CNL (Clinical Nurse Leader): Does your hospital have them?

[jehaley]

Hi! I am working on a master's project and looking into the role of CNLs at hospitals across the country. I work on an oncology unit, so anything specific to that would be helpful too. Here is some information I am trying to gather for those of you who work or have worked at hospitals that hire CNLs (in designated CNL roles):

• Implementation process (Budget, Business plan, etc)
  
• Orientation process
  
• Measurements used to demonstrate the benefits of the CNL role (quality, safety, patient satisfaction, etc both currently and prior to implementation)
  
• Job description and responsibilities for the CNLs (inpatient and outpatient if applicable)
  
• Pay (hourly vs salary, how does this compare to the CNEs/floor nurses)
  
• Schedule (How many hours do they work? Are nights and weekends covered? Do they staff the unit when necessary?)
  
• Number of CNL positions (Inpatient vs outpatient/how many per unit
  
• Do you have nurse educators for each unit? Or are the nurse educators more focused on hospital wide orientation/policy? If you don't have them per unit, how many do you have?
  
• Do you have the clinical ladder at (CNII, CNIII, CNIV)?
  
• Does the CNL participate in rounding (bedside rounding)? If so, what is their role?
  
• Currently on my unit we have a nurse to patient ration of 1:3-4 with a charge nurse and a resource nurse available for the 53 bed unit. The resource nurse provides a helping hand when busy or answers nurses questions. Do you have a role similar to the resource nurse or is that filled by the CNL?
  

Thank you in advance for your help!

[cleback]

I work in a 300 bed unit. We do not utilize cnls. The nearby teaching hospiral does not either. I am in the midwest.

[Delia37, MSN]

Hi,

I have been a nurse for a long time (CA) and I can honestly say I had never encounter a CNL. It would be interesting to learn in what capacities that role in being implemented.

[elkpark]

My large, well-known, academic medical center does not have any dedicated, designated CNL positions. I notice that some of the job postings now include CNL degree, by name, as one of the MSNs that would be considered a qualification for some positions, but I haven't seen any specific CNL positions.