Samford's library and academic support for nursing students
Samford's University Library, in Harwell G. Davis Library, gives online nursing students the databases they use in class and in clinic, reached through a Samford e-mail account. Around it sit the Communication Resource Center for writing, the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations, and Samford CARES for counseling and student support. Here is what each one offers and how to use it from a distance.
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.
Harwell G. Davis Library from anywhere
Samford's website calls it the University Library; the campus building is Harwell G. Davis University Library, constructed in 1956. For an online nursing student the sign-in matters more than the building: the library's databases are available to Samford users with a valid Samford e-mail account, through the library's proxy sign-in.
Two services shrink the distance. Ask Us, the library's online question service, handles research and access questions, and ILLiad Interlibrary Loan brings in articles and books from outside Samford's collection. A nursing liaison librarian, with an office in Davis Library room 232, supports the nursing guides.
Start with the library's Nursing guide, a getting-started guide the library updated on August 25, 2026. There is also a separate guide for family nurse practitioner students, worth bookmarking if you are in the FNP track.
Databases you will use in class and in clinic
The Nursing guide lists these databases for Samford users. Several are point-of-care references that earn their place during clinical rotations, when your preceptor asks you to check a dose or a guideline between patients.
| Database | What it holds | Where it helps |
|---|---|---|
| UpToDate | Point-of-care clinical topic reviews | Clinical days in NURG 723, NURG 724 and the PMHNP clinicals |
| AccessMedicine | Medical textbooks and clinical references | Diagnosis and management questions |
| CINAHL Complete | Nursing and allied health literature | Papers and evidence-based practice work |
| PubMed | Biomedical literature | Literature searches in any course |
| Cochrane Library | Systematic reviews | Evidence summaries for practice questions |
| Joanna Briggs Institute EBP | Evidence-based practice resources | PICO(T) questions and DNP project groundwork |
| Visible Body | Interactive anatomy | Health assessment and pathophysiology review |
| AccessAnesthesiology | Anesthesia references | Nurse anesthesia coursework and clinicals |
| Multi-Search | One search across many library sources | A starting point when you are unsure where to look |
Evidence-based practice, the DNP project and citations
The Nursing guide's tabs follow the path of a graduate project: JBI - PICO(T) for framing a clinical question, Evidence Based Practice for finding and appraising sources, IRB and IACUC for research approvals, and Zotero for managing citations. DNP students meet all four in NURG 760 DNP Project I, where the project proposal is written, and NURG 761 DNP Project II, where it is completed.
Graduate nursing courses use APA style, according to the graduate handbook, while nurse anesthesia uses AMA. Zotero stores your references once and outputs them in either style, which pays back the setup time over a program with written work in nearly every term.
The DNP practice-hour rules that run alongside the project, including how many hours an MSN can carry in, are covered in our DNP 1,000 hours guide.
The Communication Resource Center and tutoring
Samford's Communication Resource Center, whose web page is titled Writing Center, works with all Samford students on writing, speaking and critical reading. It sits on the second floor of Brooks Hall, in room 222, and sessions of about 30 minutes are booked through WCOnline. Its consultants help with APA, Chicago and MLA style.
Good uses of a session for a graduate nursing student include a second read of an evidence paper, tightening a DNP project proposal, and an APA check before submission. Bring the assignment instructions and rubric so the consultant reads your paper against what your faculty asked for. The Academic Success Center adds consultations and tutoring beyond writing.
Know the integrity line before you ask any tool for help. The graduate handbook counts unauthorized use of artificial intelligence tools as cheating, and lists plagiarism and unapproved AI use among conduct that may lead to immediate dismissal. Our grades and time limits guide covers the process.
The Office of Accessibility and Accommodations
The Office of Accessibility and Accommodations, formerly Disability Resources, is Samford's central campus resource for students with disabilities, chronic health conditions and temporary impairments. Its office is in Dwight Beeson Hall, room 203, and the graduate handbook sets out how accommodations reach your courses.
- Establish eligibilityWork with the office to determine your eligibility for accommodations.
- Notify each instructorOnce eligibility is set, send each course instructor the official notification through the office's online portal.
- Schedule testing if neededSome accommodations involve scheduling exams with the OAA Testing Center.
- Start before the courseAccommodations may not be applied retroactively, so arrange them before the first exam or clinical day.
Clinical sites can set their own terms. The handbook says a clinical site may refuse to let a student take part in clinicals for lack of a vaccination it requires, even when the University has granted an exemption or accommodation. Samford's clearance items are listed on the clinical compliance requirements page.
Samford CARES, counseling and health services
Samford CARES brings together Counseling Services and the CARE Team, whose name stands for Communicate, Assess, Resource, Educate. Samford says counseling appointments are included in student fees. If you study online from another state, ask Counseling Services how appointments work for you before you need one.
University Health Services operates in the Beard Health & Wellness Center, with an on-site CLIA-certified lab and x-ray. For students near Birmingham it is a campus option worth knowing about when a clinical course calls for a health form, a test or a vaccination; ask what it provides before you book.
Looking further ahead, the Career Development Center runs Samford's Handshake job board, branded Hire Samford. Graduating family nurse practitioners can also look at Samford's post-graduate nurse practitioner residency, a separate program from student clinicals.
Where academic support ends and placement help begins
The library, the Writing Center and the accessibility office support your coursework. Finding a preceptor sits outside all three. Samford's program pages tell NP students that professional and personal connections are essential to securing clinical placements close to home, while the Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing holds the affiliation agreements and approves each preceptor and site. Our page on Samford's connections line explains it in full.
The placement desk is those connections. We find a preceptor near you who fits the exact Samford course, prepare the details Samford reviews, and keep the site's onboarding moving while you focus on the papers and exams this page is about. See how it works or request help.
Questions Samford students ask
Can online Samford students use the library databases from home?
Yes. The Nursing guide lists its databases as available to Samford users with a valid Samford e-mail account, so you sign in with your Samford account from wherever you study. If a link refuses you, the library's Ask Us service or the Technology Services Service Desk can help sort out access before a deadline.
Who is the nursing librarian at Samford?
The library assigns a nursing liaison librarian to the nursing guides, with an office in Davis Library room 232. From a distance, the simplest routes are the Nursing guide itself and the library's Ask Us service. The separate FNP guide is another starting point for family nurse practitioner students.
Does Samford's Writing Center help with APA for nursing papers?
Yes. The Communication Resource Center helps Samford students with APA, Chicago and MLA style, and APA is the style Samford's graduate nursing courses use. Sessions run about 30 minutes and are booked through WCOnline, so bring a specific goal, such as reference formatting or the flow of one section.
Can I get extended time on a proctored exam at Samford?
Extended time is an accommodation, so it starts with the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. After eligibility is set, you notify each instructor through the office's portal, and some exams are scheduled through the OAA Testing Center. Accommodations do not reach back to exams already taken, so arrange them early in the term.
Does Samford offer counseling to online graduate students?
Counseling Services is part of Samford CARES, and Samford says appointments are included in student fees. Its public page does not spell out how it serves students who live out of state, so contact the office to ask what it can offer where you live, ideally before a busy clinical term begins.
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.