When your first Keiser practicum can start
For Keiser's FNP, the first clinical course is NUR602A, the adult and older-adult practicum taken alongside NUR602. The catalog puts six courses in front of it, three of them needing a B, so even at full pace it cannot begin before your fifth 8-week term. Start the preceptor search about three months before that term, which at full pace falls while you are still in pharmacology.
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Tell us your Keiser program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Keiser course.
The six courses that come first
The 2026-27 Graduate Catalog lists six prerequisites for NUR602A. Keiser's FNP program page goes a step further, saying all core courses and the three specialty courses must be finished before clinical courses begin.
| Course | Catalog title | What to know |
|---|---|---|
NUR501 | Leadership and Professional Development in Nursing | The program's first course |
NUR502 | Nursing Theory for Research and Practice | Core course |
NUR640 | Behavioral Health across the Lifespan | Core course |
NUR650 | Advanced Pathophysiology for Practice | B or better; follows NUR501 |
NUR661 | Principles of Pharmacology for Advanced Practice II | B or better; follows NUR650 |
NUR671 | Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning II | B or better; follows NUR661; simulation, OSCE and the first residency |
Two more FNP courses, NUR520 and NUR680, are not on the catalog's prerequisite list for NUR602A. Because the program page asks for all core courses first, confirm with your advisor where they fit. Some catalog prerequisite lines also still cite retired numbers, NUR660 and NUR670, so ask which current course satisfies each if your audit shows them.
The earliest term NUR602A can start
Keiser does not publish the month a student's first practicum falls in. The prerequisites still set a floor: NUR650 needs NUR501, NUR661 needs NUR650, and NUR671 needs NUR661. That chain takes four 8-week terms even with two courses per term, so NUR602A lands in your fifth term at the earliest, about 32 weeks after you start. This is our reading of the catalog, not a date Keiser promises.
On the 2026 calendar, a student who began on January 12 and never paused would reach that fifth term on August 31. Part-time study, which Keiser defines as one course per 8 weeks, pushes it later. So does a repeated course, because each clinical and theory pair waits for the previous final grades to be posted. The five practicums then run in order; the FNP practicum courses guide shows the sequence.
Clearances Keiser wants before day one
Passing the prerequisites is only half the gate. Keiser's FNP page lists what has to be in place before a practicum begins, and the clinical manual adds the plan:
- Medical clearance and immunizations (health requirements)
- A clear criminal background check
- Personal liability insurance
- A contract between your clinical site and Keiser, in other words a signed affiliation agreement
- Keiser's approval of your preceptor, based on the Preceptor/Mentor Information Form
- A plan for clinical course completion with your start and end dates and clinical days, shared with course faculty
The agreement needs signatures from Keiser's Associate Vice Chancellor, or the Dean of the Graduate School, and the site's executive of record, which is why it belongs at the front of the queue. None of this is a job for the week before the term opens.
When to begin the preceptor search
Keiser's FNP guidance says to begin planning clinical courses about three months before the course start date. For a first practicum that means searching while you are still inside the prerequisite chain, at full pace during NUR661 or early in NUR671. Waiting until health assessment is finished leaves no gap at all, because NUR602A can follow it in the very next term.
In the example above, a student aiming for an August 31 start would begin around the start of June, during the term that opens May 11. The three-month lead time guide lays out each step against the calendar. It is also worth asking your first preceptor about NUR603A, the second adult practicum, since the same adult primary care setting can suit both courses if faculty agree; the adult practicums guide covers that pairing.
Grades and the residency that close the gate
Three prerequisites carry a grade floor: you need an A or B in NUR650, NUR661 and NUR671, and the same floor applies to every clinical course after them. Keiser's 2023 policy manual adds that two grades below B in those courses end the program, so a C in pharmacology is both a repeat and a warning. The grades and progression guide covers the rest.
