NURS 5453 FNP Primary Care I: pediatric clinical hours
NURS 5453 is the first clinical course in UT Tyler's 750-hour FNP: 4 credits and 125 hours of pediatric primary care across a full 15-week semester, logged at no fewer than 10 hours a week. Everything in the course rests on one thing you arrange before it starts, a Texas preceptor with a steady flow of children, approved by your course faculty.
Find your NURS 5453 preceptor
Tell us the term you start NURS 5453 and where you live in Texas. A placement advisor replies with pediatric preceptor options near you.
The course at a glance
The 2026-27 catalog places NURS 5453 in the third semester of the part-time FNP outline, after pathophysiology, health assessment, pharmacology and diagnostic methods, and in the same semester as the one-credit NURS 5111 Advanced Practice Role. Like every UT Tyler NP clinical course, it runs the full 15-week semester and is offered every term.
NURS 5453 (750-hour plan) | NURS 5351 (675-hour plan) | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | FNP Primary Care I | Primary Care I |
| Focus | Pediatrics | Pediatrics |
| Credits | 4 | 3 |
| Clinical hours | 125 | 120 |
| Weekly minimum | 10 hours | 8.5 hours |
| Length | 15 weeks | 15 weeks |
The Fall 2026 syllabus states plainly that the course has 125 clinical hours, yet a later passage still describes NURS 5351 as a 125-hour, 15-week course. The hours agree; only the course number is a leftover from the older plan. The 750 versus 675 page explains the switch between the two FNP plans.
The pediatric preceptor this course needs
UT Tyler's faculty approve a site only when it can supply the patients and experiences a course requires, so pediatric volume is the first test. That points to a Texas pediatric practice, or a family practice that sees enough children every week for your logged hours to be genuinely pediatric rather than mostly adult visits with the odd child.
UT Tyler's 2023 NP preceptor guide accepts nurse practitioners with a master's in nursing, APRN authorization and at least a year in the role, and physicians or PAs with a license and a year of experience. UT Tyler's online program pages ask more, two years and board certification, which is worth meeting when you can. UT Tyler would like roughly 25 percent of your total FNP hours spent under an advanced practice nurse, so an NP in a pediatric office is a strong start.
Two exclusions trip up pediatric nurses in particular: your own manager, anyone you report to and family members cannot serve as preceptors, and staff of small NP- or physician-owned clinics should expect to train somewhere other than their employer. The details sit on the preceptor requirements and clinicals where you work pages.
Approval has to land before the semester
Under UT Tyler's clinical policy, sites and preceptors are cleared before the term opens, and hours worked without that approval do not count. For NURS 5453 that puts your real deadline weeks ahead of Week 1, since several steps move at other people's pace.
- Confirm the preceptorAgree on clinic days, a start date and the pediatric focus with a Texas-licensed preceptor.
- Submit the Self-Placement RequestEnter the preceptor's details and credentials, gathered from the preceptor, in UT Tyler's placement system.
- Preceptor AgreementYour preceptor receives UT Tyler's online Preceptor Agreement survey and completes it.
- Faculty and Clinical Coordinator reviewCourse faculty approve the site and preceptor, and the Clinical Coordinator verifies credentials and confirms an affiliation agreement, signed on paper when a facility needs a new one.
- Facility onboardingSome facilities add their own requirements, sometimes a Letter of Good Standing from UT Tyler, and enforce their own deadlines.
What the request asks for, field by field, is on the Self-Placement Request page.
Logging 125 hours the way UT Tyler checks them
The Fall 2026 syllabus requires an active placement software subscription, spelled EXAAT in that document; it means Exxat, which replaced InPlace for UT Tyler graduate students from Spring 2024. The hours you log and the hours on your preceptor's signature sheets must match, and UT Tyler's FNP syllabi expect each entry within 72 hours of the shift. The Exxat guide covers the system and the InPlace wording still on some pages.
