Finding a Samford NP preceptor in the Birmingham metro
Samford's campus sits in Homewood, minutes from UAB Medicine, UAB St. Vincent's, Baptist Health, Grandview and Children's of Alabama. Living this close shortens the drive, not the search: an NP preceptor still comes through your own connections and one of Samford's affiliation agreements, and most big Birmingham systems post no process for NP students from other schools.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Samford program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Samford course.
Seven counties around Samford's Homewood campus
The Census Bureau draws the Birmingham metro as seven counties: Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount, Walker, Chilton and Bibb, with a combined estimate of 1,197,766 people in July 2025, about 1.5 percent above the 2020 base. Samford calls Homewood a suburban community of about 26,000; it shares Jefferson County with Birmingham, Hoover, Bessemer and Trussville.
By approximate road routing, downtown Birmingham is roughly 6 miles from the Lakeshore Drive campus, Hoover roughly 9 and Pelham roughly 17, while Bibb County's seat, the metro's farthest, is roughly 56 miles out. Cullman, roughly 57 miles north, sits in the same Census combined area and is covered in our North Alabama guide.
Being local helps most at the on-campus intensives, which number two or three on FNP plans and one or two on PMHNP plans, because you sleep in your own bed.
Big Birmingham systems: landmarks, not published routes
Grandview Medical Center, Baptist Health, UAB St. Vincent's and UAB Medicine publish no portal, agreement step, preceptor rule or deadline for NP students enrolled elsewhere. Treat them as landmarks: a request there moves only through Samford's process and a clinician who has agreed to teach you.
Use current names. Ascension St. Vincent's became UAB St. Vincent's on November 1, 2024. Brookwood Baptist Health is now Baptist Health, majority owned by Orlando Health since October 1, 2024, and unrelated to Montgomery's Baptist Health. Grandview is still a Community Health Systems hospital, and UAB Medical West opened a new Bessemer hospital in August 2024.
| System | In the metro | Its own pages |
|---|---|---|
| UAB Medicine | UAB Hospital, Highlands, Callahan Eye; UAB Medical West, Bessemer | No process for outside NP students |
| UAB St. Vincent's | Birmingham, East, Oneonta, Clanton, Pell City | No process for outside NP students |
| Baptist Health | Brookwood, Princeton, Shelby (Alabaster), Walker (Jasper) | No current student page |
| Grandview Medical Center | Birmingham | No student page |
| Children's of Alabama | Birmingham | School-sent Preceptorship Request Form and orientation, written for undergraduates |
| Birmingham VA | Medical center plus clinics such as Bessemer and Jasper | VA affiliation agreement and a school-issued list naming each trainee |
| Cooper Green Mercy Health Services | Birmingham, outpatient only | An interest form that includes preceptorships |
Where a Birmingham page states a rule, the school's agreement comes first and a committed preceptor second, and a dedicated search supplies the preceptor.
Health centers and shortage designations inside the metro
HRSA lists 58 active health center sites here, run by eight organizations. Cahaba Medical Care has the most, 29, from Bessemer, Birmingham and Fairfield to Alabaster, Maplesville and the Bibb County towns of Brent, West Blocton and Woodstock. Alabama Regional Medical Services, Christ Health Center and Aletheia House work inside Jefferson County, and Capstone Health covers four Walker County towns.
Shelby, Madison and Houston are the only Alabama counties without a countywide primary care shortage designation. Jefferson holds a low-income primary care designation scored 12, and Walker and Bibb designations scored 17, on HRSA's 0 to 25 scale. For mental health, Jefferson, St. Clair and Blount sit in one low-income catchment, scored 19, which HRSA lists as proposed for withdrawal.
Every county is metro under the USDA codes, yet HRSA treats Bibb, Blount, Chilton and Walker as rural. Alabama's preceptor credit covers only medically underserved rural areas, so it rarely fits a Jefferson County office; see the tax credit guide before raising it with an outlying preceptor.
