UL Lafayette's clinical systems, one guide each

Updated September 27, 2026 · Reviewed by the Lafayette Preceptor placement team

A UL Lafayette practicum depends on a handful of named pieces: clinicals kept inside Louisiana, a contract, CV and letter of agreement on file before day one, Louisiana's preceptor rules, a clinical tracking system and a B or better in every course. The guides below draw on three sources (the online program pages, the ICMSN handbook and the 2026-27 catalog) and point out any place those sources conflict.

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UL Lafayette's clinical systems, one guide each. A UL Lafayette practicum depends on a handful of named pieces: clinicals kept inside Louisiana, a contract, CV and letter of agreement on file before day one, L — Every UL Lafayette nursing clinical guide in one place: Louisiana-only clinicals, preceptor rules, paperwork, hours, courses and compliance.

Which source settles a question

The 2026-27 catalog holds program requirements, course descriptions and hour totals. The ICMSN student handbook carries the consortium's clinical procedures, and Louisiana's nursing rules set the preceptor standards every Louisiana program follows.

Some questions go beyond UL Lafayette's published pages; for those, every guide says which role can settle them, most often course faculty or the graduate coordinator. Begin with the placement process, or with state authorization if you live outside Louisiana.

Placement and approval

The graduate clinical processHow a UL Lafayette MSN, PMHNP certificate or DNP clinical runs: admission, Louisiana rules, the file, faculty approval, weekly contact, hours and grading.Louisiana-only clinicalsUL Lafayette keeps MSN and PMHNP certificate clinicals in Louisiana on a Louisiana RN license. What that means near the state line, and the DNP's option.Who can preceptWho can precept a UL Lafayette MSN or certificate student: Louisiana's Board rule, the ICMSN minimums, the two-student cap, and how we match to each one.Clinical paperwork before day oneThe file the ICMSN handbook requires before any UL Lafayette clinical day: agency contract, preceptor CV, letter of agreement, and health, OSHA and HIPAA items.The ICMSN consortiumUL Lafayette's MSN runs through the ICMSN with McNeese, Nicholls and Southeastern: partner courses in Moodle, the Online Enrollment Form and home-school rules.Clinicals where you workUL Lafayette clinicals at your own employer: the ICMSN rule on separate, unpaid hours, the Louisiana preceptor rules, and when another site fits better.When a preceptor falls throughWhen a UL Lafayette preceptor or site falls through: who to tell, what a replacement needs on file before hours count, and why grades make speed matter.Faculty oversight and evaluationsHow UL Lafayette practicums are overseen and graded: Louisiana's faculty rules, the weekly check-in, final evaluations, the clinical F and honest records.Clinical roles and officesWho handles what in UL Lafayette nursing clinicals, by title: the graduate coordinator, course faculty, DNP roles, drug-screen reviewers and key offices.

Hours, logs and grades

Clinical hours by programClinical hours in each UL Lafayette nursing program: FNP and PMHNP 750, the PMHNP certificate 510 plus 60, Nursing Education 240 and DNP 420 of 1,000.NP clinical hours: 750, 600, 510How to read UL Lafayette's nurse practitioner hour figures: 750 in the 2026-27 catalog, 600 on older pages, and 510 plus 60 in the PMHNP certificate.What counts as clinical hoursWhat a UL Lafayette clinical hour is: direct patient care versus observation, the same-population APRN majority, workplace hours and DNP practice hours.Grades and progressionUL Lafayette graduate nursing grade rules: B or better, one repeat, a D or F ends progression, the DNP's second-C conflict, the 3.0 GPA and time limits.Your first clinical courseWhen the first UL Lafayette practicum arrives: NURS 582 for the FNP, NURS 591 for the PMHNP and certificate, NURS 544, NURS 821, and NURS 208 in the BSN.Academic calendar 2026-27UL Lafayette's 2026-27 dates for nursing students: fall and spring full terms, A-terms and B-terms, Mardi Gras, Easter break, withdrawals and incompletes.

