MSN572 and the USU FNP immersion
MSN572 Advanced Health and Physical Assessment Across the Lifespan is a 4-credit FNP course that contains USU's required immersion. Students admitted on or after 05/06/2024 complete it virtually; earlier admits attended in person in Phoenix. The immersion adds no clinical hours, but MSN572 is the prerequisite for FNP592, so your first placement should be approved before the course even begins.
Starting FNP592 after MSN572?
Tell us your state and when MSN572 ends. A placement advisor replies with what your FNP592 search should look like from here.
MSN572 at a glance
MSN572 is the last course before FNP clinicals begin. On USU's 2020 degree plan it follows MSN571 in semester 4, and it is the prerequisite for both FNP591 and FNP592.
| Item | MSN572 |
|---|---|
| Catalog title | Advanced Health and Physical Assessment Across the Lifespan |
| Credits | 4 |
| Prerequisite | MSN571 Advanced Pharmacology Across the Lifespan |
| Opens | FNP591 and FNP592, the first clinical practicum |
| Transfer credit | Non-transferable; it must be taken at USU |
| Clinical hours | None stated; immersion and lab hours do not count toward the 540 |
| Immersion | Required for course and degree completion |
| Format | Virtual if admitted on or after 05/06/2024; in person in Phoenix if admitted on or before 05/05/2024 |
| Costs | Immersion activities are at your own expense; the catalog fee table lists an FNP Immersion Fee |
Which immersion applies to you
Your admission date decides it. The catalog lists the FNP's delivery mode as online hybrid for students accepted before 05/06/2024 and online for students accepted on or after that date, and the MSN572 course entry makes the same split for the immersion.
Admitted on or after 05/06/2024: your immersion is virtual. The catalog says only: “Virtual immersion information will be presented in your MSN572 course.” USU's Office of Field Experience page adds that FNP immersion information sits in the Nursing Caring Corner inside D2L; see where clinical things live in D2L.
Admitted on or before 05/05/2024: the immersion is in person in Phoenix, Arizona, at 4605 E. Elwood St (Sky Harbor Towers), between weeks 3 and 5 of MSN572, from 7am to 5pm MST. Students are told their assignment at least 8 weeks ahead. USU's FNP page still describes this, but no source we found confirms whether in-person immersions are still running in 2026, so check with your faculty.
Either way, the catalog states: “All immersion related activities are at the student's own expense.” For the Phoenix version that includes travel. The current fee is in the catalog's fee table.
What the immersion does not do
The immersion is required to pass MSN572 and to graduate, but it is not clinical time. USU's FNP handbook says immersion and lab hours do not count toward clinical hours, and the catalog lists no clinical hours for MSN572. We found no USU allowance for simulation hours toward the FNP total either.
That means your 540 hours start at zero on the first day of FNP592. None of the immersion can replace a precepted hour, and none of it counts toward the 135 hours with an NP or the 135 family practice hours USU requires.
A virtual immersion is also not telehealth. USU's telehealth allowance is a separate cap of 40 hours for the whole program, done at an approved site with your preceptor physically beside you and patients in the state of your address on file. The difference is explained on what virtual can mean at USU, and the full hour rules are on USU clinical hours by program.
Passing the immersion earns no clinical hours. Your 540 begin in FNP592, and only after OFE issues your approval letter.
Why MSN572 is really your FNP592 deadline
USU's FNP handbook wants every approval for a clinical course on file 16 weeks before it starts. If MSN571, MSN572 and FNP592 run back to back in 8-week sessions, that date lands around the week MSN571 begins. The catalog's 6-month rule for three preceptor leads comes earlier still.
- About 6 months before FNP592. Submit at least three qualified preceptors on the Appendix G Interest Form. The handbook asks new students to arrive with candidates, so earlier is better.
- About 16 weeks before FNP592. Have your preceptor's Appendix H packet, Program Director approval, the site's Affiliation Agreement and your Complio items all on file with OFE.
- During MSN572. Watch for OFE's emailed approval letter. You cannot start
FNP592hours without it, and OFE cannot handle same-day or urgent requests. - Week one of FNP592. Upload the letter with your preceptor's acknowledgement form and log your first hours that week in Project Concert.
Check your own session dates with your Clinical Placement Coordinator; the 2020 plan may not match your cohort. The rules behind these dates are on USU's clinical deadlines, and the setting rules for the course that follows are on FNP592.
Similar course names and older versions
USU has a second assessment course with the same title. MSN553 Advanced Health and Physical Assessment Across the Lifespan is a 3-credit course for the Nurse Educator track, and the paused Forensic and Public Health tracks, with MSN570 and MSN571 as prerequisites and a required head-to-toe exam. It is not the course that carries the FNP immersion, and it does not open FNP592.
The Post-Master's FNP Certificate, now closed and on a teach-out plan, also used MSN572. Its 2024-2025 catalog entry describes the Phoenix in-person immersion in weeks 3 to 5, as for MSN FNP students admitted before May 2024.
USU does not publish how many days either immersion lasts. If a website quotes a length or a location that differs from the catalog, confirm it inside your MSN572 course before you book travel or time off.
Why students plan FNP592 with us during MSN572
An FNP592 search belongs well before MSN571; if you are already in MSN572 without an approved placement, talk to your CPC first. The placement desk looks for a family practice or primary care preceptor near you who fits Appendix I, and helps you assemble the packet OFE sends to the Program Director. USU approves every preceptor, site and agreement. Tell us when MSN572 ends.
Questions USU students ask
Is the USU FNP immersion virtual or in person?
It depends on when USU admitted you. Students accepted on or after 05/06/2024 complete a virtual immersion, with details given inside the MSN572 course. Students accepted on or before 05/05/2024 were assigned an in-person immersion in Phoenix, Arizona, during weeks 3 to 5 of the course. Either version is required to finish MSN572 and the degree.
How long is the MSN572 immersion?
USU does not publish the number of days for either version. For the Phoenix immersion, USU gives the window (weeks 3 to 5 of MSN572) and the daily hours (7am to 5pm MST), with at least 8 weeks' notice of your assignment. For the virtual immersion, the schedule is shared inside the course, so check D2L once MSN572 opens.
Do MSN572 immersion hours count toward my 540 clinical hours?
No. USU's FNP Clinical Handbook says immersion and lab hours do not count toward clinical hours, and the catalog lists no clinical hours for MSN572. All 540 precepted hours come from FNP592, FNP594, FNP596 and FNP597, each at 135 hours, logged in Project Concert within 48 hours.
Can I transfer MSN572 from another nursing school?
No. USU's catalog marks MSN572 as non-transferable, so an advanced assessment course from another school will not replace it. The course also carries the FNP immersion, which USU requires for both course and degree completion. Plan to take it at USU after MSN571, before your first clinical practicum.
What comes after MSN572 in the USU FNP?
FNP591 Common Illnesses Across the Lifespan and its clinical partner FNP592, taken together. MSN572 is the prerequisite for both, and FNP592 is where your 540 hours begin, in family practice, primary care or primary care internal medicine. Its approvals must already be on file 16 weeks before it starts.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against USU's own catalog, handbooks and disclosures. USU's current handbook and your Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.
Six months out is USU's rule. We start now.
Tell us your USU program, your state and when your next practicum opens. We look for preceptors who meet USU's rules and help you build the packet the Office of Field Experience and Program Director review.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice, pediatrics, women's health, urgent care within USU's caps
- Appendix H, license, CV and board certification gathered the way OFE asks
- In person near you; telehealth only inside USU's 40-hour limit
Start your placement plan
A placement advisor replies with what a USU-ready preceptor and site look like for you.