Matching Birmingham settings to Samford's clinical courses
Each clinical course calls for a different preceptor, and clinical weeks run 10 to 20 hours. Every setting below still needs Samford's approval and an agreement covering the site.
| Samford course | Hours in the plan | Metro settings to approach |
|---|---|---|
NURG 723 FNP Clinical: Adult | 150 | Internal medicine and family practices; Cahaba, ARMS or Christ Health Center sites |
NURG 724 FNP Clinical: Across the Lifespan | 300 | Family practices and health centers that see children; pediatric offices |
NURG 716 to NURG 718 (BSN to DNP) | 225, 225, 300 | The same primary care mix over three semesters |
NURG 730 NP Practicum | 300 | One strong primary care site for the full term |
NURG 767 therapy hours | 75 in the plans, 60 in the catalog | Outpatient therapy and counseling practices |
NURG 788 to NURG 790 (PMHNP) | 150, 225, 300 | Outpatient psychiatry; Hill Crest Behavioral Health Services is in the state hospital directory |
Children's of Alabama is the metro's pediatric hospital, but its published preceptorship steps target undergraduates, so outpatient family and pediatric practices are the more direct start for the pediatric share of NURG 724.
Many programs, one pool of Birmingham preceptors
Birmingham clinicians hear from several schools. UAB's School of Nursing says it helps its own MSN and DNP students secure sites from among more than 5,000 clinical affiliates, and Samford's BSN and nurse anesthesia students train at sites Samford chooses, as our BSN clinicals page explains.
An early start pays off even with a short drive. Samford's agreements number in the hundreds, most with Southeastern agencies, and students may ask for new ones where a preceptor nearby is available, and it counts a student's own network as vital for training near home (Samford's connections line). Samford's post-graduate NP residency, with partners in Jefferson, Shelby and Pickens counties, begins only after graduation.
Why Birmingham-area Samford students choose us
A short commute does not produce a willing preceptor; an early, direct search does, and that is what metro students hire us for. We map Jefferson's systems, the Shelby suburbs and the Walker and Bibb health centers against your plan of study, then contact clinicians until one commits to your term. Before Samford sees anything, your placement advisor packages the preceptor's credentials and the practice information its reviewers look for, with time left should the practice need a new agreement.
Once the term starts, we track your compliance dates, pick up the phone when something slips and recruit a backup if your preceptor has to step aside. Read how it works, then tell us your course in the form below.
Questions Samford students ask
Can a Samford NP student do clinicals at UAB Hospital?
UAB Medicine has no public route for NP students from outside programs, and UAB's own School of Nursing places its students across its affiliates. A Samford student can train at a UAB site only if Samford approves it and an affiliation agreement covers it, so the realistic route is a named UAB clinician willing to precept, raised through your rotation request.
Does Samford place NP students at Birmingham sites because the campus is nearby?
No. Samford assigns clinical sites to its BSN and nurse anesthesia students, but NP students secure preceptors through their own connections and Samford's affiliation agreements wherever they live, and each preceptor and site then goes through Samford's review. Living in Homewood or Hoover changes the commute, not who finds the preceptor.
Which Birmingham-area counties have rural clinics?
HRSA's shortage records count Bibb, Blount, Chilton and Walker as rural and Shelby and St. Clair as partly rural, though all seven are metro counties. Beyond Jefferson and north Shelby, look to small-town hospitals and clinics around Oneonta, Clanton, Jasper, Pell City and the Bibb County seat.
Is the Birmingham VA open to Samford NP students?
The Birmingham VA's trainee page requires VA forms and VA mandatory training before any trainee starts, and VA rules call for an academic affiliation agreement with the school plus a school-issued list naming each student. Only Samford can say whether such an agreement is in place. The VA's NP residencies are post-graduate programs run with UAB.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Samford's own program pages, plans of study, the 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook and Alabama rules. Your course, your program coordinator and Graduate Student Services have the final word.
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 forNURG 724, psychiatric care forNURG 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
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