Clinical nurse leader.

Abstract

The clinical nurse leader (CNL) was first introduced in 2003 as a new nursing role designed to fulfill emerging need in the U.S. healthcare system. When asked about current and future nursing practice requirements, nurse executives expressed a need for better care integration, more innovation in practice, and better management of patient outcomes at the point of care (AACN, 2012; Porter-O’Grady et al., 2010). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) collaborated with stakeholders to create this contemporary nursing role designed to fulfill healthcare safety, quality, and workforce gaps that have resulted from the growing complexity of our healthcare system (AACN, 2007). The CNL is a master’sprepared nurse leader who functions at the point of care as a provider and outcomes manager for a unit or specific group of patients known as a clinical microsystem. The CNL is uniquely prepared to perform fundamental responsibilities including: • Clinical leadership of patient care delivery, including the design, coordination, and evaluation of care practices for individuals, families, groups, and populations; • Collaboration in the identification and collection of care outcomes; • Team leadership in continuous quality improvement at the point of care, based on the synthesis of performance data, and the application of evidence-based practice to achieve optimal outcomes; • Lateral integration of care for individuals and patient groups; • Leadership of interprofessional healthcare teams to facilitate collaboration and the management of patient care and processes of care;