In the Health Systems & Organizational Leadership (HSOL) program we have two types of practicum experiences.  Both of these are eligible to be counted as supervised practice hours toward the Doctor of Nursing Practicum requirement of 1000 practice hours.   For every 1 credit hour of practicum you will be doing 40 hours of practice over the 10 week period, with an average of 4 hours per week of practice activities per credit.

Field Based Learning Activity

The first type of practicum that we have in your programs of study is the Field-based Learning Activity or FBLA. In the FBLA we have a variety of experiences that accompany our HSOL core courses and are 1 - 2 credits apiece. These do not require a preceptor and are instead supervised by faculty.  You may be able to carry out your activities in public organizations or in your place of work.  In the event of using your place of work for this type of activity, you may not conduct “work as usual” when you are logging in these FBLA practice hours. Rather, your practice hours are in addition to your hours of work that you are doing for your job. We have you track your activities in our Analytic Log that is associated with the NURS 509HS course and as outlined by your supervising faculty. The FBLA is a curricular requirement that allows you to practice, synthesize, apply, analyze and evaluate new knowledge gained from your academic study into your practice.

Final Precepted Practicum

The second type of practicum that we have in your program of study is the Final Precepted Practicum that you will do in the Spring of your second year of the program. This also is numbered NURS 509HS and is a total of 2 credits. This final precepted practicum is outlined in more detail in the preceptor manual that we will share with you when you are ready to start your final terms. We also have you prepare your self-assessment and reflection based on the end of program student learning outcomes and also those competencies established by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for Master’s study (The AACN Master’s Essentials), the American Organization for Nurse Executives and the Council on Graduate Education for Administration in Nursing. Using this self-assessment we help you co-create your learning contract for the final precepted practicum with your mentor/preceptor. The Precepted Practicum is a curricular requirement that allows you to gain competency in all these attributes of nursing leadership in a practice setting.

The FBLAs and the Precepted Practicum are accomplished in a process that builds your competency toward the end of program student learning outcomes as well as those established by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for Master’s study.