The Clinical Nurse Leader is a nurse with her masters and is prepared to practice across the continnum of care within any healthcare setting.

The Clinical Nurse Leader is a nurse with her masters and is prepared to practice across the continnum of care within any healthcare setting. The CNL was created by the American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) with the collaboration of health care leaders and educators to address the need to improve the quality of patient outcomes (AACN, 2018). The CNL can do a number of things including are coordination, outcome measurements, transitions of care, interprofessional communication and team leadership, risk assessment, implementation of best practices based on evidence, quality improvement.

Reference

Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/CNL

2-The American Association of Colleges of Nursing proposed the clinical nurse leader (CNL) role in 2007 as their response on how to manage the needs of an aging population and improve the nursing profession. When the CNL position was first proposed and implemented in 2008, candidates to be a CNL had to have a baccheluers degree with a minimum of two years nursing experience and be well respected by peers and physicians. They were expected to oversee units with 12-18 patients, perform daily rounds, serve as a resource for nurses, review patient outcomes, and teach change management and evidence based practice to nurses (Sotomayor, 2017).

In units where a CNL was present, there was shown to be a significant reduction in patient falls, CAUTIs, central line-associated infections, and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (Sotomayor, 2017).

A CNL influences direct patient care by assessing how nursing care is currently being delivered and how it can be improved. They are responsible for educating nurses on their unit regarding how improvements can be made and also tracking how effective these changes are.

This role is not only reserved for inpatient units but can also be used for nursing positions out in the community to improve access to care and care coordination.

Reference:

Sotomayor, G. (2017). CNE SERIES. Clinical Nurse Leaders: Fulfilling the Promise of the Role. MEDSURG Nursing, 26(1), 21–32. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=121353509&site=ehost-live&scope=site

3-Thank you for sharing your findings with the rest of the class. It was a great post. I actually have clinical nurse leaders at my facility and I find them to be extremely helpful, bot only to the nurses but the patients as well. They are familiar with policies and procedures and serve as a great resource when needed. As I new nurse I am always looking for a clinical nurse leader. My charge nurse is a great resource. She has made every mistake into a teachable moment and it has made transitioning into the nursing practice much smoother had she not been there. Thank you again for your post.