NURG 730 NP Practicum: the final 300 FNP hours
NURG 730 NP Practicum is the last clinical course in every Samford FNP track, from the BSN to MSN through the BSN to DNP: 6 credits and 300 hours in a spring term. It closes out your clinical hours, so the preceptor you choose also decides how cleanly you reach graduation.
Secure your NURG 730 practicum
Tell us your FNP track, your graduation term and where you live. A placement advisor finds a busy primary care practicum near you before January.
NURG 730, per Samford's plans of study
NURG 730 at a glance
NURG 730 is the one clinical course every Samford FNP student shares, whichever track they entered through. It carries 6 credits against 4 for NURG 724 for the same 300 hours, and it is the only FNP clinical the BSN to DNP has in common with the other tracks. PMHNP students take their own equivalent, so this page applies to the FNP tracks only.
| Item | What Samford's documents show |
|---|---|
| Name | NP Practicum |
| Credits | 6 |
| Clinical hours | 300 (plans dated December 2025) |
| Tracks | All five FNP tracks: BSN to MSN, ADN to MSN, post-graduate certificate, MSN to DNP, BSN to DNP |
| Term | Spring, the last semester of each plan |
| Comes after | NURG 724 (300 hours), or NURG 718 (300 hours) in the BSN to DNP |
| PMHNP counterpart | NURG 790 PMHNP Practicum, also 300 hours |
When NURG 730 falls in each track
Every FNP plan places the practicum in its final spring, after the fall clinical and before graduation. What sits beside it that term differs by track.
| Track | NURG 730 semester | Also that spring |
|---|---|---|
| FNP BSN to MSN | Year 2 spring | NURG 606 Systems Leadership |
| FNP ADN to MSN | Year 3 spring | No other course |
| FNP post-graduate certificate | Year 2 spring | No other course |
| FNP MSN to DNP | Year 3 spring | NURG 761 DNP Project II |
| FNP BSN to DNP | Year 3 spring, campus visit marked | NURG 761 DNP Project II |
For both DNP tracks, spring means finishing the project in NURG 761 while logging 300 hours, the fullest term of the program. BSN to DNP students also have a campus visit that spring. The BSN to DNP clinicals guide covers the three courses before it.
What the practicum preceptor should give you
By the time you reach NURG 730 you have 450 hours behind you from NURG 723 and NURG 724, or 750 from the three earlier BSN to DNP clinicals. The practicum is the place to carry a fuller share of the clinic day: seeing patients first, presenting your plan, and following people across visits. Pick a preceptor who will hand you that responsibility as the term goes on.
It is also the rotation closest to your first NP job. A busy family practice in the area where you want to work gives you the volume for about 20 hours a week and a view of a practice you might join. Check the syllabus and the NP Clinical Manual for which settings qualify before you commit.
300 hours in spring 2027
The 2026-27 graduate calendar runs spring classes from January 11 to April 22, 2027, and notes that certain clinical experiences may begin a week sooner, on January 4. Spring break is March 8 to 12, and the calendar also marks Easter Monday, March 29, as a holiday. By our arithmetic, 300 hours across the 14 weeks outside spring break is a little over 21 hours a week, just past the top of Samford's 10 to 20 range.
Two questions ease that load. Ask your course faculty whether your practicum qualifies for the January 4 start, and whether clinic days during spring break count. Final grades are due May 4, 2027, and the College of Health Sciences spring commencement is May 1 at the Pete Hanna Center, so hours left over in late April press against graduation. The calendar guide has every date.
If hours run short in your last term
An unfinished practicum is the costliest place to fall behind, because it stands between you and your degree. Samford's graduate catalog allows an Incomplete when an emergency stops you after passing work on most of the course, with the rest due in the following term or the grade turns to F. It also has an In Progress grade for courses that end after the term's grade deadline. Either can move your graduation.
Graduation has its own dates. The Registrar's standing deadline for spring graduation applications is October 15, while the 2026-27 calendar shows October 16, 2026; for graduate students, the nursing school itself submits the candidate list to the Registrar. Ask your program coordinator how a late practicum affects that list. Behind on hours walks through the options.
Choosing the practicum preceptor
What to weigh
- Volume: enough patients each clinic day to fill about 21 hours a week without idle time.
- Scope: a family practice that lets you manage patients of different ages, since this is the last FNP clinical before your board exam.
- Continuity: staying with your
NURG 724orNURG 718preceptor skips a new agreement and approval, while moving adds a second practice style. Both work. - Location: a site near where you want to practice once licensed as an NP.
- Timing: a preceptor ready in the first week of January, or earlier if your course uses the January 4 start.
Certification follows the practicum. Samford FNP graduates test through ANCC or AANPCB, and the certification guide covers both boards.
How we set up NURG 730 for Samford students
We start the practicum search while you are still in the fall clinical, so the preceptor is reviewed and approved before January. Your placement advisor finds a primary care practice near you with the patient volume a 300-hour spring needs, prepares what Samford reviews for the rotation, and keeps site onboarding moving through the December holidays, when offices slow down. For DNP students we set clinic days around the NURG 761 project calendar so the two do not collide.
If a preceptor leaves in March, we find a replacement in your area fast, because a gap in the final term costs more than one anywhere else. Send your track and graduation term through the request form.
Questions Samford students ask
Can I do NURG 730 in urgent care or a specialty practice?
The syllabus and the NP Clinical Manual set which practicum settings qualify. Because this is the final clinical of a family nurse practitioner program, a site that sees a narrow slice of patients may not give the range the course expects. Clear any specialty or urgent care site with your course faculty before you submit the rotation request.
Do NURG 730 hours count toward the DNP's 1,000 hours?
Samford's graduate handbook sets a floor of 1,000 supervised practice hours after the bachelor's degree for any DNP, and talks about students reaching 1,000 clinical hours past the BSN. Practicum hours are clinical hours earned after the BSN, so they belong in that count, but hours applied to the DNP must be approved by the school's Academic Advisor. The DNP hours guide has the detail.
If NURG 730 runs late, can I still walk at commencement?
Samford's graduation guidance says summer graduates walk in December, and its Petition to Walk Early requires "8hrs or less remaining." How an unfinished practicum fits those rules is a question for your program coordinator and the Registrar. Raise it as soon as you see the hours slipping, not in the last week of April.
Can PMHNP students take NURG 730?
No. PMHNP tracks finish with NURG 790 PMHNP Practicum, also 300 hours in a spring term, after NURG 788 and NURG 789. NURG 730 belongs to the FNP sequence in all five FNP tracks. The PMHNP clinicals guide covers the psychiatric practicum and the courses before it.
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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