Samford clinical systems, courses and rules, one guide at a time

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Samford Preceptor placement team

These guides take Samford University's clinical process apart into the pieces a nurse practitioner student actually handles: the connections Samford calls essential, affiliation agreements and rotation requests, the NP Homeroom, each NURG clinical course and its hours, the compliance list, the Alabama rules around your preceptor, and the Samford tools and dates you plan by. Each is built from Samford's program pages, plans of study and 2026-27 graduate handbook, and each says plainly where Samford publishes nothing.

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Samford clinical systems. These guides take Samford University's clinical process apart into the pieces a nurse practitioner student actually handles: the connections Samford calls essen — Every Samford clinical guide in one place: connections and affiliation agreements, rotation requests, NURG clinical hours, compliance, Alabama rules.

Where Samford's official detail lives

Three kinds of Samford documents carry what is public about NP clinicals. The program pages describe affiliation agreements, connections, intensives and weekly hours. The plans of study, dated December 2025, give each clinical course and its hours. The 2026-27 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook sets the compliance, license and conduct rules for nurse practitioner and non-APRN tracks.

The day-to-day detail of NP clinicals, including preceptor forms and deadlines, lives in the NP Clinical Manual inside the Nurse Practitioner Homeroom in Canvas, open only to enrolled students. Wherever that gap matters, a guide names it and sends you to the Homeroom, your program coordinator or Graduate Student Services.

Where to begin

First time through? The placement process guide walks the whole route, connections and clinical placement explains what Samford expects you to bring, and affiliation agreements covers what happens when your preceptor's clinic is new to Samford. Once you know which course comes next, open the clinical hours planner to see that course's hours and the kind of preceptor it calls for.

Preceptors and placement

Clinical placement processThe Samford NP clinical placement path in order: a preceptor near home, affiliation agreements, the rotation request, compliance and the NP Homeroom rules.Connections 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.Affiliation 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.Clinical 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.NP 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.Preceptor requirementsWho can precept a Samford nurse practitioner student: Alabama's APRN preceptor definition, course-by-course fit and what to confirm before you ask.Clinicals where you workCan Samford NP students do clinicals where they work? What Samford publishes, the Nurse Leader DNP rule and how to keep student hours apart from your job.Clinicals 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.Travel for clinicalsSamford does not arrange or reimburse clinical travel. How often NP students drive, what the trips cost and how to keep your preceptor close to home.On-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.Who does whatEvery Samford role in an NP clinical course, from Graduate Student Services to the clinical coordinator, faculty and preceptor, and what to ask each one.

Hours and clinical courses

Clinical hours by programSamford clinical hours by program: 750 in the FNP and PMHNP MSN, certificate and MSN to DNP plans, 1,050 in the FNP BSN to DNP, and each NURG course's hours.The 750 clinical hoursWhat Samford's minimum of 750 clinical hours at 10 to 20 hours a week means in each FNP and PMHNP clinical course, term by term, and where 750 does not apply.NURG 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.NURG 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.NURG 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.FNP 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.PMHNP 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 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.DNP 1,000 hoursSamford's DNP requires 1,000 post-baccalaureate practice hours. How up to 500 apply from an MSN or certificate, NP plan hours, and NURG 760 and NURG 761.

Compliance and clearance

Clinical 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.Background check and drug testingHow background checks and random drug testing work for Samford graduate nursing students: who runs them, site extras, who pays and what ineligibility means.RN license requirementsSamford requires an unencumbered RN license where you practice and in every clinical state. How the nurse compact fits, excluded states and ADN entry.Liability and health insuranceSamford's graduate handbook says personal liability insurance is required; its catalog says not required. The conflict, health insurance and the waiver.

Alabama rules

Alabama Board of Nursing rulesAlabama's 610-X-3 rules for APRN education in plain words: who counts as a preceptor, what a program must ensure, and what it means for Samford clinicals.Alabama NP practiceAlabama CRNP collaborative practice for Samford NP students: the 2026 move to chapter 610-X-9, physician oversight rules, and what they mean for your preceptor.Alabama preceptor tax creditHow Alabama's Preceptor Tax Incentive Program works for preceptors of Samford NP students: who qualifies, rural sites and how rotations are certified.

Terms, tools and support

2026-27 academic calendarSamford's 2026-27 College of Health Sciences graduate calendar: term dates, add/drop and withdrawal deadlines, registration, graduation and commencement.Online student toolsmySamford, Banner Self-Service, Degree Works, Canvas, Bulldog e-mail, ExamSoft and the Service Desk: the Samford systems online nursing students rely on.Grades and time limitsSamford graduate nursing grades explained: the B-or-better rule, Incomplete and In Progress, clinical failure, repeats, the time limit and transfer credit.Library and academic supportHarwell G. Davis Library's Nursing guide and databases, the Writing Center, the accessibility office and Samford CARES, explained for Samford nursing students.State authorization and excluded statesSamford's NP licensure disclosure, the 16 states it takes no NP applicants from, the RN to BSN and Nurse Leader lists, and what to do if you move mid-program.Accreditation: CCNE and COACCNE accredits Samford's BSN, MSN, DNP and post-graduate APRN certificate programs through June 30, 2035; COA covers nurse anesthesia. What that means for you.NP certification examsWhich boards Samford FNP and PMHNP graduates certify through, the pass rates Samford reports and what it leaves out, and how certification leads to CRNP approval.NP residency after graduationSamford's paid 12-month primary care NP residency places FNP graduates with community partners in three Alabama counties. How it differs from student clinicals.

Questions Samford students ask

Does Samford publish its NP clinical manual?

No. Samford's graduate handbook points NP students to the NP Clinical Manual in the Nurse Practitioner Homeroom in Canvas, which enrolled students can open. These guides rely on the program pages, plans of study and the handbook, and flag what to confirm in the Homeroom.

Who handles clinical placements for Samford NP students?

Samford's nursing directory lists a Coordinator of Clinical Education in the Nurse Practitioner Department, and Graduate Student Services handles admissions and registration questions. Samford reviews every clinical rotation request and approves each preceptor and site.

Is anything here specific to online students?

Almost everything. Samford's NP programs are online with short intensives in Birmingham, so clinicals happen near home. The pages on affiliation agreements, licenses, states and travel matter most when you live away from Birmingham.

When were these guides last checked?

The date at the foot of every guide is the day it was last compared with Samford's own pages. Where Samford's sources disagree, such as the FNP BSN to DNP hours, the guide lays out both versions.

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 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

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