NGR 6301L: the first pediatric primary care practicum at FIU
NGR 6301L is the opening clinical practicum of the Pediatric Primary Care NP (PNP) track at Florida International University (FIU), taken in the fourth semester alongside the NGR 6301 course. The track is predominantly online, so you identify the pediatric site and FIU's clinical department helps put the contract in place. That search belongs in the Summer before, while NGR 6743 is still running.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your FIU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your FIU course.
Where NGR 6301L falls in each FIU plan
FIU's current MSN plan of study, the 5-2026 revision that governs from Spring 2027, puts NGR 6301L in semester 4, the Fall of your second year, beside the NGR 6301 course for 7 credits that term. The practicum itself carries 4 credits. Two more pediatric practicums follow in Spring and Summer, starting with the second practicum.
| FIU program | Semester | Term |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Pediatric Primary Care NP (47 credits) | Semester 4 | Fall of year two |
| Post-graduate PNP certificate (35 credits, online) | Semester 4 | Fall |
| Post-BSN to DNP, PNP specialty, Fall-start plan | Semester 4 | Second Fall of the plan |
| Post-BSN to DNP, PNP specialty, Spring-start plan | Semester 6 | Second Fall of the plan |
Every version puts the first pediatric practicum in a Fall term. The months that decide whether it starts on time are the Spring and Summer before it, not the Fall itself.
What has to be done before your first pediatric clinical day
Three gates stand between you and NGR 6301L: coursework, clearance, and an approved site with a contract. Miss any one and the rotation cannot start: the graduate handbook treats patient care begun before approval and a signed contract as a breach of professional conduct.
Before the first day
NGR 6172Pharmacological Concepts in semester 1 of the PNP plan, thenNGR 6002C(health assessment) andNGR 5141(pathophysiology) in semester 2, each earned at B or higher no more than 3 years before the clinical course.NGR 6743, the Advanced Practice Nursing Clinical Education Seminar, in the Summer semester; the seminar page covers what it asks of you.- Every clearance item closed out before the rotation begins; the full list lives on clinical clearance.
- A current Florida RN license, which FIU requires before admission.
- A Preceptor Request Form signed by faculty and, for a site new to FIU, a contract through the Clinical Education Department.
The PNP plan runs pharmacology before pathophysiology, the reverse of the adult-gerontology order, so read your own plan of study rather than a classmate's.
Hours in NGR 6301L: what FIU publishes and what it leaves to the syllabus
FIU does not publish a clinical-hour figure for NGR 6301L on its web pages, its plan of study or its catalog. It gives a program total, and states that total two ways: the Clinical Education page credits the PNP with 770 clinical hours, while the 2025-2026 graduate handbook (Rev. April 30, 2026) sets a 630-hour floor for Pediatric.
The handbook describes a credit-to-contact-hour formula for clinical courses, yet no FIU page applies it to this practicum or splits the program total across the three pediatric practicums. The number you are held to sits in the course syllabus on FIU SharePoint and with your course faculty. 770 versus 630 lays out the program-level conflict in full.
Ask your course faculty for the NGR 6301L hour target in writing before the term starts, and build your preceptor schedule around that figure.
One practicum, three labels
The 5-2026 plan calls the paired course Advanced Pediatric I (NGR 6301). The 2025-2026 graduate handbook lists NGR 6301C and NGR 6301L as Advanced Child Health Nursing I, Theory and Practicum. The 2026-2027 catalog shows no PNP course numbers at all; it groups 15 credits under Advanced Child Health Nursing.
For this first practicum the difference is mostly a label, since every source agrees that NGR 6301L opens clinical work in the track. The documents part ways later, in how the last pediatric term is built, which the final practicum page explains. Continuing students should ask the Graduate Nursing Advisor which plan governs their cohort before registering.
The Preceptor Request Form (revised 3/31/2022) adds a third label: its list of courses offers Clinical Practicum-I, the entry that lines up with this first rotation on the older form.
Choosing a pediatric site that fits the course
Start from the patients. NGR 6301L is a pediatric primary care practicum, so your preceptor's patients should be children seen in primary care, and the syllabus objectives decide the rest. The graduate handbook tells primary care students to plan on weekday daytime rotations, Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, so a practice with steady weekday clinics is the natural target.
FIU's preceptor rules apply from this first rotation. Your preceptor needs a year or more in the specialty, current licensure and national certification; relatives and close friends are excluded; and your own unit is off limits, though another unit of a large institution can work. Nurse practitioners supervise most rotations and physicians are permitted; preceptor requirements covers the handbook's master's-degree wording.
