GRN 7104 and GRN 7105: the lab-based step before Family Practicum I
Wilmington University's advanced health assessment course, GRN 7104, carries 4 credits and is placed by the catalog in a clinical laboratory. Its companion, GRN 7105, is a 2-credit course in differential diagnosis and clinical decision making that shares the same semester. Both have to be behind you before GRN 7121 Family Practicum I, so the term you spend in them is the natural moment to settle your first preceptor, your credentialing and your questions for faculty.
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Tell us your WilmU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your WilmU course.
What WilmU's catalog says about each course
The 2026-27 graduate catalog keeps its descriptions of the pair short. It sets GRN 7104 in a clinical laboratory, and it links GRN 7105 to it by timing, since the two are taken together.
| Course | Full title | Credits | Setting or timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRN 7104 | Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan | 4 | Clinical laboratory setting |
| GRN 7105 | Differential Diagnosis and Clinical Decision Making Across the Lifespan | 2 | Same semester as GRN 7104 |
Both titles end with the phrase about the lifespan, the same reach as the family population focus the MSN-FNP prepares you for. The week-by-week lab schedule, any on-site sessions and the grading scheme belong to your Canvas course and its syllabus rather than the catalog, so read those the day the course opens.
Health assessment matters beyond WilmU too. Delaware's Board wants three distinct core courses in any APRN program, namely health assessment, pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology, and it reads your official transcript when you apply for the APRN license. Our Delaware APRN practice guide walks through the licensing steps.
Where the two courses sit in the FNP sequence
WilmU places practicum experiences in the second half of the MSN-FNP, and the prerequisite lists in the catalog show what comes before them. No semester-by-semester plan is published, so the term each course lands in comes from your own plan in MyWilmU Degree Works.
- AdmissionApplicants to the MSN-FNP bring a B or better in an undergraduate health assessment course, plus an unencumbered RN license.
- GRN 7101 and GRN 7103Both sit on the
GRN 7121prerequisite list beside the lab-semester pair. - The lab semester
GRN 7104andGRN 7105together: laboratory assessment plus differential diagnosis. - The Family Practicum I semesterFamily Practicum I and its first 175 clinical hours, taken alongside
GRN 7106andGRN 7107. - Practicums II to IV
GRN 7122,GRN 7123andGRN 7124follow in order, for 750 hours in all.
Nothing on WilmU's pages requires a gap between the lab semester and the first practicum. Plan as though GRN 7121 could open the very next term.
Why the lab semester is the time to start your search
Health systems run their own intake, and several steps take weeks. TidalHealth's page asks for a request form at least 90 days ahead of a preceptorship. ChristianaCare wants graduate students to check that their school holds a current affiliation agreement before reaching out, and ChristianaCare, Bayhealth and Beebe each handle student onboarding in Clinician Nexus. Our Delaware NP preceptors page summarizes what each system publishes.
WilmU sets no public deadline or lead time for having a preceptor ready before GRN 7121, which is exactly why the lab semester counts. Wait until the practicum term opens, and any site with a long intake eats into your clinical weeks.
Credentialing follows the same logic. Under the College's policy, graduate NP students finish the background check and drug screen ahead of clinical work, with the handbook fixing the exact point. Ask whether that point lands during GRN 7104 or after it, and see our clinical credentialing guide for the steps.
WilmU's 750 FNP hours are the sum of GRN 7121 to GRN 7124, so as published, the clinical hour count and your preceptor time begin with Family Practicum I, not the lab course.
Certificate students: the GAP analysis and GRN 7104
The FNP Graduate Certificate serves master's- or doctorally prepared nurses and runs a GAP analysis over GRN 7101 through GRN 7104, a block it labels 15 credits. On that same page, missing GAP courses are described both as something you can finish during the program and as a prerequisite to complete first. The Assistant Chair of the FNP program can tell you which reading applies to you.
One detail is easy to miss. The certificate's GAP list ends at GRN 7104, yet the GRN 7121 entry also names GRN 7105 as a prerequisite. If you are entering through the certificate, confirm where GRN 7105 falls in your plan before the practicum term is fixed.
