Samford NP clinicals in Kentucky
Samford accepts NP applicants from Kentucky, and its disclosure judges the NP tracks sufficient for Kentucky licensure. The Kentucky Board of Nursing, KBN, leaves programs based in other states outside its approval system, even when their students train in Kentucky clinics. The condition that matters sits with whoever supervises you, who needs Kentucky APRN licensure.
Find a Kentucky preceptor
Tell us your city, your Samford program and the clinical course you are planning for.
Kentucky in Samford's disclosure, and one missing row
Kentucky's entry in Samford's current NP disclosure (as of September 3, 2025) has no asterisk, and the NP program pages do not count it among closed states. That entry links to KBN's page on initial APRN licensure.
| Samford program | Kentucky applicants | Licensure in Samford's disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| FNP MSN and ADN to MSN | Accepted | Meets |
| PMHNP MSN and ADN to MSN | Accepted | Meets |
| FNP BSN to DNP; FNP or PMHNP MSN to DNP | Accepted | Meets |
| FNP and PMHNP certificates | Accepted | Not published |
| Nurse anesthesia DNP | Accepted, with conditions | Meets |
One older Samford document leaves Kentucky out entirely: the State Authorization PDF, whose title marks a January 2020 revision, has no Kentucky row in any column. The current NP disclosure and program pages both treat Kentucky as open, and the state authorization guide puts the two documents side by side.
What KBN asks of programs based outside Kentucky
KBN publishes a regulatory overview for out-of-state programs, and its answers are short. The table condenses them.
| Topic | KBN's position |
|---|---|
| Approval | KBN approves no out-of-state program and requires none to seek approval, including programs with no Kentucky presence that run clinicals in Kentucky |
| Scope | Prelicensure programs originating in Kentucky, and among graduate programs only those that lead to licensure |
| Nurses rotating in from other states | An exemption in KRS 314.101, if the school is a SARA institution or licensed by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education |
| Faculty and preceptors of online MSN and DNP APRN students | Active, unencumbered Kentucky RN and APRN licenses; the Kentucky APRN license alone for those residing in another compact state |
NC-SARA's directory shows Samford as a participating institution. Even so, check with Samford how the exemption and the license condition apply to your own rotation before your clinical rotation request goes in.
Kentucky preceptors and prescribing agreements
AANP puts Kentucky in its reduced practice group. In its account, qualifying Kentucky NPs hold a pair of physician agreements before they prescribe, for controlled and non-controlled drugs alike, unless KBN exempts them, and in the first licensed year an NP's choice of employer setting is restricted. So ask how long a prospective preceptor has held a Kentucky APRN license before you plan a rotation around them.
Kentucky practices to look for: an adult-focused primary care clinic for NURG 723; a family clinic with pediatric visits for NURG 724; a busy practice with room for the 300-hour NURG 730; and, on the PMHNP side, a psychiatric prescriber through NURG 788 to NURG 790 plus a therapy practice for NURG 767. Samford approves every preceptor, as our preceptor requirements page explains.
Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Bowling Green
Kentucky's multistate licenses date from its compact start on January 19, 2018, and one issued to a Kentucky resident is honored in Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia. Illinois sits outside the compact, and West Virginia and Missouri, though compact states, are both closed to Samford NP applicants. RN license requirements has the details.
| Metro | Kentucky residents | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville/Jefferson County | 1,121,085 | Reaches into southern Indiana |
| Lexington-Fayette | 535,174 | Wholly in Kentucky |
| Cincinnati (Northern Kentucky) | 474,868 | Metro centered in Ohio |
| Bowling Green | 197,180 | South central Kentucky |
Students usually try St. Elizabeth Healthcare, UK HealthCare, Norton Healthcare, UofL Health and Baptist Health, which covers Kentucky and southern Indiana. Nothing here implies any of them works with Samford, and Kentucky's Baptist Health is a different system from the Baptist Health hospitals in Birmingham.
Why Samford students in Kentucky choose us
Samford's NP pages treat a student's own connections as the route to a placement near home. In Kentucky we bring that connection with KBN's licensing rule built in. Your placement advisor confirms the preceptor's Kentucky APRN license before any introduction, matches the practice to your exact Samford course, and gives Samford a complete preceptor and site file with enough lead time for any new affiliation agreement. We stay on call through the term. Begin here.
Questions Samford students ask
My preceptor lives in Indiana. What Kentucky license do they need?
Indiana belongs to the compact, so a preceptor living there can practice on the Indiana multistate RN license, but KBN's overview still calls for a Kentucky APRN license when they supervise your online APRN clinicals in Kentucky. A Kentucky resident needs the Kentucky RN and APRN licenses together. Ask to see the license before the first clinical day.
Why does Samford's State Authorization list skip Kentucky?
Samford has not published a reason. The list dates from 2020 and also lacks Delaware and North Carolina, although its text covers 49 SARA member states, and NC-SARA counts Kentucky as a member. Samford's 2025 NP disclosure and current program pages treat Kentucky as open. Anyone uneasy about the gap can put the question to Graduate Student Services in writing.
Can I do clinicals in Tennessee from Bowling Green?
Tennessee honors your Kentucky multistate license, so licensure is settled. What is unsettled is a 2026 Tennessee bill calling for a two-year moratorium on approving programs from other states that want to place students there; whether it became law could not be confirmed. Read our Tennessee guide and talk to Samford before you ask a Tennessee preceptor.
Does Kentucky have a preceptor tax credit?
Our state research recorded none for Kentucky. Alabama's credit, the one Samford-area preceptors hear about, is tied to rural Alabama sites in medically underserved areas. In Kentucky the case for precepting rests on the student and the paperwork: a clear course, fixed dates and a Kentucky APRN license confirmed in advance.
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
Start your placement plan
Program, city and start date is all we need to begin.