NURS 5644 Acute and Chronic Illness I: finding a pediatric preceptor in Texas
NURS 5644, Management of Acute and Chronic Illness I (Pediatrics), is the second of TAMUCC's four FNP clinical courses and asks for 135 precepted hours. Its pediatric focus makes it the natural home for the program's pediatric minimum. The preceptor who fits is an NP, MD or DO meeting TAMUCC's criteria, working in a Texas clinic where children make up most of the day.
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NURS 5644
Where NURS 5644 falls in the FNP sequence
This six-credit course follows NURS 5624 and has to be passed before NURS 5645, so it sits in the middle of the clinical chain. TAMUCC's FNP guides label it a mid-clinical course and tie it to pediatrics, while the catalog names it for managing acute and chronic illness. Together, that means you move past assessment into diagnosing and managing illness, with children and adolescents as the patients you see most.
Public syllabi show NURS 5644 running in the spring of 2025 and of 2026, while the MSN handbook describes a once-a-year teaching schedule for courses. Neither is a promise about your own term; your Degree Planner and graduate advisor settle that. The full order of the four courses is on the first clinical course page.
Pediatric settings and the preceptor who fits TAMUCC's list
Outpatient pediatric practices, and family practices where young patients fill much of the schedule, are where a 135-hour pediatric rotation fits best. Sick visits, well-child checks and follow-ups for ongoing conditions give you the acute and chronic mix the course title describes, with parents and caregivers in the room for most of it.
The license rules are the same as in every FNP course: an NP, MD or DO license in good standing with no encumbrance, board certification from a national body in family practice or something related, independent practice going back at least two years, and a clinic where the work prepares you for the FNP role. A family nurse practitioner or family physician with a heavy pediatric panel matches that wording directly. A pediatric nurse practitioner or pediatrician may count under the related-specialty clause, and that judgment rests with your clinical faculty member, the person who approves each site and preceptor. Ask before the packet goes out, not after.
Your supervisor at work and members of your family are excluded whatever their credentials. The complete criteria are on preceptor requirements.
The pediatric minimum: 75 hours or 150 encounters
Somewhere in the 630 hours, TAMUCC's FNP program requires 75 clinical hours in pediatrics or 150 pediatric encounters documented in Typhon. At the pace of about two patients an hour that TAMUCC expects, the two paths describe roughly the same amount of clinic time. Children you already saw in NURS 5624 count toward the pediatric rotation.
A pediatric-heavy clinic in NURS 5644 is the simplest way to close the requirement inside the course that carries the pediatric label. A family clinic that sees few children can leave you short, and the gap then follows you into the women's health course and the capstone.
| Path | What TAMUCC asks | How it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 75 clinical hours in pediatrics | Time actively caring for children, recorded with your Typhon entries and on the end-of-term Clinical Hours Log |
| Encounters | 150 documented pediatric encounters | Each child's visit entered in Typhon as its own encounter |
Check the running pediatric count in Typhon every week or two instead of waiting for the end of term. Typhon case logs explains how the entries work.
Finding a pediatric preceptor who says yes
- Ask the pediatric clinicians you already knowTAMUCC observes that most FNP students find a preceptor through their own network. Former coworkers from pediatric units, colleagues of your
NURS 5624preceptor and clinicians your employer refers children to are all worth a message. - Look for pediatric sites in TyphonTyphon lists sites and preceptors TAMUCC students used before. A pediatric practice already in the Clinical Site Directory with current contract dates skips the longest wait in the whole process.
- Make the ask face to faceBring your CV and the
NURS 5644course objectives to a short in-person meeting, and be specific: 135 hours, weekday daytime, spread over the term, plus at least one visit from your clinical faculty member. - Arrange a backup before you need oneTAMUCC recommends backup preceptors and extra scheduled days. A single lost week is hard to make up inside one semester, so a second pediatric contact is worth securing early.
