Behind on clinical hours partway through a UTA course
UTA waives no clinical hours, so a shortfall closes only one way: more approved, direct patient care time before the course ends. Turn the gap into hours per remaining week, take it to your course faculty now rather than in the final fortnight, and add an approved preceptor if your current one can't carry the rest.
Hours slipping this term?
Tell us your course, hours logged, hours left and weeks left. A placement advisor replies about searching for an added preceptor.
What UTA won't bend on
Start from the fixed points, because they rule out the tempting fixes. UTA's MSN and PMC handbook says “the minimum number of hours must be direct patient care experiences,” that you can't graduate short of the program's full clinical hours, and that no NP track waives any of them. Texas rule says the same for post-master's students: “Clinical hours shall not be waived.” For each track's total, see UTA clinical hours.
So the gap can't be closed with paperwork, or with time that doesn't qualify. Simulation and observation count only above the national minimum, simulation can never stand in for population-specific hours, and paid shifts or time in your own department are out. What's left is time and people: more days with your current preceptor, or a second approved one.
No one at UTA can sign off on missing hours. Plan to make them up, not to have them excused.
Turn the gap into hours per week
A total like “60 hours behind” is hard to act on. Divide the hours you still need by the weeks left, and compare that number with the days your preceptor can actually offer. The averages below, worked out from UTA's published FNP hours and online course lengths, show what on track looks like from day one.
| Course | Hours | Online length | Average per week |
|---|---|---|---|
NURS 5337 | 180 | 11 weeks | about 16 |
NURS 5338 | 180 | 11 weeks | about 16 |
NURS 5337 and NURS 5338 taken together | 360 | 11 weeks | about 33 |
NURS 5660 | 360 | 13 weeks | about 28 |
An example: halfway through NURS 5337 with 60 hours logged, you need 120 hours in about five and a half weeks, roughly 22 a week rather than 16. Per-course hours for other tracks aren't on UTA's public pages, so take your total from the syllabus and do the same sum.
Find out why you're behind
The fix depends on the cause. Name yours before you talk to anyone, because it shapes what you ask for.
- Fewer days than promised. Your preceptor's schedule changed, or was never as open as it sounded. Ask for specific extra dates, in writing, before assuming there are none.
- Canceled clinic days. Holidays, closures and short-staffed weeks add up. Ask whether an approved colleague at the same site could take you on those days.
- The wrong patients. Earlier UTA syllabi (2016–2018) set FNP minimums of 90 hours each with children, adults and older adults. If your clinic sees few of one group, you may be behind on a population, not only on the total.
- A late start. Approval or onboarding ran into the course weeks, and the hours didn't shrink with the calendar.
- Hours worked but not logged. Check Exxat against your own notes first; clinical hour logs covers the entries. Earlier UTA syllabi gave you seven days to log a shift before the hours were gone.
- A compliance problem. UTA's clearance policy lists removal from the clinical setting among the results of noncompliance. Clear any Expiring item before it costs you shifts.
Talk to your course faculty early
Your course faculty member is the one person who can tell you what your course allows, and the earlier they hear, the more options exist. UTA's public pages don't say what happens when a clinical course ends with hours unfinished, so don't guess. Texas rule also expects a designated faculty member to communicate regularly with both you and your preceptor, so raise the gap in that contact rather than waiting to be asked.
- Bring numbersHours logged in Exxat, hours left, weeks left and the weekly figure you worked out.
- Name the causeOne sentence on why, from the list above.
- Bring a planExtra dates your preceptor has offered, or a second preceptor you are pursuing.
- Ask the direct questionWhat does this course allow if the hours aren't done by the last week, and by when do you need to know?
- Confirm in writingSend a short MavMail summary afterward so the plan is on record.
Adding a preceptor to close the gap
When your current preceptor can't offer more days, a second preceptor is the practical answer, if your course allows one. For the FNP Clinical Practice courses, UTA's 2024 FNP guidelines, known to us only from a search excerpt, prefer one preceptor and accept two, and allow up to three in the final practicum. Limits for other tracks aren't public, so read the guidelines in Exxat before you ask anyone.
Choose the second preceptor for the gap, not the name. Short on days? Find someone available on the days your first preceptor isn't. Short on a population? Find a clinic that sees it. A colleague at the same agency can be the quickest choice, because the existing affiliation agreement may already cover you.
The added preceptor goes through everything the first did: UTA's minimums, your course's preceptor categories, sign-off from UTA's reviewers, and a Preceptor Agreement in the coordinator's hands before you work a shift together. If your first preceptor has left entirely, start with preceptor dropped out.
How we help you close the gap
When the gap needs another preceptor, that is exactly the search we run, built around UTA's process and your course. A placement advisor looks for a preceptor whose practice fits your UTA course and who can cover the specific days or patient groups you are short on, starting with sites you can reach in person. Virtual arrangements come into it where your course and faculty approve one; see virtual clinical options.
Each candidate is checked against UTA's published minimums before you hear the name. We then help you build the file UTA's reviewers look at: CV, proof of license, the signed agreement and a description of the site. You file it in Exxat with nothing missing, and UTA gives the final say. Send your course, hours logged, hours left and weeks left through the form below or the chat, and the search is aimed at your weekly number from the first call.
Questions UTA students ask
Can I take an incomplete if I don't finish my clinical hours?
UTA's public graduate nursing pages don't describe incompletes for clinical courses, so only your course faculty can answer this for your course. Ask early, while there's still time to add days or a preceptor, rather than in the final week. Whatever the answer, every required hour still has to be completed before you can graduate.
Can I do extra-long shifts to catch up?
None of the UTA sources we reviewed sets a daily maximum, so the practical limits are your preceptor's schedule, the site's rules and whether you can still learn well on a long day. A few longer days can help. A run of double shifts in the last weeks is harder on everyone, so agree the plan with your faculty first.
Do extra hours in one course count toward the next?
UTA publishes hours per course, for example 180, 180 and 360 across the FNP courses, and nothing public says surplus hours in one course carry into another. Plan each course to meet its own total, and ask your course faculty before counting on any carryover.
Can I log hours at my own job to catch up?
Only as a student, never as staff. Your workplace can host clinicals when the setting suits the course, yet UTA excludes your own department, your current supervisor as preceptor, and any hours you're paid for. The site and preceptor still need approval and an affiliation agreement; see clinical hours at your employer.
Should I tell my preceptor I'm behind?
Yes, and early. Preceptors plan their clinic weeks ahead, and a clear request for specific extra dates is easier to say yes to than a general worry. Show them the same numbers you took to your faculty, and ask which days they could add before the course ends.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against UTA's own sources. UTA's current handbook and your course faculty have the final word.
Hand us the search. Keep your term.
Tell us your UTA track, your county and when your clinical course opens. We look for a preceptor and a site that fit what UTA asks for, and we help you put the approval packet together.
- Matched to your track's population and setting
- Paperwork prepared the way UTA's clinical team expects it
- In person near you, or a virtual option where your course allows it
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a UTA-ready preceptor and site look like for you.