What is the Clinical Nurse Leader?
The Clinical Nurse Leader or CNL is a new nursing role that was developed by AACN in collaboration with an array of leaders from the practice environment. Two AACN task forces were convened to identify (1) how to improve the quality of patient care and (2) how to best prepare nurses with the competencies needed to thrive in the current and future health care system. The CNL role emerged following research and discussion with stakeholders as a way to engage highly skilled clinicians in outcomes-based practice and quality improvement strategies.
