Your first JSU clinical course, and when to start preparing
In JSU's BSN-DNP, the first clinical course is Practicum I, FNP 7869 or ANP 7869, in the spring of Year 2 on both the fall and spring admission plans. Other JSU programs reach clinical work at different points, and every one of them has steps JSU wants done before you contact a site, so the preparation starts well before the course does.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your JSU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your JSU course.
BSN-DNP: Practicum I in spring of Year 2
Both NP tracks open their clinical run with Practicum I in spring: FNP 7869 at 120 hours in the family track, ANP 7869 at 70 hours by the catalog in the acute care track. The course is offered in spring only and is taken alongside its lecture courses, FNP 7068 and FNP 7071 or their ANP equivalents.
On JSU's plans of study, that spring is the fifth semester for fall admits and the fourth for spring admits. The catalog requires NU 7007, NU 7013 and NU 7020 first, and JSU's NP timeline adds that advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and physical assessment must be completed before any clinical course.
Laid over the calendar, our reading of the plans puts a Fall 2026 entrant and a Spring 2027 entrant in the same Practicum I term: Spring 2028. From there the practicums run four semesters in a row, spring, summer, fall and spring. The FNP practicum guide covers each course and its hours.
Post-Master's DNP: residency hours come first
The Post-Master's DNP has no NP practicums. Its clinical work is the residency, and the first residency hours arrive in DNP 8797 in Year 2 after the planning course, DNP 8796, where the preceptor and site pairing takes place.
On the fall-admission plan, DNP 8796 falls in Summer of Year 1 and Residency I in Fall of Year 2. On the spring-admission plan, DNP 8796 comes in Fall of Year 1 and Residency I in Spring of Year 2. Applicants admitted with fewer than 500 MSN clinical hours take NU 5841 before any of this.
Because JSU expects one preceptor and site across roughly 16 months, the search for a residency match starts before DNP 8796, not during it. The DNP residency pairing guide covers the late-May and August tracks.
First clinical course, program by program
This table reads each JSU plan of study and the 2026-27 catalog. The MSN plans are JSU's fall-start samples; JSU notes that individual plans shift with start term and part-time study.
| Program | First clinical course | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|
| BSN-DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner | FNP 7869 Practicum I | Spring, Year 2 (spring only) |
| BSN-DNP, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care | ANP 7869 Practicum I | Spring, Year 2 (spring only) |
| Post-Master's DNP | DNP 8797 Residency I | Fall or spring of Year 2 |
| MSN, Population Health | NU 5980 Population Health I | Semester 3, summer |
| MSN, Nursing Education concentration | NU 5982 teaching practicum | Semester 5, spring |
| MSN, Emergency Management concentration | NU 5980 Population Health I | Semester 6, summer |
| Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education | NU 5982 teaching practicum | Term not published |
| STEP RN-BSN | NU 456 Population-Based Health Care | Semester III, summer in the catalog grid |
| Traditional BSN | NU 311 Foundations of Nursing Practice | Junior fall; the NU 428 preceptorship is senior summer |
NU 5980 runs in summer only and requires the fall and spring core courses first; NU 5985 follows in fall. The population health practicum guide covers both.
What JSU wants done before you contact a site
JSU's graduate handbook sets an order of operations. You open a CastleBranch account on admission and keep it current: immunizations, TB testing, the flu vaccine, AHA CPR, a physical, health insurance, your license, liability coverage and five signed forms. Missing documents can stop you from registering for courses.
Malpractice coverage is bought through the JSU School of Nursing, and proof must be uploaded and approved "prior to initiating any contact with practicum or residency sites." A background check is required before acceptance, and JSU's policy includes drug testing before clinicals, at random and for cause. The CastleBranch guide and the malpractice guide cover each item.
JSU wants your malpractice proof approved before you contact any practicum or residency site, so that approval comes before the search.
When to start looking
JSU publishes no deadline for having a preceptor confirmed before a practicum. The health systems you might train in often set their own. Atrium Health Floyd in Rome, Georgia, which lists JSU among its NP student agreements, wants applications at least three months ahead, takes them for January to April rotations between July 1 and October 1, and asks that a Floyd preceptor agree to host you before you apply. Riverview Regional in Gadsden wants its student profile form at least two weeks before the first clinical date.
If Floyd keeps those windows, a Spring 2028 Practicum I there would need an application in by October 1, 2027. Our advice is to begin at least a full semester before the practicum, earlier if the site you want runs an application window. For a spring Practicum I, that puts the search in the fall before at the latest, and in the summer before if you are aiming at a site with an application window, while you are still in core courses.
A suggested countdown to Practicum I
This timeline is our recommendation, built around JSU's order of steps; JSU does not publish one.
- Two terms outBring CastleBranch fully current and get your malpractice proof approved, so you are clear to contact sites.
- Choose the settingFamily practice across the lifespan for FNP, acute care with late adolescent to older adult patients for AGACNP.
- Search and secureFind a preceptor and site that can host the course's full hours in the spring term, and gather the preceptor's license, certification and practice details.
- The term beforeSend what JSU's faculty need to clear the preceptor and site, and answer any follow-up quickly.
- Week one of springOpen the Canvas course, confirm the hour figure with your course faculty and set your first clinical days.
Start early with Jax State Preceptor
Whether JSU assists with your placement or not, we line up a preceptor and site suited to your first clinical course, and we begin early enough to meet the application windows health systems publish. Licensure, certification and practice-setting checks on the preceptor, contract details for the site, and a review of your CastleBranch record and malpractice approval all happen before our first outreach. For Post-Master's and BSN-DNP students heading into the residency, we plan for the full 16-month commitment from the very first conversation with a preceptor.
JSU's faculty make the call on each preceptor and site, and the file they receive from us is already whole. If your semester starts soon, the need a preceptor fast page is the place to begin, or send your details through this page's form.
Questions JSU students ask
Can I start clinicals in my first year of JSU's BSN-DNP?
No. On both admission plans, the first clinical course is Practicum I in the spring of Year 2, after NU 7007, NU 7013 and NU 7020. The course is offered in spring only, so the earliest clinical term depends on finishing those three courses in time.
Does a spring start reach clinicals sooner than a fall start?
Not in calendar terms. JSU's plans put both admission groups in Practicum I in the spring of Year 2, so a Fall 2026 and a Spring 2027 entrant share the same first clinical term. Spring admits simply get there in their fourth semester instead of their fifth.
When does a Post-Master's DNP student need a residency preceptor?
The pairing happens in DNP 8796, most often in late May, with a smaller cohort in August, and JSU expects the same preceptor and site for about 16 months. Start the search well before DNP 8796 so the preceptor and site are ready when contract paperwork is submitted.
Is the teaching practicum the first clinical course in the Nursing Education MSN?
On JSU's sample plan, yes. NU 5982, the 100-hour collegiate teaching practicum, falls in Semester 5 in spring, before the two population health practicums in Semesters 6 and 7. Your own plan may differ with start term or part-time study. See the NU 5982 guide.
How early should I look for a preceptor for Practicum I?
JSU does not publish a lead time. Some health systems want applications three months ahead or more, and your malpractice proof must be approved before you contact any site. Starting at least a full semester before the practicum leaves room for clearance and for a second option.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against JSU's 2026-27 catalog, nursing handbooks, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether JSU helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your JSU program, your next practicum or residency and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather what JSU's faculty need to clear them, early enough for the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan, adult-gerontology acute care, DNP residencies
- License, certification and site details ready for JSU's clearance, with your CastleBranch and malpractice items in order
- Across Alabama and in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.