Loyola New Orleans FNP certificate: gap analysis first, then 800 hours
Loyola University New Orleans offers a Post-Graduate Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner for nurses who already hold a master's in nursing. An individual gap analysis sets your credits between 24 and 33, and every version keeps at least 800 practicum hours in four Family Primary Care Management courses. The posted plan has no summer terms at all, and that shapes when each preceptor search has to start.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Loyola program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Loyola course.
Who the certificate is built for
Admission requires nursing credentials at both the bachelor's and master's levels, plus an RN license (and any APRN license you hold) issued by the state that will host your practicums. Nurses who are already APRNs, such as a psychiatric or acute care NP adding family practice, keep their existing certification current for the length of the certificate.
Delivery is online and asynchronous, with Fall and Spring starts, and Loyola says the certificate can be completed from any location. Any location still has to be a state where Loyola approves practicums, so check the State Approvals Map before you plan a site. Graduates are prepared for FNP certification, and the five-year limit that governs Loyola's graduate nursing programs applies here too, counted from your first course.
How the gap analysis shapes your plan
The bulletin sets the certificate at 24 to 33 credits, with at least 24 taken at Loyola. Where you land depends on a review of your earlier graduate coursework. The posted plan shows the full version, for a student who needs all three core courses: NURS G805 in Fall I, then NURS G810 and NURS G820 in Spring I.
From Fall II, the four FPCM theory and practicum pairs run one per term through Spring III. If the gap analysis credits some core work, ask the program director whether that moves your first practicum earlier, because the search for it has to start three months before its term. The FPCM I page explains what that first site needs.
| Term | Course | Hours | Request moving by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall II (term 4) | NURS G823 FPCM I Practicum | 200 | Mid-May, as Spring I ends |
| Spring II | NURS G827 FPCM II Practicum | 200 | Mid-October, during Fall II |
| Fall III | NURS G829 FPCM III Practicum | 200 | Mid-May, as Spring II ends |
| Spring III | NURS G833 FPCM IV Practicum | 200 | Mid-October, during Fall III |
Whatever your credit total, the compliance file matches the MSN's: your immunization record, physical, BLS card, proof of insurance, drug screen and background check, all reviewed by the Exxat APPROVE team. A student who is behind on those items gets a compliance hold and is not registered for the practicum, so clear the compliance items well before your first FPCM term.
No summer courses: plan around the break
The posted certificate plan runs Fall and Spring only. That leaves two summer breaks, and each one sits right before a fall practicum: FPCM I in Fall II and FPCM III in Fall III.
The catch is timing. Loyola's fall classes open in mid-August (August 17 in 2026), and three months before that is mid-May, so each fall request has to be moving before the break begins, not during it. Use the summer for what comes after approval: confirming your preceptor's schedule, finishing site onboarding and meeting extras a practice may ask for, such as HIPAA training or proof of insurance.
FPCM III deserves the earliest start. It needs 150 pediatric and 50 obstetric hours, which can mean two settings if one practice cannot cover both, so open that search early in Spring II. The FPCM III page covers what those sites must offer.
Preceptor rules for nurses who are already APRNs
Working APRNs tend to start with their own network, and that network usually sits in their current specialty. Loyola's FNP guide asks for a preceptor whose certification fits the specialty and setting, and every FNP practicum takes place in outpatient primary care. A psychiatric clinic or hospital unit needs a yes from the Graduate Program Director before it counts, while a specialty site for FPCM IV needs the FNP Director to agree, as the FPCM IV page explains.
If your employer runs a primary care clinic, you may complete practicum hours there under the Employed at Clinical Site Attestation, as long as your practicum sits outside your own department and outside your working hours. Read working where you work before you raise it with your manager.
Every preceptor also needs a license in the site's state that is current and unencumbered and at least 2,080 hours (over a year) in practice, cannot be related to you, and stays on site for every hour you log. The requirements page covers PA and physician rules course by course.
Where the certificate's practicums take place
The bulletin's FNP certificate entry is plain about location: your preceptors and practice settings are expected to be in the area where you live. That makes the search a local one, in a state where your RN license is active.
