicum hours, even at the site where you train, and its FAQ bars clinical time while you are on the clock. Practicum hours at your employer count only off the clock, outside your own unit and with a preceptor who is not your supervisor.

Can I do evening or weekend clinical hours to catch up?

Often, yes. YSU leaves scheduling to you and your preceptor, so evening or weekend time can work when your preceptor practices then and your clinical faculty approve the make-up plan. The setting must still fit your track, and you cannot be on the clock for your own job during those hours.

Who decides whether I pass a YSU practicum?

Your clinical faculty assign the final clinical grade. The 2026-27 handbook says they draw on preceptor evaluations, direct observation, clinical documentation, practicum logs and assignments, and faculty may run site visits or virtual evaluations. Complete, verified hours matter, and so does the quality of the work your preceptor sees.

YSU systemGrades and time limitsYSU's MSN progression rules: a B in every practicum, repeats, clinical failure, Incompletes, the 6-year vs 4-year limit, leave, transfer credit and appeals.PreceptorsIf your preceptor dropsPreceptor quit or site fell through during a YSU practicum? Tell the Graduate Clinical Coordinator fast, protect logged hours and get a replacement approved.HoursClinical hoursClinical hours for each YSU nursing program: FNP and AGACNP (750 on program pages, catalog 600 and 540), Nursing Education, RN to BSN, and how hours are logged.Terms7-week practicum termsHow YSU's 7-week practicum terms work: one practicum per term in strict order, a B to move on, no didactic course alongside, and five preceptors back to back.Clinical systemExxatWhat Exxat does for YSU nursing students: compliance uploads due 30 days before the first practicum, placement records, hour logs and the older Medatrax name.Placement helpContactSend your YSU track, next NURS practicum and its 7-week term, your city and state, and the start date. A placement advisor replies promptly with next steps.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.

YSU asks you to secure your preceptor. We find one near you.

Tell us your YSU track, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the practicum, check YSU's rules and hand you what the preceptor request needs, two months ahead, with the next term's preceptor already in view.

Primary care preceptors for FNP practicums NURS 7061 to NURS 7065, acute care for AGACNP NURS 7071 to NURS 7075
Outside your own unit and away from your supervisor, in a state YSU accepts
Across Ohio, from the Mahoning Valley to Cincinnati, and in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan

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