The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing of the City University of New York, offers a program in adult health nursing with a Clinical Nurse Leader focus leading to a Master of Science Degree in Nursing. The new clinical nurse leader role has been developed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to address client care needs in a variety of settings from acute care to home care. The CNL is envisioned as a nurse leader who designs, implements, and evaluates care by coordinating, delegating and supervising the care provided by the health care team, including licensed nurses, technicians, and other health professionals (AACN, 2007).
Students learn to apply theories and research findings to practice through course work and in a series of practica. Nurses who earn this degree will be preparing themselves for practice as advanced generalists with competence in providing clinical outcomes management, care environment management, and clinical leadership for setting-specific practice throughout the healthcare delivery system. Graduates will be eligible to take the National CNL certification exam available through AACN.
Course of Study
The program consists of 42 credits. Courses are offered in the late afternoons and evenings. Graduates of the program meet educational requirements to sit for the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) certification exam.
The program consists of nursing core courses and advanced practice courses shared with other master's level students in nursing, courses in the Clinical Nurse Leader focus, and cognate-electives. The clinical practica are offered in a variety of clinical partnership settings. Elective courses supportive of the CNL role, e.g., Ethics, Nursing Informatics and subspecializations in Nursing Persons with HIV/AIDS, Complementary Modalities in Health, and Nursing Education are also available..
AACN (2007). White Paper on the Education and Role of the Clinical Nurse Leader. Washington DC: AACN. |
