Anyone graduated from a clinical nurse leader program?

Nursing Students Post Graduate

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I'm applying to a direct-entry clinical nurse leader program right now and I'm curious to know whether there are any students or graduates of such programs out there that can talk about their experience. I know it's a very new program and the information on it from the AACN seems somewhat vague. I'm wondering what people are actually doing with the degree or plan to do with it. Thanks!

Specializes in Maternity, quality.

OP here... merellis2009, thanks for your post. It's great to hear from someone who's in a CNL program already. I appreciate all the info/experience you were able to provide. I'll be starting my program in January, so hopefully I'll be able to add more to this thread at some point.

Specializes in Ortho, Med surg and L&D.
Very interesting. As a CNS in IL (where there is no difference in priviledges between an NP, CNS, CNM), I know the statement put out by the NCSBN wants to abolish CNS's. I can't imagine that they want MORE APRNs. It will be very interesting for all of us.

Hello TraumaRUs,

I am very foggy on this but, my university claims that our program will "prepare" us for this, (I am in a msn entry degree generalist program for those who do not know me in this thread).

That is according to the website but, I do not have a clue what the specifics are. What I do know is that our program is not an advanced practice program so...something does seem vague in calling the msn generalist a Clinical Nurse Leader.

The nursing department homepage says, "prepare for CNL" yet, nowhere does it go into more detail. I think I saw a flyer once at the department but, it isn't broken down online.

DePaul Nursing Home Page

Gen

Hey Gen and Trauma

AACN is already piloting the CNL exam. You might want to check it out.

AACN - Clinical Nurse Leader

...The CNL Certification Examination™ will be tested as a pilot in November and December of 2006 for graduates of CNL programs at official partner schools. Once the exam is finalized, the first formal administration of the exam will be in Spring 2007.

Hi,

I graduated several yrs ago with a BS in education, and decided to return to school for nursing. I was approached by my advisor to take the accelerated masters in nursing program for CNL. I had no clue what that meant, so ur posts have been helpful.

My question is, is the paycheck after I get such a degree going to justify the amount of money I'm spending on student loans for such a degree? I couldnt find anything on salaries for a CNL.

If anyone has comparative salaries for a 2yr RN, a bachelors in nursing RN, and the masters in CNL, I would very much appreciate it.

Specializes in Maternity, quality.

Most of us in CNL programs are starting out as regular staff nurses, so the immediate income is going to be the same as any entry-level RN until you get some experience under your belt. After a few years, however, you should be able to take advantage of your degree. Keep in mind that the CNL role is new. There are a few hospitals in my area that are starting to embrace the idea, but it isn't by any means a mainstream concept and you may need to spend a fair amount of time explaining it to people depending on your location. That being said, in the process of explaining it to people (including my preceptor last semester and my new boss), they've been very receptive to talking about where I can go with my career. They know I'm getting my master's and I'm interested in leadership and they want to help me get there.

Unfortunately I can't really answer for you whether the cost is going to be worth it to you. I'm getting my degree from a public university, so it's expensive, but not overwhelmingly so... if I was going to a private university I may have a different view on that! I'm also interested in areas where the master's degree is really going to help me (i.e. education, quality, etc.). If those aren't of interest to you, or if you really think that you really want to go into advanced practice in a few years, the CNL track might not be worth it for you.

I apologize for being so vague... it's just that the CNL concept is new, so there's not a lot of data out there yet about how it's being utilized, what the salaries are, etc. I've really enjoyed the journey, though, and am excited about where it's going to take me in my career. Congratulations on choosing nursing, and please feel free to post any additional questions you may have.

Hi,

I graduated several yrs ago with a BS in education, and decided to return to school for nursing. I was approached by my advisor to take the accelerated masters in nursing program for CNL. I had no clue what that meant, so ur posts have been helpful.

My question is, is the paycheck after I get such a degree going to justify the amount of money I'm spending on student loans for such a degree? I couldnt find anything on salaries for a CNL.

If anyone has comparative salaries for a 2yr RN, a bachelors in nursing RN, and the masters in CNL, I would very much appreciate it.

The CNL role is new, not well established and somewhat controversial. There are a number of other threads here about CNL programs; you may want to do a search and review them, also.

Specializes in med/surg, OR, private duty, HH.
Hi,

I graduated several yrs ago with a BS in education, and decided to return to school for nursing. I was approached by my advisor to take the accelerated masters in nursing program for CNL. I had no clue what that meant, so ur posts have been helpful.

My question is, is the paycheck after I get such a degree going to justify the amount of money I'm spending on student loans for such a degree? I couldnt find anything on salaries for a CNL.

If anyone has comparative salaries for a 2yr RN, a bachelors in nursing RN, and the masters in CNL, I would very much appreciate it.

You might try looking at the VA. They have committed to using CNL in their hospitals and you should be able to get some kind of salary information.

i am enrolled a cnl program at north california. unfortunately at california cnl still very new concept for the hospitals.

i am a re-entry nurse (because i left the nursing field and got my computer science degree: working as software engineering at the computer field for several years) and could find an acute nurse job at the hospital, now working at long term care facility. i want to be a nurse and working as a nurse informatics or nurse administrator. i went to a graduate school to get my master degree in nursing that i enrolled into a cnl program. but i am wonder can i find a job as cnl when i graduated in 2010. please give advices.

thanks

i am enrolled a cnl program at north california. unfortunately at california cnl still very new concept for the hospitals. i am wonder can i find a job as cnl when i graduated in 2010. please give advices.

thanks

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Threads merged for continuity.

Specializes in Urology, Allergy, Med/Surg.
i am enrolled a cnl program at north california. unfortunately at california cnl still very new concept for the hospitals. i am wonder can i find a job as cnl when i graduated in 2010. please give advices.

thanks

hello lliu0082000 what school are you enrolled in? i am starting msn-cnl at usf-cupertino in january

Hi all,

I just ran across this older post - I have finished up 1/2 of my program at USF's CNL program. You can find out some more information regarding the CNL role at:

http://www.cnlassociation.org/index.php

Take care

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