PMHNP certificate applicants need B grades or better across that same four-course block before they start, so GRN 7104 is the health assessment piece on both certificate routes. Our PMHNP practicums page covers what follows it on that track.
Questions to settle while you are in GRN 7104
- Which term does
GRN 7121fall in on my MyWilmU Degree Works plan? - Does the laboratory work in
GRN 7104include any in-person sessions, and where? - Is
GRN 7104one of the FNP courses that carries an associated course fee? - When does the program handbook place the background check and drug screen?
- What does the NP Program Chair want to see about a proposed preceptor and site, and by when?
- For certificate students: where does
GRN 7105sit in my plan? - If I pause my studies, is
GRN 7104among the courses I would repeat?
That last question comes from an MSN-FNP rule: anyone away from study for more than a year repeats selected courses. WilmU does not list which, and a lab-based assessment course is a sensible one to ask about. The rule sits beside the five-year limit for finishing the program. Some FNP courses also carry an associated fee that WilmU mentions without naming the courses; the placement costs guide rounds up what else students pay for.
How we use your GRN 7104 semester
Your lab semester is our best working window, whether your placement starts with WilmU faculty or with a search you launch. We look for family practice clinicians whose patients span the lifespan, within reach of your home and licensed in a state your RN license covers, and we test each one against Delaware's standard for APRN program preceptors.
While you finish GRN 7104 and GRN 7105, we map the health system's intake, collect the preceptor's license, credentials and contact details in one place, and have the packet ready for faculty review before GRN 7121 opens. The decision on each preceptor and site rests with WilmU faculty, and our packet is built so they can make it on the first read. Share your expected practicum term through the contact form.
Questions WilmU students ask
Is GRN 7104 a clinical practicum at WilmU?
No. The catalog places GRN 7104 in a clinical laboratory setting, and WilmU's 750 FNP clinical hours are counted in the four practicums, GRN 7121 to GRN 7124. The lab course is one of the prerequisites that has to be complete before Family Practicum I begins.
Can I take GRN 7105 in a different semester from GRN 7104?
The catalog pairs the two in one semester, and the first family practicum requires both. If transfer credit, a repeat or a break has pulled them apart on your plan, ask the NP Program Chair how the sequence works for you before registering.
Do I need a preceptor for GRN 7104?
The catalog describes GRN 7104 as a lab-setting course, not a precepted practicum. Preceptors come in with GRN 7121. The lab semester is a good time to line up that first preceptor, since health systems' own intake steps and WilmU's credentialing both take time to clear.
What grade do I need in GRN 7104?
For the FNP and PMHNP Graduate Certificates, the prerequisite courses, health assessment among them, need a B or higher. For the MSN-FNP, the catalog's stated rule is a 3.0 GPA kept throughout the program. Our grades and progression page covers probation and repeats.
Does GRN 7104 count toward Delaware APRN licensure?
Delaware's Board expects separate coursework in health assessment, pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology from every APRN program, and it checks the official transcript your school sends. WilmU's lab-based assessment course fills the first of those roles in the FNP sequence; the Board itself makes the licensing decision when you apply.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Wilmington University's own program and curriculum pages, the 2026-27 graduate catalog, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences policies and the State Licensures by Program page. Your NP Program Chair, your course faculty and the College have the final word.
A WilmU practicum coming up? Your preceptor search starts here.
Tell us your WilmU program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. Whether WilmU's faculty help with your placement or you are starting the search yourself, we find preceptors who fit the course, check the health system's own intake steps, and organize the preceptor's license and credentials well before the first day.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan for
GRN 7121toGRN 7124, psychiatric mental health forGRN 7221toGRN 7224, doctorally prepared for the DNP - Clinicians who meet Delaware's rule for APRN program preceptors: an active APRN, PA, pharmacist or physician license in a comparable focus
- Close to home, in a state where you hold an RN license, with each system's onboarding mapped out early
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