The connection that turns your Samford clinical into a confirmed preceptor.

Samford's nurse practitioner pages say personal and professional connections are essential to clinical placements close to home. Not every nurse has an NP or physician ready to say yes. We find one near you who fits your exact Samford course, and we prepare what Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement when your site needs one.

Get matched How it works

Start your placement plan

Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course begins. A placement advisor answers with preceptor options near you.

750clinical hours in Samford's FNP and PMHNP plans of study

1,050clinical hours in the FNP BSN to DNP plan of study

34states, plus DC, where Samford accepts NP applicants

Samford holds the agreements. The connection near home is the part we supply.

The Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing keeps affiliation agreements with hundreds of clinical agencies, mostly across the Southeast, and it will consider new agreements when a preceptor near you is available. What its program pages ask of you is the connection itself: a nurse practitioner, physician or other qualified clinician willing to teach you through a whole clinical course, close enough to home to make the weekly hours work.

That is the search we run. We look for a preceptor whose practice fits the course in front of you, whether that is the adult primary care of NURG 723, the family practice of NURG 724 or the psychiatric work of NURG 788, confirm license and availability, and hand you the details Samford asks for. The connections guide sets out Samford's own words.

Samford reviews every rotation request and approves every preceptor and site. We make sure what you submit is complete, well matched and early.

From your Samford track to a cleared clinical

Four steps, planned around Samford's plans of study and on-campus intensives.

Your track and term

FNP or PMHNP, your entry point, the clinical course that comes next and the term it opens.

A preceptor near home

Adult primary care, family practice or psychiatric preceptors near you who fit that course.

A complete rotation request

Preceptor, license and site details ready for Samford, and an affiliation agreement started early if one is needed.

Cleared and counting hours

Health records and background checks current, site onboarding done, a replacement ready if plans change.

Pick your Samford program

Your clinical courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From Samford's catalog, plans of study and program pages.

750clinical hours in the FNP MSN, certificate and MSN to DNP (Samford plans of study)

NURG 723150 h NURG 724300 h NURG 730300 h

Who precepts: Primary care preceptors Samford approves, adult patients first, then across the lifespan
Where: Family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics and women's health near where you live
Start looking: Early: Samford calls your own connections essential to placements close to home

Plan my FNP (MSN, certificate, MSN-DNP) placement FNP (MSN, certificate, MSN-DNP) guide

1,050clinical hours in the FNP BSN to DNP (Samford plan of study)

NURG 716225 h NURG 717225 h NURG 718300 h NURG 730300 h

Who precepts: Primary care preceptors Samford approves, across four clinical semesters
Where: Primary care practices and clinics near home, sometimes across two or three sites
Start looking: A semester or more before NURG 716, then one step ahead of each course

Plan my FNP BSN to DNP placement FNP BSN to DNP guide

750clinical hours in the PMHNP tracks (Samford plans of study)

NURG 76775 h NURG 788150 h NURG 789225 h NURG 790300 h

Who precepts: A psychiatric-mental health preceptor Samford approves, and a therapy preceptor for NURG 767
Where: Outpatient psychiatry, community mental health and behavioral health programs
Start looking: Before NURG 767 in the first spring, then ahead of each clinical course

Plan my PMHNP placement PMHNP guide

The Samford steps between you and your first clinical day

Named the way Samford names them, from the program pages, plans of study and the 2026-27 graduate handbook.

Samford systemClinical placement processThe Samford NP clinical placement path in order: a preceptor near home, affiliation agreements, the rotation request, compliance and the NP Homeroom rules.Samford systemConnections and clinical placementSamford says professional and personal connections are essential to NP clinical placement. The passage in full, what each sentence asks and how to meet it.Samford systemAffiliation agreementsHow Samford affiliation agreements work for NP clinicals: hundreds of agencies, mostly in the Southeast, and how to request a new one for your preceptor's site.Samford systemClinical rotation requestsHow Samford clinical rotation requests work for NP students, why the handbook says one can be denied on state rules, and what to do if you move mid-program.Samford systemNP Homeroom and Clinical ManualWhat Samford's Nurse Practitioner Homeroom in Canvas and the NP Clinical Manual hold, what Samford publishes openly, and where each clinical rule is found.ComplianceClinical compliance requirementsEvery item Samford's graduate nursing handbook asks for before clinicals: Health Data Record, immunizations, TB, flu, AHA BLS, CHS forms, license and insurance.Other statesClinicals outside AlabamaSamford NP clinicals outside Alabama: the RN license rule, state rules that can stop a rotation, the 16 excluded states and what to do before you move.IntensivesOn-campus intensivesHow many on-campus intensives each Samford NP program requires, how long they run, where they fall in your plan of study and how to plan clinicals around them.

All Samford clinical systems

Your Samford track, your clinical plan

Every Samford nurse practitioner pathway, and the preceptors each one calls for.

