NURS 61100: Lewis's adult community and primary care practicum
NURS 61100 NP Practicum: Adults in Community/Primary Care is a 180-clock-hour, 16-week practicum that Lewis FNP and AGPCNP students take in the same semester as NURS 61000. Lewis's catalog treats it as the first clinical course on both tracks, so it needs an approved preceptor who cares for adults in an outpatient or community practice near home, confirmed before the semester opens.
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Tell us where you live and which semester your NURS 61100 starts. We look for adult primary care preceptors near you.
NURS 61100
The course in Lewis's own words
The 2026-27 catalog gives NURS 61100 a short, specific profile. Here is what it states.
| Item | What the catalog says |
|---|---|
| Full title | NP Practicum: Adults in Community/Primary Care |
| Clock hours | 180 clock hours of practicum |
| Credits | 3 in the program tables; the course list shows a 2 to 3 range |
| Paired course | NURS 61000 APN Management: Adults in Community/Primary Care, 3 credits, same semester |
| Format | 16-week semester course |
| Required in | MSN FNP, MSN AGPCNP, the FNP and AGPCNP certificates, BSN to DNP on the FNP or AGPCNP track |
| Not taken in | AGACNP and PMHNP |
The description calls NURS 61100 the first of three clinical courses. That count fits the AGPCNP, whose other practicums are NURS 61800 and NURS 61500, while the FNP takes four. Lewis's sequence still places this course at the start: the prerequisites printed for NURS 61800 include both halves of this pair, and the AGPCNP's NURS 61500 may only come after or alongside it.
Before you can enroll
NURS 61000, the management course that runs beside the practicum, has a long prerequisite list: five of the six MSN core courses (every one except NURS 73500) and the three NP foundation courses in pharmacotherapeutics, physiology and pathophysiology, and health assessment. That health assessment course, NURS 60700, includes lab work, and Lewis's FAQ points to Oak Brook's seven equipped exam rooms as the place NP students build those skills.
Certificate students already hold an MSN, so their list begins with the NP specialty courses. For everyone, the practical point is the same. By the semester you finish NURS 60700, the search for your NURS 61100 preceptor should already be well along, because Lewis wants NP students planning practicums from the day they are accepted, not from the day registration opens.
The preceptor and setting this course calls for
The title sets the scope: adults, seen in community or primary care settings. Lewis publishes no list of acceptable specialties or preceptor credentials for this course. Its FAQ leaves the judgment of fit to Lewis's Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty. The contract legend adds one hard screen: a request can be denied when the preceptor has discipline on record with IDFPR.
We look for preceptors in adult outpatient care: internal medicine and family practices, community health centers and similar clinics with a steady adult panel. Those settings match the title and mirror where Illinois NPs actually practice. More than half of the APRNs who answered the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center's 2024 survey, 53%, work in ambulatory, non-acute outpatient care. Your faculty still make the final call on fit.
Health systems run their own student processes. Riverside Healthcare in Kankakee, on its own student page, pairs NP students mostly with certified nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists and insists on an affiliation agreement first. Northwestern Medicine wants 4 to 8 weeks' notice at the least on its north and northwest suburban request page. The preceptor requirements page covers what to confirm with any preceptor.
Fitting 180 hours into one semester
Lewis publishes no weekly or daily hour rule for NURS 61100. Spread evenly across 16 weeks, 180 hours averages a little over 11 hours a week, roughly one full clinic day. That is arithmetic, not a Lewis standard, but it explains why a preceptor's clinic schedule matters as much as the specialty: a preceptor who works two short days a week may not leave room for the hours.
According to Lewis's contract legend, an approved request lets you begin at the site and with the preceptor you listed, once the semester you requested begins, so plan on your hours starting only after the contract clears. Two calendar rules add pressure. A student absent for the opening two weeks of a full-semester course, without an instructor's okay, is withdrawn. And because Lewis offers no In Progress grade, a practicum that comes up short needs an Incomplete, which you can only request while passing. The 16-week course guide covers the dates.
Filing the contract request in time
Every clinical practicum at Lewis starts with a preceptor contract request, filed in the CONHS portal under your Lewis email. A complete request goes to administration, and review takes two weeks at minimum. If the clinic has never signed an affiliation agreement with Lewis, Lewis drafts one for it, and your request sits In Review until the signed copy comes back.
Two more steps can follow. The agency may want extra paperwork, and copies go to the agency as well as the Clinical Placement Office. Your CastleBranch record also has to stay current, since noncompliance is a listed reason for denial. The contract portal guide explains every status you may see along the way.
How we line up your NURS 61100 preceptor
Our placement desk starts with where you live and when your NURS 61100 semester begins. We search adult primary care practices in your area, confirm the preceptor sees the adult patients the course is built around, check that the license record is clean, and gather the site, agency and preceptor details the portal asks for. You file a complete request with time left for review and any new agreement.
Because NURS 61800 follows, we look ahead to it during the same search, and when one practice could support both, we note it for your faculty to consider. Should your preceptor step away mid-semester, a new search starts as soon as you let us know. The NURS 61800 guide covers the next practicum; to start this one, use the contact form.
Questions Lewis students ask
Is NURS 61100 the same course for FNP and AGPCNP students?
Yes. Both program tables list the same NURS 61100 at 3 credits and 180 clock hours, with NURS 61000 in the same semester. The difference is what comes after: AGPCNP students continue to NURS 61800 and NURS 61500, while FNP students add NURS 61800 and the women's health and pediatric practicums.
Can a physician precept me in NURS 61100?
Lewis's public pages do not specify a preceptor's profession for any NP course; faculty approve each preceptor for fit with the course. Some Illinois systems answer the question on their own pages: Advocate's NP student page, for example, accepts either a physician or an APRN as preceptor. Before you ask a physician, check with your track coordinator that the course accepts one.
Can I split NURS 61100 hours between two clinics?
No public Lewis rule addresses it. The contract legend treats approval as specific to a site and the preceptor or preceptors named, so a second clinic means a second site to approve, possibly with its own affiliation agreement. If you want a split, ask course faculty first and file both requests early.
What happens if my NURS 61100 preceptor cancels mid-semester?
Whether the clinic, the preceptor, you or Lewis cancels, the contract turns Inactive in the portal. Let the Clinical Placement Office and your course faculty know straight away, then begin a fresh request. With no In Progress grade at Lewis, an Incomplete may bridge the gap if you are passing but short on hours.
When should I start looking for a NURS 61100 preceptor?
Lewis's answer is at acceptance, and the timeline backs it up. Review takes at least two weeks after a complete request, a clinic without a Lewis agreement adds however long the agency takes to sign, and some health systems set their own lead times. Starting a full semester ahead leaves room for a second choice if the first falls through.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
Lewis asks you to identify your preceptor. We do the searching.
Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
- Preceptors matched to the practicum: primary care for
NURS 61100andNURS 61800, acute care forNURS 62500, psychiatric care forNURS 63300 - Preceptor, license and site details ready for your preceptor contract request
- In your own community, anywhere Lewis enrolls you and your RN license is valid
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