Because the PNP is an online track, the practice does not have to be in FIU's traditional four-county South Florida area, as long as its contract is signed before you see a patient.
A working timeline for a Fall start
- Spring, semester 2Finish
NGR 5141andNGR 6002Cwith a B or better. List pediatric practices within reach and find out from the Office of Clinical Education which of them already hold an FIU contract. - Early Summer, as NGR 6743 beginsConfirm a preceptor and collect what the Preceptor Request Form asks for: facility, address, specialty, email, license, and the days and times you will attend. FIU sets rotations up the semester before each clinical course, jointly between faculty and students.
- Summer, the contract windowA practice with no FIU contract needs one through the Clinical Education Department, which the current handbook budgets at 6-8 weeks. Eight weeks before the August 24, 2026 start of Fall is June 29.
- July and August, clearance and the folderClose every clearance item and put together the folder you hand your preceptor at the first meeting, holding the course objectives and competencies, FIU's evaluation forms, your faculty's contact details and your personal learning goals.
- First week of clinical seminarSend the schedule you agreed with the preceptor to your clinical faculty, then enter every clinical day in Typhon NPST inside the 7-day window.
Planning the semester before turns this into a month-by-month plan for any FIU term.
Why FIU pediatric students choose us for NGR 6301L
Our NGR 6301L search begins where the course begins: pediatric primary care preceptors whose patients fit the syllabus, in person and close to home. At the outset we find out whether the practice has an FIU contract on file, since a brand-new agreement can take 6-8 weeks, and we give you every detail the Preceptor Request Form needs so your faculty can sign it on the first pass.
Approval of the practice and the preceptor rests with FIU's Office of Clinical Education and your faculty; our part is a file that arrives complete and already matches FIU's rules. Through the term we watch your clearance dates and Typhon timing and remain on call should a preceptor pull out. Share your semester and city through our contact page or the request form at the bottom of this page.
Questions FIU students ask
How many hours does NGR 6301L require at FIU?
No FIU page gives an hour count for NGR 6301L itself. The program totals conflict: 770 hours on FIU's web pages and a 630-hour minimum for Pediatric in the current graduate handbook. Your course syllabus and course faculty set the hours for this practicum, so ask for the figure in writing before the term starts and plan your preceptor days around it.
Can I take NGR 6301L before NGR 6743?
The plan of study places NGR 6743, the clinical education seminar, in semester 3, the Summer before NGR 6301L, and FIU treats it as the lead-in to the first practicum. The handbook adds a recency rule: health assessment (NGR 6002C), pathophysiology (NGR 5141) and pharmacology (NGR 6172) need a B or higher, completed no more than 3 years before any clinical course. If one is older, you can appeal to the department chair by email.
Can a pediatrician be my preceptor for NGR 6301L?
Physicians appear as preceptors in both FIU's graduate handbook and its Clinical Education page, although nurse practitioners supervise the bulk of rotations. The handbook separately calls for preceptors to hold a master's in nursing, and FIU leaves that tension unresolved. Before committing to a pediatrician, have your clinical faculty confirm the preceptor is acceptable for this course.
Is NGR 6301L always taken in a Fall semester?
On the MSN PNP plan and the online post-graduate PNP certificate plan, semester 4 is a Fall term. Post-BSN to DNP students reach it in a Fall as well: semester 4 on the Fall-start plan, semester 6 on the Spring-start plan. Time away on an approved leave, or a course you have to repeat, can move the sequence, so your own plan of study has the final word.
What if my pediatric site is not approved by the first week of Fall?
The rotation cannot begin until the site is approved and the contract is in place, and starting early counts as a conduct violation. Tell your clinical faculty right away, keep a second practice in reserve, and remember that missed clinical hours must be made up. If you are stuck without a preceptor, we start a replacement search as soon as you reach us.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against FIU's own graduate handbook, preceptor manual, plans of study, catalog and licensure pages. Your plan of study, your course faculty, your clinical faculty and FIU's Office of Clinical Education have the final word.
FIU asks you to identify your clinical site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your FIU track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check early whether the site already holds an FIU contract, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NGR 6201L, pediatric primary care forNGR 6301L, an organizational mentor forNGR 7940C - Preceptor, facility, license and schedule details ready for the Preceptor Request Form, weeks ahead of the contract clock
- Across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe, or beyond them where FIU approves your site
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.