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• What is the Clinical Nurse Leader?
• What does a CNL do?
• Are there jobs available for the CNL?
• How is a CNL different from a CNS?
• Do hospitals recognize and need Clinical Nurse Leaders?
• How different in course work is the Clinical Nurse Leader track to the Leadership and Management track?

What is a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL)?

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the Clinical Nurse Leader or CNL is a new nursing role being developed by the AACN in collaboration with leaders from the education and practice arenas. AACN is advancing the CNL to improve the quality of patient care and to better prepare nurses to thrive in the health care system. The CNL role emerged following research and discussion with stakeholder groups as a way to engage highly skilled clinicians in outcomes-based practice and quality improvement.

What does a CNL do?

In practice, the CNL oversees the care coordination of a distinct group of patients and actively provides direct patient care in complex situations. This masters-prepared clinician puts evidence-based practice into action to ensure that patients benefit from the latest innovations in care delivery. The CNL evaluates patient outcomes, assesses cohort risk, and has the decision-making authority to change care plans when necessary.

Are there jobs available for a CNL?

Many CNL educated nurses will start out as Nurse Leaders, Team Leaders, Clinical Coordinators or Unit Managers and move into the Clinical Nurse Leader role as the hospitals begin to move into a comfort zone with their skills set and this new emerging position.

How is a CNL different from a CNS?

It is best described by the AACN as follows: The CNL is a generalist in contrast with the specialized focus of the practice by clinical nurse specialists (CNS) and nurse practitioners. Advanced practice nurses are prepared with specialist education in a defined area of practice. The CNL and APN roles complement one another. For example, the CNL may call on the CNS to provide consultation when a specialist area of concern arises (i.e. when a patient does not respond to nursing care or therapeutics as expected). AACN in consultation with a select group of CNSs has developed a document, The CNL-CNS Roles: Similarities, Differences and Complementarities that can be downloaded at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CNL/pdf/CNSComparisonTable.pdf

Do hospitals recognize and need Clinical Nurse Leaders?

The CNL is a new nursing role that has been most recently developed by the AACN in cooperation with health care leaders and nurse executives based on the need to improve upon patient health care outcomes. The need was already there and originally being filled by nurses with strong characteristics and clinical background and now the shift has moved towards the search for those with the appropriate education and formal degrees. In the years to come more and more hospitals will be seeking out the CNL.

How different in course work is the Clinical Nurse Leader track to the Leadership and Management program?

Both programs consist of 6 semesters. The CNL program has an additional 16 units and the course work is clinically based with a focus on the CNL role.