EKU clinical hours, program by program

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the EKU Preceptor placement team

EKU puts a clinical hour number on three programs: 750 direct patient care hours for the MSN FNP, at least 1,000 hours beyond the BSN for the DNP, and 60 clock hours for the RN to BSN clinical in its most recent available handbook. It publishes no PMHNP total and no hours for individual courses. Pick your track in the planner below, then read on for where each figure comes from and how to confirm your own.

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750direct patient care hours in EKU's MSN FNP

300final FNP hours EKU sets aside for synthesis

1,000clinical hours beyond the BSN for EKU's DNP

Bar chart of clinical hours EKU publishes: DNP at least 1,000 beyond the BSN; MSN FNP 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis; RN to BSN 60 clock hours (archived handbook). EKU publishes no PMHNP total. — Clinical hours EKU publishes: DNP at least 1,000 beyond the BSN; MSN FNP 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis; RN to BSN 60 clock hours (archived handbook). EKU publishes no PMHNP total.

Pick your EKU program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From EKU's own catalog, handbook and program pages.

750direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis (EKU program page)

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 876hours: see course page

Who precepts: A primary-care preceptor EKU approves, across family practice, adult, pediatric and women's health
Where: Primary care practices and rural clinics in your own community
Start looking: Before NSC 800 begins alongside FNP I; a synthesis preceptor for NSC 876 at the end

Plan my MSN FNP placement MSN FNP guide

—EKU does not publish a PMHNP clinical-hour total: ask your faculty

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 886hours: see course page

Who precepts: A psychiatric-mental health preceptor (PMHNP or psychiatrist) EKU approves
Where: Outpatient psychiatry, community mental health and behavioral health programs near you
Start looking: Before NSC 800 begins alongside PMHNP I; an internship preceptor for NSC 886

Plan my MSN PMHNP placement MSN PMHNP guide

—EKU does not state the certificates' hour totals: confirm in your plan of study

NSC 800hours: see course page NSC 876hours: see course page NSC 886hours: see course page

Who precepts: The same specialty preceptors as the matching MSN concentration
Where: Primary care (FNP) or psychiatric settings (PMHNP) in your community
Start looking: After the NSC 830, 832 and 834 prerequisites, before NSC 800

Plan my Post-MSN certificates placement Post-MSN certificates guide

60clinical clock hours over 8 weeks (EKU's most recent available handbook)

NSC 442C60 h

Who precepts: A nurse leader or clinical contact at a setting that fits the course
Where: A health system or community setting near you, sometimes your own employer
Start looking: Before the 8-week clinical course begins

Plan my RN to BSN placement RN to BSN guide

The three hour figures EKU publishes

EKU states a clinical hour number in only three places, each from a different kind of source, and that tells you how much weight each deserves.

MSN FNP: 750 direct patient care hours. The FNP program page says graduates leave with 750 hours of direct patient care, and that the final 300 are there for synthesis of everything learned before them. What the figure means course by course, and how the 300 relate to the internship, is on the 750-hour FNP page.

DNP: at least 1,000 hours beyond the BSN. The 2026-27 graduate catalog asks post-master's DNP students to document a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours completed after the bachelor's degree. The hours you still owe at EKU are worked out when you are admitted and written into your plan of study. The detail, including the site approval request, is on the DNP hours page.

RN to BSN: 60 clock hours. EKU's 2023-24 RN to BSN Student Handbook, which the university no longer posts, gave NSC 442C Complex Health Systems Clinical 60 clock hours over 8 weeks. The course carried 2 credits then and carries 2.5 in the current catalog, so treat 60 as a starting point and confirm it. See the RN to BSN clinical page.

What EKU leaves unpublished

Several numbers students search for do not appear on any current EKU program page, catalog entry or handbook we could find. When a figure is missing, the answer belongs to your program, not to a forum thread.

