The Clinical Nurse Leader is a relatively new advanced practice role with preparation at the graduate level. Its focus is on managing complex cohorts of patients in a wide variety of health care settings. The 42-45 credit program consists of core courses (24 credits), two clinical courses (12 credits), and a thesis (6 credits) or special project (3 credits) component. Four hundred clinical hours of practice are required to meet practice requirements for certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader. These are spent exploring the structure and functioning of the healthcare organization and analyzing its impact on the delivery of evidenced based nursing care to a specified group of patients. Prepared as an advanced nursing generalist, the CNL is able to practice with any patient population, and in most healthcare settings.
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