NUR671 also carries the first of the FNP's two on-campus residencies, three days from Friday to Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, with simulation and an OSCE ahead of clinicals. Since it is the last prerequisite, that weekend is usually the final step before NUR602A, and travel and lodging are yours to arrange. The NUR671 guide covers the course.
First clinicals in Keiser's other programs
The FNP has the longest gate, but every Keiser track has a first clinical course with conditions of its own:
- WHNP:
NUR612A, taken withNUR612, after the MSN core. Preceptor and site approval, plus clearance from the Clinical Coordinator, come before you can register, and the catalog places clinicals toward the end of the program. - DNP:
NUR801A, withNUR801, which requiresNUR700. By our reading it could fall as early as the second 8-week term, with a preceptor in an organizational setting. - RN to BSN:
NUR4636Community Nursing I is the only clinical course, and its place in the sequence is not published. - Campus BSN and ASN:
NUR2032CCare Management I andNUR1022CFundamentals of Nursing are the first courses described with clinical settings, and placements come through the program.
Getting ahead of NUR602A with us
Keiser students who come to us during NUR661 or NUR671 get the full three months to work with. We search for an adult and older-adult primary care preceptor where you live, check license, certification and experience against Keiser's preceptor rules, and gather the CV or resume and site contact that the Preceptor/Mentor Information Form and the Clinical Coordinator's review call for.
Keiser's faculty and Program Director make the call on every preceptor, and what reaches them from us is complete and built to Keiser's rules on the first pass. We also line up the clinic days across all eight weeks, so the dates on your plan for clinical course completion are ones the preceptor has already agreed to. Once your first term starts, we stay on call until the last clinic day. Tell us your expected start term.
Questions Keiser students ask
Is NUR602A the first practicum for every Keiser FNP student?
Yes. The catalog runs the five FNP practicums in a fixed order, NUR602A, NUR603A, NUR604A, NUR605A and then NUR691A, and each lists the earlier pairs as prerequisites. NUR691A and its didactic partner come in your last term. Transfer credit does not change the order, because Keiser requires every FNP specialty credit to be taken at Keiser.
Do I need my preceptor approved before I register for NUR602A?
The catalog's approval-before-registration note appears on the WHNP clinical courses, not the FNP ones. For the FNP, Keiser's rule is that the site is under contract and the preceptor approved before clinical experiences begin. In practice, aim to have both finished before the term opens so your first week of clinic hours is not lost to paperwork.
What happens if I get a C in NUR671?
NUR671 needs an A or B, so a C means repeating it before NUR602A can start, which pushes your first practicum back at least one term. Under the 2023 policy manual, a second grade below B in the listed FNP courses leads to academic dismissal, so the repeat carries weight. If a preceptor is already lined up, share the new dates quickly.
When is Keiser's Health Care Provider Assessment form due?
Keiser's 2023 policy manual asks for the Health Care Provider Assessment of Student's Health Status 4 to 6 weeks before your first Nursing Core Course, which is well before NUR602A. Check that your immunizations and TB screening are still current when the practicum starts, since the PPD is repeated every year.
Can my first Keiser practicum be at the hospital where I work?
It can, if the rotation sits in another department, your preceptor is someone other than your direct manager, and the clinic time falls outside your scheduled shifts. The site still needs an affiliation agreement and the preceptor still needs approval. For NUR602A that could mean an adult primary care clinic within your health system rather than your own unit.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Keiser's catalogs, graduate nursing manuals, licensure disclosures and program pages. Your course, the Clinical Coordinator and the 2026-27 Graduate Catalog have the final word.
Keiser asks you to find your own preceptor. Let us run that search.
Tell us your Keiser program, your next practicum and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the CV, license and site details your Preceptor/Mentor Information Form needs, about three months ahead.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NUR602AandNUR603A, pediatrics forNUR604A, women's health forNUR605A - CV, license, certification and site contact ready for Keiser's review and the affiliation agreement
- Across Florida, from Miami to Jacksonville, and in the other states where you are licensed
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