NURS 511 FNP Practicum I and Seminar at Rivier
NURS 511 is the first of Rivier University's three FNP practicums: a 5-credit course in the primary care of adults and their families, taken after NURS 510 and straight after Advanced Health Assessment. Rivier's catalog lists 120 clinical hours while the Nursing Student Handbook asks for 250, and the preceptor Rivier wants for this course is an MD, DO or FNP based in outpatient family practice for two years or more.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Rivier program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Rivier course.
What the catalog says NURS 511 covers
The 2025-26 catalog titles the course FNP Practicum I and Seminar and centers it on adults and their families in primary care. It carries 5 credits, requires NURS 510 as its prerequisite, and runs in the fall (online) and in the spring. As the first practicum, it is where the FNP preceptor rules and patient volume targets first apply to you, and it sets the pattern for Practicum II and III.
The catalog wants NURS 516 Advanced Health Assessment completed immediately ahead of the first practicum semester, which puts the two courses back to back in your Program of Studies. Your advisor or Success Coach confirms which semester Practicum I lands in, and seminar topics, assignments and evaluation details come from your course faculty.
NURS 511 at a glance
| Item | What Rivier's documents say |
|---|---|
| Credits | 5 in the catalog, which describes 2 practicum credits and 1 seminar credit |
| Patient focus | Adults and their families in primary care |
| Prerequisite | NURS 510 |
| Taken right after | NURS 516 Advanced Health Assessment |
| Offered | Fall (online) and spring |
| Clinical hours | 120 in the 2025-26 catalog; 250 in the 2026-2027 Handbook |
| Seminar | 28 hours in the catalog, listed apart from clinical hours |
| Suggested patient volume | 4 to 6 patients per 8 hours |
| Next practicum | NURS 513, which needs NURS 512 |
The hour conflict is the largest open question in this course, a 130-hour difference that changes how many clinic days you ask your first preceptor for. The 750 versus 610 guide sets out the full comparison; until your faculty confirm the figure, ask your preceptor to plan for 250.
Who can precept you in Practicum I
For NURS 511, the Handbook wants a physician (MD or DO) or a family nurse practitioner seeing patients in an outpatient family practice and holding two or more years of practice experience. A physician assistant in the same office can step in on a given day but cannot serve as your primary preceptor.
If no family practice is available near you, the Handbook opens one fallback for Practicum I: an outpatient internal medicine office. That fits the course's adult focus, but get your course faculty's agreement before you commit, since the decision on each site rests with graduate faculty. Check early in the conversation how long a prospective preceptor has been in outpatient practice, since the two-year minimum is fixed. The FNP preceptor requirements guide covers the rules for all three FNP courses.
Patient volume and settings in NSG511
Rivier's suggested caseload for NSG511 is four to six patients in each eight-hour stretch, the lightest of the three FNP practicums; the suggested load then rises in each later course, to six to eight patients in NURS 513 and eight to ten by NURS 515. Look for a clinic with a steady adult panel that can keep that pace on every day you attend.
No alternative settings are listed for this course. The Handbook's approved alternatives assign urgent care to NSG513 or NSG515 and outpatient cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology and telehealth to NSG515, so plan your Practicum I hours in family practice or, as the fallback, internal medicine. Specialty offices the Handbook rules out for FNP hours, such as dermatology, orthopedics and sports medicine, stay off the list in every course.
Getting to your first NURS 511 day
- Up to a year outRivier's Handbook suggests beginning your preceptor hunt up to twelve months before Practicum I. Your RN license must be valid in the state that hosts your practicum.
- Four months outThis is when Rivier wants the placement locked in and your clinical requirements uploaded to CastleBranch (myCB). The Student Information Sheet for Clinical Experience and a current resume go in at the same time.
- August 1 or December 1The absolute placement deadline for a fall or spring
NURS 511. Missing it, or arriving with incomplete records, means being asked to defer a semester. - Contract windowRivier's Handbook budgets 30 days for the site agreement to clear, and no hour counts until the Clinical Practicum Coordinator has every document and the signed contract in hand.
- First day of the semesterHours start no earlier than this. Complete the online Centralized Clinical Placement orientation, due every August, and print a Clinical Assignment Ticket for the experience.
The full set of dates, plus the May 1 and September 1 dates on an older 2018 form, is on the placement deadlines page.
What to confirm with your NURS 511 faculty
- Whether your course requires 120 or 250 clinical hours, and whether the 28 seminar hours are counted separately.
- How the 5 credits divide between practicum and seminar, since the catalog describes only three.
- Whether an outpatient internal medicine office is acceptable for your site if family practice is not available.
- When the NSG511 simulation check-off takes place and what it covers. You need 84% to pass, and a third miss removes you from the FNP track, as the check-offs guide explains.
- How your hours are logged and reported during the semester.
- Whether a physician assistant in your preceptor's practice may cover particular days.
- Whether the seminar meets on a set schedule that your clinic days need to work around.
How we set up NURS 511 for Rivier FNP students
We search your area for physicians and FNPs in outpatient family practice who clear Rivier's two-year bar, and we confirm the practice can host you for a full 250-hour semester with a steady adult caseload. Where family practice is thin, we look at internal medicine offices as the Handbook allows and flag that choice for your faculty early.
Your placement advisor assembles what the Preceptor Request Form asks of the preceptor, a license, credentials and a CV, plus the site information Rivier's contract calls for, so the Clinical Practicum Coordinator receives a complete file before your deadline. If your first preceptor leaves partway through, we bring in a replacement who meets the same Practicum I rules. Share your semester and city in the form below.
Questions Rivier students ask
When do Rivier FNP students take NURS 511?
After NURS 510, and directly following the semester in which you take NURS 516, according to the 2025-26 catalog. The course runs in the fall (online) and the spring. Your Program of Studies fixes the exact semester, so confirm it with your advisor or Success Coach before you start the preceptor search.
Can a physician assistant precept me for NURS 511?
Only for coverage. Rivier's Handbook allows a physician assistant to stand in when your preceptor is out, yet rules out a PA as the primary FNP preceptor. The person who signs on as your primary preceptor should be a physician or FNP from an outpatient family practice, two or more years into practice.
Can I count urgent care hours in NURS 511?
The Handbook's alternative-setting list assigns urgent care to NSG513 and NSG515, not to Practicum I. Plan your NURS 511 hours in outpatient family practice, or in internal medicine if family practice is unavailable, and raise any other setting with your course faculty before the semester begins.
What happens if I get a grade below B in NURS 510?
NURS 510 is the prerequisite for Practicum I, and the Handbook has FNP students repeat NSG510 before progressing. During the repeat you either keep up 80 clinical hours for proficiency, which do not count later, or sit out clinically and take a competency retest just ahead of re-entry. Either way, NURS 511 moves back.
What grade do I need to pass NURS 511?
At least 84%, which the Handbook treats as a B. Finishing any practicum under 84% removes you from the graduate track under the Handbook, and the Readmission Policy is the route back. The course grade is also held until every required clinical hour is complete.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.
- Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for
NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 638P - Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
- In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.