FNPFNP MSN (BSN to MSN)Samford's BSN to MSN FNP: 47 credits over six semesters, 750 clinical hours in NURG 723, 724 and 730, the intensives, and when to line up each preceptor.FNPFNP BSN to DNPSamford's three-year FNP BSN to DNP: the full plan of study, 1,050 clinical hours in NURG 716, 717, 718 and 730, the 750-hour conflict and the DNP project.PMHNPPMHNP MSNSamford's online PMHNP MSN term by term: NURG 767 therapy hours, the NURG 788 to 790 psychiatric clinicals, intensives, conflicts and when to find preceptors.Post-master'sMSN to DNP (FNP or PMHNP)Samford's post-master's DNP for FNP or PMHNP: 750 clinical hours, NURG 760 and 761, entry dates, conflicts, and when each track needs its first preceptor.CertificateFNP and PMHNP certificatesSamford's FNP and PMHNP post-graduate certificates: credits (and the PMHNP 26 vs 37 conflict), the gap analysis, the 750 clinical hours and preceptor timing.ADN entryADN to MSN (FNP and PMHNP)Samford's ADN to MSN for FNP and PMHNP: NURG 505 and 506 first, then the same 750 clinical hours as BSN entry, and when to line up each preceptor.

All Samford programs

Each clinical course, and the preceptor it needs

What every Samford NP clinical course asks of a preceptor and a site.

Clinical courseNURG 723 Advanced Practice Clinical INURG 723 at Samford: the 150-hour adult FNP clinical in a summer term, which tracks take it, what its preceptor needs and how to line up the site in time.Clinical courseNURG 724 Advanced Practice Clinical IINURG 724 at Samford: 300 FNP clinical hours across the lifespan in one fall term, which tracks take it, the weekly load, and how to cover children and adults.Clinical courseNURG 730 NP PracticumNURG 730 NP Practicum at Samford: the 6-credit, 300-hour spring clinical ending every FNP track, with calendar math, graduation timing and preceptor tips.Clinical courseFNP BSN to DNP clinicalsSamford's FNP BSN to DNP clinicals: NURG 716, 717, 718 and 730, the plan's 1,050 hours versus the web page's 750 minimum, term by term with preceptor planning.PMHNPPMHNP clinicals (NURG 788, 789, 790)How Samford's PMHNP clinicals run: NURG 788 (150 hours), NURG 789 (225) and NURG 790 (300), when each falls by track, and how to line up psychiatric preceptors.NURG 767NURG 767 psychotherapy hoursNURG 767 Psychotherapeutic Frameworks and Modalities: Samford's plans list 75 clinical hours, the catalog a minimum of 60. What it means and how to plan.

When the term is close

Quick help for the weeks that decide whether a clinical starts on time.

Placement helpCan't find a preceptorSamford NP clinical course close and no preceptor? What to do this week: who to contact at Samford, how to widen the search safely and when to bring in help.Placement helpBehind on clinical hoursBehind on hours in a Samford clinical course? How to measure the gap, what Incomplete and In Progress mean, ways to make time up and replacing a preceptor.Placement helpOwn search vs placement helpA fair side-by-side for Samford NP students: finding a preceptor through your own connections or with a placement service, and when each route fits best.Placement helpHow it worksStep by step, how we find a Samford NP student a preceptor near home, prepare the rotation request details and stay with you through the last clinical hour.

Before you start

Does Samford find preceptors for nurse practitioner students?

Samford holds affiliation agreements with hundreds of clinical agencies and approves every rotation, and its NP pages say personal and professional connections are essential to securing placements close to home. Students may ask Samford for a new agreement when a preceptor near them is available. We supply that connection.

What exactly do you do for a Samford student?

We find preceptors near you who fit your Samford clinical course, confirm license and availability for the term, and prepare the preceptor and site details Samford needs, including what a new affiliation agreement requires. If a preceptor steps away, a replacement search starts right away.

Who approves the preceptor you find?

Samford does. The school reviews each clinical rotation request, can decline one on state rules, and approves the preceptor and site. Our job is to make the request complete and well matched so that review goes smoothly.

I live outside Alabama. Can you help?

Yes, in the states where Samford accepts NP applicants and your RN license is valid. Samford lists 16 states it does not accept NP applicants from. See the state authorization guide before you plan a site.

When should I start looking for a preceptor?

As early as your plan of study allows. A new affiliation agreement takes time, clinical courses need 10 to 20 hours a week, and good preceptors near home fill up, so a term or more of lead time before each clinical course is sensible.

Samford says connections are essential. We are the connection.

Tell us your Samford track, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare the details Samford needs to approve the rotation, including a new affiliation agreement where one is needed.

Preceptors matched to the course: adult primary care for NURG 723, family practice across the lifespan for NURG 724, psychiatric care for NURG 788
Preceptor, license and site details ready for your clinical rotation request
In your own community, anywhere Samford accepts you and your RN license is valid

Start your placement plan

Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.