NURG 723 Advanced Practice Clinical I FNP: your first preceptor
NURG 723 is the first FNP clinical course at Samford: 3 credits and 150 hours with adult patients in a summer term. For most FNP students it is the first time a preceptor has to be found, reviewed and approved, so the work on it starts months before summer.
Line up your NURG 723 preceptor
Tell us your FNP track, your summer and where you live. A placement advisor finds adult primary care preceptors near you for your first clinical.
NURG 723, per Samford's plans of study
NURG 723 at a glance
Samford uses two names for this course. The catalog calls it Advanced Practice Clinical I FNP; the plans of study call it FNP Clinical: Adult. The number, credits and hours match in both, so either name on a syllabus or a form points to the same requirement.
| Item | What Samford's documents show |
|---|---|
| Catalog name | Advanced Practice Clinical I FNP |
| Plan of study name | FNP Clinical: Adult |
| Credits | 3 |
| Clinical hours | 150 (plans dated December 2025) |
| Patients | Adults |
| Tracks | FNP BSN to MSN, ADN to MSN, post-graduate certificate, MSN to DNP |
| Not in | FNP BSN to DNP, which opens with NURG 716 (225 hours) |
| Term | Summer, in every plan that includes it |
| Next clinical | NURG 724, 300 hours, the following fall |
When NURG 723 falls in each FNP track
The course always lands in a summer, but how far into your program depends on how you entered.
| Track | Starts | NURG 723 semester | Also that summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| FNP BSN to MSN | May | Year 2 summer | NURG 707 Family Primary Care II |
| FNP ADN to MSN | August | Year 2 summer | NURG 707 Family Primary Care II |
| FNP post-graduate certificate | August | Year 1 summer | NURG 707, with a campus visit marked |
| FNP MSN to DNP | May | Year 3 summer | No other course; a campus visit is marked |
Counted from the first day of class, the lead time runs from about nine months for certificate students to two years for the MSN to DNP. Certificate students have the least room to find a first preceptor and should start the search almost as soon as they enroll.
What 150 adult hours ask of a preceptor
Because the course centers on adults, its natural home is a primary care practice with a steady adult caseload, such as a family medicine or internal medicine clinic. Under Alabama's board rules, the preceptor for an advanced practice student can be a nurse practitioner or other APRN, a physician, or a differently licensed clinician who focuses on the same patient population. Samford then reviews and approves each preceptor and site.
Samford's public pages stop there. Preceptor credentials by track, the approval steps and any rule on which settings count are set out in the NP Clinical Manual, which students reach through the Homeroom course in Canvas. Read what it says about the first FNP clinical before you ask anyone to precept you, and use the preceptor requirements guide as a checklist of what to confirm.
Fitting 150 hours into the summer
The graduate catalog places College of Health Sciences graduate programs on a 12-week summer schedule, which on the 2026-27 calendar runs May 17 to August 5, 2027, with add/drop closing May 19. By our arithmetic, 150 hours over 12 weeks is 12 or 13 hours a week, near the bottom of Samford's 10 to 20 hour range. Two clinic days of six or seven hours cover it.
Summer also brings NURG 707 Family Primary Care II for most tracks, plus a campus visit for certificate and MSN to DNP students. Put the intensive dates into your clinic plan as soon as Samford sends them; the intensives guide covers timing. Ask any preceptor about their own summer vacation before you commit, because two lost weeks in a 12-week term push the rest toward 15 hours a week.
Lining up the first preceptor
- Count back from your summerFind your
NURG 723term in your plan of study. No Samford page gives a lead time for NP placements, so we begin our students' searches at least two terms ahead. - Find an adult practice near homeLook for a preceptor who can offer two predictable days a week from mid-May to early August.
- Check for an affiliation agreementSamford's existing agreements number in the hundreds, concentrated in the Southeast. If your site has none, ask early about adding one; affiliation agreements explains how.
- Submit the rotation requestSamford reviews each clinical rotation request and may deny one on state rules, which matters most when your site is outside Alabama.
- Clear compliance through AugustKeep your Health Data Record, TB test, flu vaccination and AHA BLS current to the end of the term, and budget time for any extra checks the site adds.
How NURG 723 shapes the rest of the sequence
On the current calendar pattern, NURG 724 starts about three weeks after summer ends, with 300 hours across the lifespan, and NURG 730 closes with 300 more in spring. A family practice preceptor who sees children as well as adults can often keep you from summer into fall, which saves a second agreement and a second approval.
An internal medicine preceptor fits this course well but sees few of the younger patients a lifespan course implies, so start the fall search early in the summer if that is your first site. Before your last week in NURG 723, ask your preceptor for a short note on the skills you have built, which helps the fall preceptor start you at the right level. The NURG 724 guide picks up from there.
How we set up NURG 723 for Samford FNP students
We find a preceptor in your community who sees adults in primary care, confirm their summer schedule fits a 12-week term, and gather the preceptor and site details Samford asks for, with enough runway for a new affiliation agreement when the site lacks one. Where it suits your area, we favor a family practice that can keep you for NURG 724 as well. We also check that the site's state matches your RN license, because the graduate handbook asks for an unencumbered RN license in each clinical state.
Your placement advisor stays on call through the summer and lines up a replacement if the preceptor steps away. Send your track and summer year through the request form, or read how it works first.
Questions Samford students ask
Can I take NURG 723 in the fall or spring instead of summer?
Every Samford FNP plan that includes NURG 723 places it in a summer term, directly before NURG 724 in the fall. Moving it would change your plan of study, which goes through your program coordinator, and could push back the two clinical courses that follow. Plan your first preceptor around the summer your plan shows.
Can a physician precept NURG 723?
Alabama's definition of an advanced practice preceptor includes physicians as well as nurse practitioners, and many adult primary care practices have both. Samford still reviews and approves each preceptor, and the NP Clinical Manual may set its own credential rules by track. Confirm the physician's fit there before you submit the rotation request.
Can I split NURG 723 hours between two preceptors?
Nothing public rules it in or out. Each preceptor and site would need Samford's review, and a site without an affiliation agreement adds time. With 150 hours in a 12-week term, one steady adult practice is usually simpler; save a split for NURG 724, where a second site for younger patients is more common.
Can I do NURG 723 hours where I work as an RN?
Samford publishes no rule for NP students on clinicals at their own employer; the only published limit applies to the Nurse Leader DNP. A different unit or clinic within your organization may work if Samford approves the preceptor and site. Clinicals where you work covers what to ask first.
What if my NURG 723 preceptor cancels partway through summer?
Tell your course faculty right away and log the hours you have. A new preceptor needs Samford's review, and summer leaves little room to recover. If the hours cannot be finished by August 5, ask about an Incomplete, which Samford allows for emergencies when most of the work is done. Behind on hours lays out the options.
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.