Identify the educational preparation and role(s) of the clinical nurse leader (CNL) designation. Give an example of how the CNL influences direct patient care whether in a hospital or out in the community
Introduction
One of the emerging roles in nursing that has been developed by American Association of Colleges is that of a Clinical Nurse Leader. This was as a result of AACN’s desire and dedication to improve the quality of services to the patients. It was also due to the urge to prepare competent nurses who can thrive in healthcare system. The educational preparation of a Clinical Nurse Leader entails a rigorous training. This is because there are several essential components, such as professional values, liberal education, core knowledge, core competencies and role development. All these are essential educational preparations for this post.
Liberal education is the basis of developing clinical judgment skills. Apart from providing the knowledge framework, it promotes critical thinking (United States, 2007). This acts as the basis for making ethical decisions in clinical judgment. It ensures that the clinical nurse leaders keep on practicing within a broad-based knowledge context.
This education also ensures the development and appreciation of professional values which are the foundation for practice. These values should set the structure for commitment to the clients’ welfare. They should also enhance the process of making critical decisions.
The CNL education includes the core competencies that should be acquired over the course’s academic programme. This means that they should be assessed from entry to graduation. These competencies should be aligned to providing high-quality, accountable and client-focused practice (Fitzpatrick and Kazer, 2009).
The Clinical Nurse Leader is tasked with several roles. Among these roles is that of overseeing the integration of care for a group of patients and sometimes to provide express patient care when circumstances permit so. The CNLs are also mandated to collect and later evaluate the patient outcomes. They can also change the care plans of the patients when necessary.
There are several circumstances when a clinical nurse leader may directly influence the patients care. One of the CNL’s roles has been defined to be that of assuming responsibility for healthcare results for a specified group of clients. This therefore means they have a direct responsibility to the patients.
References
Fitzpatrick, J. J., & Kazer, M. W. (2009). The doctor of nursing practice and clinical nurse leader: Essentials of program development and implementation for clinical practice. New York: Springer.
United States (2007). Clinical nurse leader: Principles and practice. United States: U.S. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs.
