NURS 61800: the adult-gerontology and adolescent practicum three Lewis tracks share
NURS 61800 NP Practicum: Adult/Gerontology and Adolescents is the only Lewis practicum required on the FNP, AGPCNP and AGACNP tracks alike. Its 180 clock hours fill one 16-week semester, taken together with NURS 61200, and it calls for a preceptor whose patients range from adolescents through older adults.
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NURS 61800
One practicum, three tracks
Because three tracks share it, NURS 61800 sits among different neighbors on each route. The table shows what surrounds it on each one.
| Track | Credits and hour minimum | Other practicums on the track | Also required in |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP | 48 credits, 630 hours | NURS 61100, NURS 64100, NURS 64300 | FNP certificate; BSN to DNP FNP |
| AGPCNP | 46 credits, 540 hours | NURS 61100, NURS 61500 | AGPCNP certificate; BSN to DNP AGPCNP |
| AGACNP | 46 credits, 540 hours | NURS 62500, NURS 62700 | AGACNP certificate; BSN to DNP AGACNP |
Whatever the track, the course itself does not change: same title, same 180 hours, same paired management course. Certificate students take it exactly as MSN students do, because the certificates keep the NP courses and drop only the MSN core.
The PMHNP is the only Lewis NP track without it. Psychiatric students take NURS 63300, NURS 63500 and NURS 63700 instead, each paired with its own psychiatric management course.
The catalog facts
NURS 61800 carries 180 clock hours of practicum and 3 credits in every program table, although the course list shows a range of 1 to 3 credits. It runs as a 16-week course with its management partner, NURS 61200 APN Management: Adult/Gerontology and Adolescents, a 3-credit course taken in the same semester. The management course carries no clinical hours of its own.
For FNP and AGPCNP students the prerequisites point one way. The course lists NURS 61000 and NURS 61100 ahead of it, so it follows the adult primary care practicum. In practice that means your search for a NURS 61800 preceptor overlaps the semester you spend logging NURS 61100 hours, which is the best reason to run both searches together.
A prerequisite conflict for acute care students
Here Lewis's documents disagree. The NURS 61800 course description expects the adult primary care pair to be finished first, yet the AGACNP MSN, the AGACNP certificate and the BSN to DNP AGACNP track all require NURS 61800 while leaving both of those courses out. Read literally, an acute care student could not register for a course the program requires.
The program tables are the clearer statement of what each track takes, and they list NURS 61200 and NURS 61800 for AGACNP students. Even so, ask your advisor or the AGACNP track coordinator how registration handles the listed prerequisites well before the term, instead of finding the block on registration day. The acute care practicums guide covers the rest of the AGACNP route, including its own hour conflict.
The preceptor this course calls for
The title spans adolescents, adults and older adults, so the patient mix is the first thing to check. A practice whose panel runs from teenagers to elderly patients shows the fit at a glance. Family medicine offices commonly see that range, while internal medicine and geriatric practices cover the adult and older adult end.
No credential list for NURS 61800 appears anywhere public. The decision belongs to Lewis's Clinical Coordinators and/or track lead faculty, weighing preceptor and site against this course. The legend also lets a contract be denied over a preceptor's IDFPR discipline or over unsafe or questionable conduct by a preceptor or agency. For AGACNP students, Lewis's public pages do not say whether this practicum's site should be primary care or acute care, so ask your track lead before you approach anyone.
A practical point when you ask: in Illinois, an APRN who precepts a student for a semester can claim ten CE hours toward license renewal, capped at 30 per cycle, as the preceptor CE credit page explains. The approval guide explains how Lewis judges fit.
Timing your NURS 61800 search
Lewis's FAQ wants NP students thinking about practicums from acceptance onward, and NURS 61800 adds a reason of its own: for most students the search runs while another practicum is under way. Once your request is complete, expect two weeks or more of portal review, and an agency with no Lewis affiliation agreement adds however long it takes to sign one.
Large systems keep their own calendars. Endeavor Health and Advocate both route student requests through myClinicalExchange, according to their own student pages, and Endeavor's rotation page puts its spring and summer cutoff on August 1. A January start at an Endeavor site therefore means paperwork due the August before. The planning timeline counts back from each semester.
How we match your NURS 61800 preceptor
Our placement desk searches your community for preceptors whose patients cover the course's adolescent-to-older-adult span and, for AGACNP students, the setting your faculty expect. We ask practices directly whether adolescents appear on the schedule, since a panel that starts at 18 makes the title harder to satisfy. Then we confirm license standing and site details, package the preceptor and agency information for the portal, and work to a timeline that has approval in hand before the semester opens.
For FNP and AGPCNP students we can plan NURS 61100 and NURS 61800 in one pass, and when a single practice suits both courses, we tell you so you can ask faculty about it. If a preceptor withdraws partway through the term, we reopen the search for you immediately. Share your track and start date through the contact form.
Questions Lewis students ask
Do AGACNP students do NURS 61800 in a hospital?
Lewis's public pages do not say. The course title covers adolescents, adults and older adults without naming a setting, and approval goes to whichever preceptor and site faculty judge right for the course. AGACNP students should ask the track lead early whether an outpatient, inpatient or mixed site is expected, since the answer changes who you approach.
Can I keep my NURS 61100 preceptor for NURS 61800?
Nothing public rules it out. Approval is tied to a designated course, and each request names the semester it covers, so even the same preceptor goes through the portal again for the new course and term. It works best when the practice sees adolescents and older adults as well as working-age adults, matching the second course's title.
Does NURS 61800 count toward pediatric hours for the FNP?
The title includes adolescents, so some younger patients may appear, but infant and child care has its own FNP practicum, NURS 64300 Primary Care of Infants & Children. Lewis publishes no rule on counting adolescent visits toward pediatric hours, so ask your course faculty how they want adolescent encounters recorded.
What is NURS 61200 at Lewis?
NURS 61200 APN Management: Adult/Gerontology and Adolescents is the 3-credit management course that shares a semester with NURS 61800. It carries no clinical hours itself; the 180 hours happen in the practicum. Because the two are corequisites, changing one affects the other, so talk to your advisor before dropping or moving either.
Is NURS 61800 part of the post-master's certificates?
For three of the four, yes. The FNP, AGPCNP and AGACNP Certificates of Advanced Study list NURS 61200 and NURS 61800 among their required courses, so certificate students need a preceptor for it just as MSN students do. The PMHNP certificate follows its own psychiatric sequence of three practicums across the lifespan instead.
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.
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