Clinical Nurse Leaders in Case management roles

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 10, 2012

Do you know of any case managers who are CNL's?

Please correct me if I am mistaken. My understanding of CNL is that it is a college degree that is realtively new to academia and has spread throughout many Universities offering a BSN or MSN program. It is not an actual title or specialty within nursing that has been adopted widley by employers. Rather employers of Nurses continue to use Nurses with work experience and advanced degrees to include Clinical Nurse Specialists, MSNs/something else, NPs, MBAs, MPHs, etc. as their Clinical Nurse Leaders (Charge Nurses, Assistant Nurse Managers (ANMs) and Assistant Directors of Nursing (ADONs), NMs, DONs, House Supservisors, etc). Therefore, the answer to your question for most Case Managers is probably a "No."

Not to say that there are not nurses with CNL degrees working as Case Managers... The majority of major employers require a BSN with at least 2-3 years of bedside work expeirence at minimum. So, there are many of us with advanced degrees working as front-line Case Managers on a day-to-day basis before we move into management. I imagine that those with CNL degrees have joined the ranks as front-line CMs as well, where he/she can join the ranks of a manager eventually, just like the rest of us.

Benedina · Sep 9, 2012

Hi, Franjcamp. A great way to network with CNLs would be to check out an organization called "Clinical Nurse Leader Association." Their website includes this information on the difference between a case manager and a CNL:

"The case manager (CM) role can vary in each practice setting, however, in general, the CM will coordinate the discharge plan, assure Medicare/Medicaid requirements are fulfilled and provide private insurers with clinical updates. A Clinical Nurse Leader coordinates the patients' plan of care with the health care team. This may also include patient or staff education, patient assessment, supervision and provision of best practice protocols and direct patient care for the complicated patient. The two roles complement each other in that they both help the patient move through the hospital admission as smoothly and efficiently as possible."

Because the role is a new one, it certainly has more limited openings than more well-known roles. But there are already jobs titled "Clinical Nurse Leader;" for example, the VA hospital system uses the title and is committed to having 2 CNLs in every hospital within a few years.

Dina

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

A Clinical Nurse Leader coordinates the patients' plan of care with the health care team.

OP, similarly Case Managers coordinate plan of care as it relates to discharge planning and we place the patient in the appropriate level of care based upon his/her medical condition and treatment, as well as we educate patients and families (the redutency in educating patients and families helps to facilitate the information actually sticking).

This may also include patient or staff education, patient assessment, supervision and provision of best practice protocols and direct patient care for the complicated patient.

Very good.... If this is true, the OP may find that a CNL degree relates more to a Nurse Educator/Staff Educator role outside of the managerial positions I listed above.