Courses

FNP practicums: NURS 582 to 584NURS 582, 583 and 584 in UL Lafayette's online FNP: the population each one covers, the 750-hour floor, the semesters and the preceptor each course needs.PMHNP practicums: NURS 591 to 593NURS 591, 592 and 593 in UL Lafayette's online PMHNP: semesters 4 to 6, the 750 vs 600 hour conflict, direct patient care and the right psychiatric preceptor.PMHNP certificate practicumsThe clinical courses in UL Lafayette's PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate: NURS 590, 591, 592 and 597, 510 direct care hours in Louisiana, and a four-term plan.Nursing Education practicumsUL Lafayette's Nursing Education practicums: NURS 544 (60 hours) and NURS 557 (180 hours), the 240 vs 300 hour conflict, Fall-only timing and who can precept.DNP residency: NURS 821 to 823UL Lafayette's DNP residency: NURS 821, 822 and 823 with 420 hours, the 1,000-hour total, NURS 809-812 for extra hours, the agency mentor and screenings.DNP Synthesis ProjectHow UL Lafayette's DNP Synthesis Project works: the Orientation Intensive, the Progress Report Form, the agency mentor, candidacy and the final presentation.

Clearance, licenses and accreditation

Clinical health requirementsImmunizations, BLS and the health, OSHA and HIPAA items UL Lafayette nursing students need on file before a clinical day, and the rule that ends enrollment.Background check and drug screenUL Lafayette's nursing drug policy, random and for-cause testing, the Medical Review Officer, DNP background checks and the RN license reporting rule.Clinical tracking systemThe ICMSN requires UL Lafayette NP students to keep the home school's clinical tracking system for schedules and contract checks. Here is where to confirm it.Student systemsULID, ULink, Moodle, Outlook, Banner, ProctorU, Dupré Library and the IT Service Desk: the UL Lafayette systems online nursing students use, and what each does.RN and APRN license requirementsThe RN or APRN license each UL Lafayette nursing program asks for, the four MSN wordings that disagree, the certificate's Louisiana APRN rule and the DNP's.State authorization by programWhich states UL Lafayette's online nursing programs accept: the NP programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, Nursing Education's eight, and the DNP's two lists.Nursing accreditation and approvalUL Lafayette nursing accreditation explained: SACSCOC, CCNE for the BSN, the ICMSN's MSN and certificate and the DNP through 2033, and Louisiana Board approval.Campus and simulation labsWhere UL Lafayette nursing is based: V.L. Wharton Hall, the Health Sciences Campus and 501 Building, eight simulation labs, and which students come to campus.

Questions UL Lafayette students ask

Where are UL Lafayette's graduate clinical procedures written down?

The MSN procedures sit in the ICMSN student handbook, which the four consortium universities share. Program rules and hour totals are in UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog.

What has to happen before a first practicum?

An agency contract, the preceptor's CV and a signed letter of agreement on file, plus your health, OSHA and HIPAA items. See clinical paperwork.

Which tracking system does UL Lafayette use?

The consortium requires the clinical tracking system your home school names, and UL Lafayette's public pages do not name one. Your course materials in Moodle show it. See the clinical tracking system.

ProcessThe graduate clinical processHow a UL Lafayette MSN, PMHNP certificate or DNP clinical runs: admission, Louisiana rules, the file, faculty approval, weekly contact, hours and grading.HoursClinical hours by programClinical hours in each UL Lafayette nursing program: FNP and PMHNP 750, the PMHNP certificate 510 plus 60, Nursing Education 240 and DNP 420 of 1,000.StatesState authorization by programWhich states UL Lafayette's online nursing programs accept: the NP programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, Nursing Education's eight, and the DNP's two lists.GuideUL Lafayette nursing programsEvery UL Lafayette nursing program with practicum hours: the FNP and PMHNP MSN, the PMHNP certificate, the DNP, Nursing Education and the BSN.GuideUL Lafayette programs by stateLiving outside Louisiana? Fifty state guides for UL Lafayette nursing: Louisiana-only NP clinicals, DNP residencies at home and each state's rules.

Last checked 2026-09-27

We check these pages against UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog, its online program and state authorization pages, the ICMSN student handbook and Louisiana's nursing rules. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.

Whether UL Lafayette helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.

Tell us your UL Lafayette program, the practicum coming up and the Louisiana town you train near. We look for preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather the license, CV and agency details that must be on file before your first clinical day.

Preceptors who meet Louisiana's rules: an active Louisiana license, most hours with an APRN in your population focus
The preceptor's CV, the agency details and your letter of agreement items gathered early
Across Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana, plus DNP residencies in your home state

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