Samford clinical compliance: the full clearance list
Samford's 2026-2027 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook sets one clearance list for graduate nursing students: a complete Health Data Record with required immunizations, TB testing, a yearly flu shot, American Heart Association BLS with hands-on skills, a background check and drug testing, health and liability insurance, and an RN license in every clinical state. Clinical sites can add to it, and you refresh it each semester.
Get a site that fits your clearance
Tell us your program and your next clinical term. We match the site's onboarding to your Samford file.
The whole list in one table
Each line below comes from Samford's graduate handbook, the 2025-2026 Graduate Catalog or the College of Health Sciences forms. Items with a page of their own are linked further down.
| Item | What Samford asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Health Data Record | Complete, with all required immunizations, at admission and whenever clinical facilities require it | Graduate handbook |
| Physical examination | CHS Physical Examination Form, submitted before the first day of class | CHS form |
| Immunizations | Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B and Tdap, on the CHS Immunization Form | Graduate handbook |
| Tuberculosis | Documented tuberculin testing, on the CHS Tuberculosis Form | Graduate handbook |
| Influenza | Vaccination every year, in the fall semester | Graduate Catalog |
| COVID-19 | Strongly recommended, not required by the University; sites may require it | CHS Immunization Form |
| BLS | American Heart Association, with hands-on skills; online courses not accepted | Handbook and catalog |
| RN license | Current and unencumbered in your state of practice and every clinical state | Graduate handbook |
| Background check and drug testing | Through the school's contracted compliance company, plus any site extras | Graduate handbook |
| Health insurance | Proof of personal coverage, or the University plan | Graduate handbook |
| Liability insurance | Required in the handbook, not required in the catalog | Both, in conflict |
| Student badge | Samford logo, your name, graduate nursing student, your track and the school's name | Graduate handbook |
The Health Data Record and the CHS forms
The Health Data Record is the core of your file. The handbook wants it complete, with every required immunization, when you are admitted and again whenever a clinical facility asks. It is built from three College of Health Sciences forms linked on the Graduate Student Services page: the Physical Examination Form, the Immunization Form and the Tuberculosis Form.
The physical form carries its own deadline: the exam has to be done and the form turned in before the first day of class. After that, the handbook puts upkeep on you. Each semester, ahead of registration, you bring every health item up to date so that nothing lapses before the term is over.
That second rule is easy to miss. A TB result or BLS card that runs out in October has to be renewed before you register for fall, not on the day it lapses.
Immunizations, TB testing and the flu shot
The handbook asks for proof of immunity or vaccination for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, plus documented TB testing and a flu vaccine. The catalog times the flu shot to the fall semester every year.
COVID-19 vaccination is strongly recommended on the CHS Immunization Form, though the University does not require it. The same form warns that clinical sites may require it and that going without can delay or prevent a placement.
A Samford exemption stops at the site's door. According to the handbook, a clinical site can turn away an unvaccinated student whatever exemption or accommodation the University approved, so check each site's vaccine policy before a preceptor there commits.
BLS the way Samford accepts it
Samford asks for current Basic Life Support certification that includes hands-on skills training. The catalog adds two limits: only American Heart Association certification counts, and an online course will not be accepted. If your course had any online portion, confirm with Graduate Student Services that your card meets both conditions before you register.
Keep the card's expiration in view. A BLS card that lapses in the middle of a rotation breaks the rule about staying current through the end of the term, and replacing it means booking an in-person skills session on short notice.
Nurse anesthesia students follow a different list: BLS, ACLS and PALS before clinical rotations, with the certification courses provided by the program, according to the Class of 2029 handbook. See the nurse anesthesia page.
License, background check and insurance
Three items carry enough detail for pages of their own. Each one also has a way of surfacing late, so read the linked page before your first rotation request.
- An active RN license with no restrictions is needed both where you work and in each state that hosts one of your rotations. RN license requirements covers multistate licenses and moves.
- Screening is handled by the vendor Samford contracts for compliance, and any fingerprinting or repeat screening a site adds comes out of your pocket. See background check and drug testing.
- Health insurance means proof of your own plan or the University plan, and liability insurance is where the handbook and the catalog disagree. See liability and health insurance.
Site rules on top of Samford's
Samford's handbook asks graduate students to know and honor each training agency's own policies, and a good number of agencies run separate onboarding. Three Alabama examples, each from the health system's own student information:
- Huntsville Hospital Health System has a section for nurse practitioner students. Its registration asks whether you have identified a preceptor and requires enrollment in a program with a current affiliation agreement, followed by orientation modules and a paid student badge.
- Flowers Hospital in Dothan, per a saved version of its clinical page, collects an online application and later a screening, BLS and vaccine packet for its HR office a week or more ahead of the first shift.
- Children's of Alabama requires certain nursing students to attend an orientation and uses its own preceptorship request form.
Outside Alabama the details change, but the pattern holds: Samford's list makes you eligible, and the site's list gets you through the door. The placement process page shows where compliance sits in the full sequence.
How we keep your clearance ahead of each rotation
Samford students choose us because we treat compliance as part of the placement itself. When your placement advisor proposes a site, the site's onboarding steps arrive with it.
- Check your Samford file against the termWe compare your immunization, TB, flu, BLS and license dates with the last day of the rotation term, so renewals happen before registration.
- Match sites to your recordWe confirm each site's vaccine rules, extra screening and orientation before asking a preceptor there to commit.
- Run the site's onboardingWe keep the site's forms and deadlines moving alongside your clinical rotation request, so both are finished before your first day.
- Stay on callIf a site's requirements change mid-semester, we help you close the gap or move to a replacement site that fits the same course.
Questions Samford students ask
Can I use a Red Cross BLS card for Samford clinicals?
The 2025-2026 Graduate Catalog says BLS certification must be obtained through the American Heart Association, and the handbook asks for hands-on skills training. A card from another organization does not match that wording. If you already hold one, ask Graduate Student Services before your next registration rather than finding out at a site.
Is the COVID-19 vaccine required for Samford nursing clinicals?
Samford itself does not require it. The CHS Immunization Form strongly recommends the vaccine and cautions that sites may insist on it, and that being unvaccinated can hold up or block a placement. In practice the answer depends on the site, so ask before a preceptor there commits.
How often do I update compliance as a Samford graduate student?
Every semester. The handbook's rule is to refresh your health records before you register, covering you until the semester closes. The flu shot comes due each fall, and BLS, TB testing and your license renew on their own cycles, so check each expiration date against the term's last day.
Who reviews compliance for Samford graduate nursing students?
Graduate Student Services includes a staff role devoted to student services and compliance, and screening goes through the vendor the school contracts. For a question about a specific item, start with Graduate Student Services; who does what maps the other roles.
What does a Samford graduate nursing badge need to show?
The handbook lists five things: the Samford University logo, your name, the words graduate nursing student, your specific track, and Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing. Some health systems, Huntsville Hospital among them, also issue their own student badge as part of onboarding.
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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