Your preceptor also evaluates you. UT Tyler sends each preceptor a Clinical Performance Evaluation through the placement system, and FNP faculty set up a video check-in with the two of you during the course and may drop in on the site unannounced. A preceptor who knows about both from the first day is far more comfortable when they happen.
The OSCE and your clinic calendar
NURS 5453 includes an on-campus OSCE in Tyler. UT Tyler's NURS 5454 syllabus puts the FNP OSCE usually in Week 11; check Canvas for the NURS 5453 date in your section. Give your preceptor the week at your first meeting and plan extra clinic days before it, so the trip does not drop you under the weekly floor. Travel and timing are on the OSCE campus days guide.
Build the 125 hours with a margin. At exactly 10 hours a week you reach 125 in twelve and a half weeks, which leaves room for a sick day, a cancelled clinic and OSCE week; that is our arithmetic, not a UT Tyler schedule. For reference, the School of Nursing's Fall 2026 session spans Aug 27 through Dec 12, with finals Dec 7-11, and its spring 2027 session spans Jan 7 through Apr 24, broken by a Mar 8-12 spring break.
How we set up your NURS 5453 placement
Your placement advisor starts with where you live in Texas and the term you take NURS 5453, then looks for pediatric and family practices nearby whose patient mix fits a 125-hour pediatric course. We vet every candidate for Texas licensure, years in practice and any conflict of interest before you hear a name, so what reaches your faculty is ready to approve.
- A confirmed Texas preceptor with enough pediatric visits to fill 125 hours at your pace
- Every detail the Self-Placement Request needs from that preceptor, gathered well before the semester
- Follow-through on facility onboarding and any affiliation agreement the Clinical Coordinator needs
- A replacement plan ready if the preceptor's availability changes mid-semester
Send your start term and home area through the contact page, or use the form on this page.
Questions UT Tyler students ask
Can I do NURS 5453 hours in a family practice instead of a pediatric office?
UT Tyler's published test is fit: faculty approve a site when it can supply the patients and experiences the course requires. A family practice with a steady pediatric panel can meet that test, while one that sees a few children a month usually will not. Ask your course faculty before you commit, and have the preceptor estimate weekly pediatric visits.
Is NURS 5453 the same course as NURS 5351?
They cover the same ground under different plans. NURS 5351 was the 3-credit, 120-hour pediatric course in UT Tyler's 675-hour FNP. NURS 5453 is the 4-credit, 125-hour version in the 750-hour plan in the 2026-27 catalog. Your signed degree plan shows which one you take, and the preceptor search is the same kind either way.
Can a pediatrician precept me for NURS 5453?
Yes. UT Tyler accepts licensed physicians (MD or DO) and PAs with at least a year of experience as FNP preceptors, alongside nurse practitioners. An FNP internship syllabus recommends that about 25 percent of total program hours be with an advanced practice nurse, so plan the preceptor mix for the whole program, not only this course.
When should I start looking for a NURS 5453 preceptor?
Well before the semester, since approval has to come before it starts and facilities run their own clocks. According to its student page, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances in Tyler takes preceptorship requests by March 1 for rotations after April 1, by July 1 for rotations after August 1, and by November 1 for rotations after December 1.
Does UT Tyler place students in pediatric sites for NURS 5453?
Under UT Tyler's clinical policy, graduate students pick their own clinical sites, subject to their instructor's approval. Faculty coordinate with you about sites and preceptors, the Clinical Coordinator clears them, and the School of Nursing sets up affiliation agreements. Finding the pediatric preceptor who says yes, and packaging their details for approval, is the part we take on for you.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UT Tyler's own catalog, syllabi, program pages and clinical policies, and Texas rules. Your course, your program coordinator and the Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
UT Tyler asks you to choose your clinical site. We find it.
Tell us your UT Tyler track, where in Texas you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and gather everything your Self-Placement Request needs, so faculty can approve it before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 5453, adult and geriatric care forNURS 5455, psychiatric care forNURS 5367 - Texas-licensed preceptors who clear UT Tyler's supervisor, relative and site rules
- Anywhere in Texas, from the Piney Woods to the Valley
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.