Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner Online

Clinical experiences are intended to provide students in the online-enabled FNP program with experiential learning opportunities to enable them to transition successfully into the role of the Nurse Practitioner. You will begin your clinical courses in your second year of the program.

Clinical placement at The University of Texas at Arlington in the graduate nursing department is a collaborative process with each student. Students are asked to locate a preceptor which is aligned with their program requirements; however, the Graduate Nursing Department will provide assistance with clinical placement when a student is experiencing difficulty. Clinical placement policies are available in the Graduate Nursing clinical management system, Exxat, and are available to all students upon admission.

Successful fulfillment of clinicals requires following these steps:

1. Clinical requirements:
   1. Drug test – not to be performed before 30 days in advance of first clinical course
   2. Background check – not to be performed before 30 days in advance of first clinical course
   3. Verification of immunization records
2. Identification of preceptors and clinical sites
   1. Guidelines on best practices in recruiting your preceptors, forms to use, and other resources will be made available in Exxat. The graduate nursing department will provide assistance with locating a preceptor for students experiencing difficulty.
3. Approval of preceptors and clinical sites by the Clinical Coordinator and/or course faculty
   1. All preceptors must sign a Preceptor Agreement using proper forms
   2. Clinical sites may require a written agreement or contract with the UT Arlington College of Nursing

Nurse Practitioner Clinical Overview

An essential part of each clinical experience is active, hands-on practice guided by a licensed and certified preceptor with expertise in the therapeutic management of patients and their families. The expectation is that students will grow and develop accuracy, completeness, and independence in evaluating, diagnosing, and managing patients. Experiences may include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Provide evidence of clinical skills in performing advanced health assessments that include:
   1. Collecting a complete health history
   2. Examining all body systems
   3. Performing functional assessments to determine ability for self-care and independent living
   4. Collect additional data as needed (ECG, vision and hearing screening, urinalysis, blood sugar determination, hematocrit, pap-smear, wet-mount, hanging drop smear, nose and throat culture and others)
   5. Making appropriate decisions regarding priority needs for episodic data collection
   6. Determining which problems/data collection can be deferred
   7. Making an appropriate and accurate assessment of client's health status (rule outs, differential diagnoses, nursing diagnoses, etc.)
   8. Presenting pertinent data to preceptor in a succinct manner
   9. presenting a cost-effective, clinically sound plan of care which may include:
      1. Advanced nursing management
      2. medical intervention
      3. pharmacotherapeutics
      4. Diagnostic testing
      5. Teaching/counseling
      6. Follow-up plan
   10. Discussing with preceptor personal strengths and needed areas of improvement
   11. Selecting patients that reflect the content being taught in the specific course and program
2. Show increasing evidence of ability to develop, implement and evaluate an appropriate management plan for common episodic, acute, chronic and rehabilitative health concerns for clients
3. Show increasing evidence of ability to develop, implement and evaluate an appropriate plan for health maintenance and health promotion of clients
4. Show evidence of ability to integrate health promotion/disease prevention activities into each client encounter
5. Provide evidence of advanced nursing activities to promote and maintain health of children
6. Demonstrate ability to provide quality, culturally sensitive healthcare for individuals of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds
7. Provide evidence of the ability to formulate and administer advanced nursing care and medical therapeutics in a variety of setting
8. Integrate current research findings into the development and implementation of healthcare for children and their families
9. Continue personal development of the various roles of the nurse practitioner as evidenced by didactic and clinical work

General Preceptor Guidelines

• Preceptors and clinical sites must be approved by the Clinical Coordinator and/or course faculty.
• All preceptors must sign a "Preceptor Agreement." The agreement must be sent to the Clinical Coordinator no later than the first day of the clinical experience.
• The UTA College of Nursing and Health Innovation requires that an affiliation agreement be in place with clinical agencies in order for the student to complete clinicals.

Due to the rigorous nature of the graduate nursing program and the time commitment of the coursework and clinical, students can expect to spend a significant amount of time studying and preparing required assignments. Generally, a student will be expected to spend 5 hours per week outside the class room for every 1 credit hour of the course. This means a 3 credit-hour class would require approximately 15 hours per week of student study time. Given this, it is strongly recommended that accepted applicants limit work schedules to keep up with the academic rigor of the program.