Clinical Nurse Leader

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Running Head: CLINICAL NURSE LEADER ROLE Exploring the Role of the Clinical Nurse Leader Natalie D. Haslem University of South Alabama In this article, the role, history and future of the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) will be reviewed and analyzed. A conceptual model will be referenced to explain the role of the CNL. The master’s level degree is required for a CNL. This graduate degree prepares the nurse to be a leader in the acute care setting and all settings (Chism, 2013). The CNL assesses patient outcomes, assesses the possibility of loss or injury, brings the best practice evidence to the bedside, and improves the overall collaboration of care across the interdisciplinary team (Moore and Leahy, 2012). The CNL assumes a role as a source of support for the interdisciplinary patient care association. The degree of the CNL surfaced around 1999 at Maine Medical Center in an attempt to keep expert nurses at the patient’s bedside (Tabor, Quirk, Wilson, Gallant, Swan, and Manchester, 2008). The acknowledgement of the need for leadership at the point of care was pivotal in producing the CNL role guided by the AACN reports. (Baernholdt and Cottingham, 2011). This degree prepares the nurse at the master’s level. A clinical nurse leader can assume the title of clinician, outcomes manager, client advocate, educator, team manager, or information manager. The CNL was introduced by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in the beginning of 2003. The CNL is described as an advanced unspecialized clinician. AACN’s white paper describes the CNL as a lateral integrator in a leadership role in the clinic setting. The CNL coordinates and facilitates the care for all groups of clients in a patient care setting thus improving outcomes. The task at hand is to define the clinical nurse leader. The CNL as an advanced unspecialized leader in nursing was first

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