A good first stop is the Explore Clinical Locations map inside Exxat Prism, where Loyola shows organizations already under an affiliation agreement; those move through processing quickly. A practice without an agreement has its authorized signer put a name to the Standard Loyola Affiliation Agreement, and one that rewrites the form can add months, so keep a second option alive until yours is signed.
Once the site agrees, the request goes into the Exxat Wishlist with the agency, the signer and your preceptor's details, followed by the preceptor's CV, license and Preceptor Agreement. Nothing counts until the whole request reads Placement Approved.
Why certificate students choose us
Certificate students are usually practicing nurses with full schedules, and some already practice in another specialty. We handle the part that does not fit around a shift: finding outpatient family practices near you whose preceptors meet Loyola's rules, and practices that see enough children and obstetric patients for NURS G829.
We time each search to your gap-analysis plan and the two summer breaks, check whether the practice already holds a Loyola affiliation agreement, and assemble what the Wishlist needs: who signs for the site, a CV and Nursys license record for your preceptor, and their Preceptor Agreement, signed. If a preceptor withdraws, we find the next one. Loyola's placement office and your faculty approve the placement, and what we send them is complete from the first submission. Tell us your plan and your city through the form below.
Questions Loyola students ask
How many practicum hours is Loyola's FNP certificate?
At least 800, in four 200-hour practicums, FPCM I through FPCM IV (NURS G823 to NURS G833). Your gap analysis sets your credits, while the practicum minimum is listed at 800 hours. FPCM III splits its 200 hours into 150 pediatric and 50 obstetric, the same as in Loyola's MSN FNP, so plan that site with care.
Can I start the FNP certificate in summer?
Loyola lists Fall and Spring starts for the certificate, and the posted plan has no summer courses. A Fall start places FPCM I in Fall II of the posted plan. A Spring start follows your own plan of study, so ask the program director which terms your practicums fall in before you begin any search.
I'm already an NP. Do my old clinical hours count?
Loyola's gap analysis reviews your earlier graduate coursework to set your credits between 24 and 33, and the certificate lists at least 800 practicum hours in the four FPCM courses. Questions about earlier hours belong with the FNP Program Director, who reviews your transcript. Get the answer before you plan sites, since it decides how many placements you need.
What does Loyola's Clinical Practicum Coordinator do for certificate students?
The Clinical Practicum Coordinator follows your placement needs, secures the affiliation agreement with each site, keeps watch on whether you meet facility requirements, and helps with Exxat uploads as the system's technical advisor. Bring that office a site with its signer and preceptor details ready, and the agreement and approval steps can begin right away.
Can I do the FNP certificate practicums from another state?
Yes, when Loyola approves practicums in your state and you hold an RN license there. Loyola says the certificate can be completed from any location, and the bulletin places practicums where you live. Its licensure table and State Approvals Map disagree for a few states, so confirm yours with the School of Nursing before committing to a site.
Do I have to keep my APRN certification during the certificate?
Yes. Loyola's handbook says certificate students who are APRNs keep their APRN certification current. Two license rules run alongside it: an RN license active in each state where you do practicum hours and, for as long as you are enrolled, a Louisiana or multistate license. The School of Nursing watches all of them through Nursys e-Notify, so a lapse shows up quickly.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Loyola's own bulletin, program pages, practicum guides, forms and licensure disclosures. Your plan of study, your practicum guide, your program director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Loyola asks you to select your own preceptor and site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Loyola program, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check whether the site already has a Loyola affiliation agreement, and prepare everything your Exxat Wishlist needs.
- Preceptors matched to the course: outpatient primary care for
NURS G823, pediatrics and obstetrics forNURS G829, acute care forNURS G902, psychiatric care forNURS G856 - Preceptor CV, license and Nursys PDF, the Preceptor Agreement and the site's signer details ready for the Wishlist
- In your own community, in Louisiana or any state where Loyola approves your practicum
Start your placement plan
Program, city and term is all we need to begin.