Liability and health insurance for Samford nursing students
Samford's own documents disagree on liability insurance. The 2026-2027 Graduate Nursing Student Handbook says personal liability insurance for clinical practice "is required for all graduate nursing students," while the 2025-2026 Graduate Catalog calls it "not required" but "highly recommended." Health insurance is settled: you show proof of your own coverage or stay on the University plan.
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Liability insurance: the versions side by side
Four Samford documents speak to student liability coverage. Two are current graduate nursing sources, one governs nurse anesthesia, and one is an archived catalog that explains an older rule you may still hear about.
| Document | Edition | Your own policy | Samford's coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate Nursing Student Handbook | 2026-2027 | Required for all graduate nursing students | Covers liability from rendering or failing to render professional medical services |
| Graduate Catalog | 2025-2026, the newest graduate edition | Not required, highly recommended | Samford provides coverage |
| Nurse Anesthesia DNP Student Handbook | Class of 2029 | Not stated | Samford buys liability insurance for all students in a clinical program |
| Graduate Catalog, nurse anesthesia entry | 2024-2025, archived | Buy your own through the AANA insurance program | Not covered under Samford's insurance |
Both current graduate documents agree that Samford carries liability coverage. They part ways on whether you also need a policy in your own name: the handbook says yes for every graduate nursing student, and the catalog calls it optional but strongly advised.
Which one to follow
Work from the handbook. It is the newer document, it is written for graduate nursing students specifically, and its reading is the stricter one, so meeting it meets the catalog as well. When we checked in September 2026, no 2026-2027 graduate catalog had been published, which leaves the handbook as the only statement for this academic year.
Then confirm it. Ask your program coordinator or Graduate Student Services whether the requirement applies to your cohort and whether Samford expects a particular type of coverage or limit, because neither public document sets one. Keep the reply with your compliance records; who does what shows which office handles which question.
A personal policy satisfies both documents at once: it meets the handbook's requirement and follows the catalog's recommendation. Going without one relies on the older document.
What Samford's coverage says, and what it leaves open
The handbook's sentence on Samford's own coverage is brief: the university has coverage for liability arising from rendering, or failing to render, professional medical services. It does not publish limits, exclusions or how that coverage applies at a site outside Alabama.
That gap is why the personal policy question matters in practice. Clinical agencies run their own onboarding, and the handbook expects you to follow each agency's policies. If a site asks for proof of coverage, you want to know in advance which document to hand over, Samford's or your own.
Coverage you already hold is a separate question. The handbook speaks of liability insurance for clinical practice as a student, so ask your insurer or employer whether anything in your name extends to student clinical work before you assume it does.
Health insurance: proof or the University plan
Here the documents agree. The handbook requires every student in the school to show proof of current personal health insurance, and each semester it enrolls students in the University sponsored student health insurance plan unless they have waived coverage. The catalog describes the same choice: your own insurance, or automatic enrollment in the student plan.
The words to notice are each semester. Because the handbook ties enrollment to every term, confirm whether your waiver carries forward or has to be renewed, and put it on the calendar with your pre-registration compliance updates. Samford One Stop, the university's student financial services office, answers questions about charges on your student account.
Keep a current image of your insurance card with the rest of your clearance file. A site's onboarding packet may ask for it, and it is quicker to send than to track down on a clinic morning.
Nurse anesthesia students
Nurse anesthesia students have the clearest answer in the school. The Class of 2029 Nurse Anesthesia DNP Student Handbook says Samford purchases liability insurance for all students enrolled in a clinical program.
That reverses an older rule. The 2024-2025 Graduate Catalog, now archived, said nurse anesthesia students were not covered under Samford's insurance and had to buy professional liability coverage through the AANA insurance program. If an older cohort passes along the old rule, the current handbook is the one that applies to you; the program's Director of Clinical Services can confirm it. The nurse anesthesia page covers the rest of the CRNA clinical years.
One more difference: nurse anesthesia clinical sites are assigned by Samford, so site onboarding, including any proof of coverage a hospital asks for, runs through the program rather than through a preceptor you line up yourself.
Keeping insurance ready for every site
Insurance is two lines on a longer list. The full compliance list covers the Health Data Record, immunizations, TB, flu and BLS, and background check and drug testing covers screening.
Keep these ready before each rotation
- Your health insurance card, or confirmation that you are on the University plan for the term.
- Your personal liability policy's declarations page, showing the dates it covers.
- Samford's written answer on what it expects, if you asked for one.
- Any proof of coverage a site's onboarding asks for, sent before the site's deadline.
Samford students choose us because we handle the whole path to a rotation, and insurance questions tend to surface at the site stage. When your placement advisor proposes a preceptor and site, we find out what that site asks for at onboarding, including any proof of coverage, and add it to the timeline we keep with you.
When a site changes its onboarding partway through a term, we help you catch up or shift to another site that suits the course. Start with how it works or the form below.
Questions Samford students ask
Do Samford nursing students need malpractice insurance?
Samford's 2026-2027 graduate handbook says personal liability insurance for clinical practice is required for every graduate nursing student, while the 2025-2026 catalog calls it not required but highly recommended. Carrying a policy satisfies both, and your program coordinator can confirm which rule applies to your cohort.
Can I waive Samford's student health insurance?
Yes, if you have your own coverage. The handbook enrolls graduate nursing students in the University sponsored plan each semester unless they have waived it, and it requires proof of current personal health insurance. Check whether your waiver carries into later semesters or has to be repeated.
Does Samford's liability coverage protect me at my preceptor's clinic?
The handbook says Samford has coverage for liability from rendering or failing to render professional medical services, without publishing limits or site conditions. If a site asks for proof of coverage, ask Samford which document to provide, and consider a personal policy, which the handbook requires anyway.
Who pays for liability insurance in Samford's nurse anesthesia program?
Samford does, according to the current Class of 2029 nurse anesthesia handbook, which says the university purchases liability insurance for all students in a clinical program. An archived 2024-2025 catalog said the opposite, so if an older document or classmate tells you otherwise, check with the Director of Clinical Services.
Where do I send proof of insurance to Samford?
Follow the compliance instructions Samford sends to your Samford email. The current graduate handbook refers to the school's contracted compliance company without naming it, and Graduate Student Services fields compliance questions. A clinical site may also ask for proof directly during 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.
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