The PMHNP hour total. Neither the MSN PMHNP nor the post-MSN PMHNP certificate states one, in current or archived documents. The PMHNP hours page covers what to ask and whom.
Hours per course. EKU gives no separate count for NSC 800, NSC 876 or NSC 886, and no ratio of clock hours to credits.
Certificate totals. The post-MSN FNP certificate carries exactly the clinical credits of the MSN FNP, which points to the same 750 hours, but EKU does not say so on the certificate page.
A population split. No breakdown of FNP hours by age group, women's health or pediatrics is published.
Telehealth. The archived MSN handbook lists an FNP Telehealth Checklist for NSC 800 and NSC 876, but not whether, or how far, telehealth visits count toward hours.
On-campus clock hours. The Pre-RN BSN, 2nd Degree BSN and AAS clinical courses list credits, not clock hours.

For any of these, ask the faculty member who leads your clinical course, read the syllabus in Canvas, and check the MSN Student Handbook your program gives you. Put the question in a myMail message, which leaves a written reply you can point back to in later terms.

EKU hour figures side by side

The planner above shows the courses, preceptors and timing for each track. This table shows the evidence behind the numbers instead: where each figure comes from and how current it is.

Clinical hour figures for EKU nursing programs and their sources
Program	Hour figure	Where EKU says it	How current
MSN FNP	750 direct patient care hours; last 300 for synthesis	FNP program page	Current
MSN PMHNP	Not published	No EKU source	Ask your faculty
Post-MSN FNP certificate	Not stated; same clinical credits as the MSN FNP (8 of `NSC 800`, 6 of `NSC 876`)	Certificate catalog page (credits only)	Confirm in your plan of study
Post-MSN PMHNP certificate	Not published; 8 of `NSC 800`, 5 of `NSC 886`	Certificate catalog page (credits only)	Confirm in your plan of study
DNP (post-master's)	At least 1,000 beyond the BSN; hours owed at EKU set at admission	2026-27 graduate catalog	Current; the 2020 handbook also set 200 at EKU
RN to BSN	60 clock hours over 8 weeks in `NSC 442C`	RN to BSN Student Handbook 2023-24	Archived; credits have since changed
Pre-RN and 2nd Degree BSN	Clock hours not published; seven clinical courses, 16.5 clinical credits by our count	Undergraduate catalog	Current credits
AAS	Clock hours not published; six clinical courses, 13 clinical credits by our count	Undergraduate catalog	Current credits

Anything marked archived comes from a document EKU has since taken down. Read it as the most recent available word, not as settled policy, and check it against what your course tells you.

Why credits and hours drift apart at EKU

Hour questions are harder at EKU than they look because the clinical courses have been rebuilt more than once. The 2021-22 MSN handbook had FNP students take 9 credits of NSC 800 and a 5-credit internship; the current catalog sets 8 credits and a 6-credit NSC 876. PMHNP students moved from 7 credits of NSC 800 and a 6-credit internship to 8 and 5.

The catalog has not fully caught up with itself either. The NSC 886 course entry still asks for seven hours of NSC 800 even though the PMHNP program now requires eight. The NSC 800 page sets out each version, and the PMHNP internship page walks through the psychiatric sequence.

Timing adds a third layer. Core courses now run in 7-week terms, 6 weeks in summer, but EKU's archived 2022-23 curriculum plans spread NSC 800 and both internships across 16-week semesters, with one 12-week summer block. A weekly hour target built from an old plan may not fit yours, so rebuild it from your current plan of study.

How your hours get recorded

Where MSN hours are logged, and how a preceptor verifies them, is not described in any public EKU source; your clinical course will spell out both. In the meantime, write down every clinic day as it happens: the date, where you were, who precepted you and how long you stayed. A running record beats reconstructing a semester from memory.

The DNP is the one track with a named log. EKU's archived 2020 DNP handbook calls it the DNP Experience Log and asks for the date, the time, the nature of each learning activity and how it ties to the DNP Essentials. The same handbook said experience hours could not begin before the semester opened or before onboarding paperwork was complete.

On-campus BSN and AAS students deal with a different tool. EKU's current program pages say the School of Nursing manages clinical and compliance documents in Complio, which holds immunization, CPR and similar records rather than hour logs.