- Finish the paperwork, then get clearedThe site needs a current affiliation agreement and the preceptor a signed Preceptor Agreement Packet for this semester, followed by clearance from your clinical faculty member. Affiliation agreements covers the lead time of up to three months.
Scheduling 135 hours and what counts
135 hours comes to nearly seventeen eight-hour days of patient care, spread across the 16-week term. TAMUCC's clinical hours generally fall on weekdays during the daytime, must fit your clinical faculty member's calendar and have to be complete by the last class day. Nothing carries over into the following semester.
Count only the time you are actively engaged in care: seeing the child and family, talking the plan through with your preceptor and writing the note in the EHR. Lunch breaks and time spent off site are not counted. What counts as clinical hours covers the finer points.
A preceptor who cancels does not earn you an extension at TAMUCC, so the backup pediatric preceptor needs to exist before the term starts, not after the first cancellation.
Why TAMUCC students choose us for NURS 5644
We aim the search at what this course needs: a Texas practice near you where children fill the schedule, led by a clinician who satisfies TAMUCC's preceptor list. We confirm certification and years of independent practice up front and flag any related-specialty question early, so it gets to your clinical faculty member ahead of the paperwork and nothing stalls at clearance.
Our placement desk then readies each piece TAMUCC asks for. The packet gets the preceptor's CV and a license copy recent enough for the 30-day rule; the agreement side gets the site's contract status from Typhon and, where a new agreement must begin, the site's signing authority. Your clinical faculty member approves the placement, and everything they need arrives complete and in order.
If your preceptor withdraws mid-semester, the placement desk remains on call and goes looking for another pediatric site. Whether you live in San Antonio or a small town in the Valley, start with the contact form.
Questions TAMUCC students ask
Does all of NURS 5644 have to be pediatrics?
TAMUCC's FNP guides attach a pediatric focus to NURS 5644, and the program-wide pediatric minimum is 75 hours or 150 encounters. How much of the 135 hours your clinical faculty expects with children, and whether a second family site is acceptable, is set within the course. Confirm the mix with your clinical faculty member before splitting time between two sites.
Can a pediatrician precept NURS 5644 at TAMUCC?
An MD or DO license is on TAMUCC's list. The certification requirement names family practice or a related specialty, so a board-certified pediatrician depends on how your clinical faculty member reads that second phrase. The same applies to a pediatric nurse practitioner. Ask faculty before you ask the clinician, so a yes is not undone at clearance.
Can I use two preceptors for NURS 5644?
Yes. Every preceptor needs a completed Preceptor Agreement Packet for the semester, and every site needs a current agreement, before hours there count. With two preceptors you file two packets, each carrying a CV and a recent license copy, and your clinical faculty member clears both. A second preceptor also serves as your backup.
What if I finish NURS 5644 short of the pediatric minimum?
The minimum applies across all 630 hours, so it does not vanish when the course ends, and the pediatric encounters you already logged still count. Bring it to your clinical faculty member, or to the FNP Clinical Coordinator, and work out how the remaining pediatric time fits into your later courses. Raising it early leaves the most room to solve it.
Is NURS 5644 taught every semester?
Courses run once per calendar year according to TAMUCC's MSN handbook, and public syllabi place NURS 5644 in spring terms. That pattern is not an official commitment for any cohort. Check your term against your Degree Planner with your graduate advisor, since falling out of sequence can delay graduation when the next course depends on this one.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against TAMUCC's catalog, FNP clinical guides, MSN and DNP handbooks and college pages. Your course, your clinical faculty member and the handbook for your cohort have the final word.
TAMUCC makes the preceptor search yours. Let us run it for you in Texas.
Tell us your TAMUCC program, your next clinical course and where in Texas you can drive. We find preceptors who fit the course and gather what the affiliation agreement and the Preceptor Agreement Packet need, early enough for both to clear.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 5644, women's health forNURS 5645, broad primary care forNURS 5746 - CV, license, board certification and the site's agreement status ready for TAMUCC's paperwork
- In Corpus Christi, the Valley, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and across Texas
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