Before your first hour counts

Three things need to be in place before hours start in NSC 800. In the most recent available MSN handbook, FNP and PMHNP students show mastery of advanced health assessment in the semester right before their first clinical course; the health assessment page explains that gate. Each semester you also present current clinical documents, including the preceptor information form and proof of liability insurance bought through EKU. And you need a preceptor EKU has approved.

On that last point, Kentucky's rule for APRN programs gives EKU the job of securing preceptors and protects your right to input into the process; our Kentucky rule page quotes it in full. Many EKU students use that input to put forward a preceptor close to home or in the setting they want. We find that preceptor, prepare the details EKU asks for and stay on call through the term, so the option EKU reviews is complete the first time and your hours start on schedule.

EKU ties clinical hours to an active clinical course: documents and approval come first, then the hours. Settle your preceptor before the term opens, not after it starts.

Questions EKU students ask

Do my hours as a working RN count toward EKU clinical hours?

No EKU source says they do. The 750-hour FNP figure describes direct patient care earned in the program, and EKU ties its clinical documents and liability insurance to enrolled clinical courses. The one place earlier hours can count is the DNP, where the admission review can credit hours from your MSN program. Training at your own workplace during a clinical course is a separate question with its own rules.

How many clinical hours a week should an EKU FNP student expect?

EKU publishes no weekly figure. As rough arithmetic of our own: EKU's archived plans spread FNP clinicals over about 60 weeks (three 16-week semesters and one 12-week summer), so 750 hours averages about 12 to 13 a week. The load is uneven, with the internship the heaviest. The FNP hours page breaks this down by block.

Does EKU credit my MSN clinical hours toward the DNP?

Yes, where it can. The catalog asks for 1,000 clinical hours beyond the BSN and says the hours owed at EKU are assessed on admission. The archived 2020 DNP handbook described a gap analysis that credits MSN hours when possible and still required at least 200 hours at EKU. Whether that minimum stands today is not public, so confirm it in your plan of study.

Does simulation count toward EKU NP clinical hours?

EKU does not say. Its FNP figure is worded as direct patient care, which by its plain meaning is time with patients. EKU describes a Clinical Skills Lab and Simulation Center for on-campus BSN students, but publishes no rule on simulation for NP courses. Ask your clinical course faculty before counting any simulated or observation time.

Do EKU's hour rules change if I live outside Kentucky?

The hour figures apply program-wide, wherever you train. What changes by state is whether EKU can enroll you and place you there at all: its state authorization page lists states it does not accept online NP students from, and the catalog asks you to report where any clinical outside Kentucky will happen.

FNPFNP 750 hours explainedEKU's MSN FNP asks for 750 direct patient care hours, the last 300 for synthesis. How they likely split across NSC 800 and NSC 876, and how to plan your weeks.PMHNPPMHNP clinical hoursEKU publishes no PMHNP clinical hour total. What is known about NSC 800 and the 5-credit NSC 886, what listings show, and where EKU students confirm theirs.DNPDNP clinical hoursEKU's DNP requires 1,000 clinical hours beyond the BSN. How the hours owed at EKU are set at admission, the site approval form, the log and project courses.RN to BSNRN to BSN clinical (NSC 442C)EKU's one RN to BSN clinical, NSC 442C Complex Health Systems Clinical: the archived 60-hour figure, the setting and mentor, and doing it at your workplace.NSC 800NSC 800 Advanced Practice RoleEKU's NSC 800 Advanced Practice Role: 1 to 9 credits per enrollment, 8 in total, paired with FNP I-III or PMHNP I-III, plus the preceptor each stage needs.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in NSC 800 or an EKU internship? EKU's attendance rules, making time up, In Progress and Incomplete grades, and what to raise with faculty.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against EKU's own catalog, program pages and handbooks, and Kentucky's regulations. The current MSN Student Handbook, your course and your faculty have the final word.

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Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.

Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for NSC 800 and NSC 876, psychiatric care for NSC 886
Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license

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