rstigers

Thanks all for the replies. I wish I had checked back sooner, but school is, well, busy. Nothing new there I suppose. A couple of you pointed out that I said the ADN programs in my area don't do much with EBP. I have not attended them, but I used to work at a community college and spent a lot of time working with nursing students. Based on my conversations with them, I do not think that the community colleges here give much instruction on that. It could be that I just caught them at the wrong time in the program, but I don't think that's the case. I worked as a tutor there for a couple years and developed pretty good friendships with some of them. They never mentioned EBP, and focused much more on the practical side of things. I'd like to say that I'm not saying that's bad. In no way! Not worse, not better, simply different. And that's completely fine. The strength of the ADN programs here are that they impart excellent technical skills for a bedside nurse. However, the hospitals here are starting to only hire BSN's and above now. Thank you all for honest assessments of the CNL programs. It isn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but that's life, right? Never precisely how I want it.

Hello, I've been poking around the site for a couple months and can only find old posts relating to CNL certification. Have attitudes towards it changed yet? I'm in the middle of a MSN, CNL program for non-BSN students. I don't have a BSN. I fully expect and plan on workin for a couple of years as an RN to gain practical clinical knowledge. However, I do realize the need for evidenced-based practice, and a significant portion of my education is focusing on not only what nurses do, but why nurses do them. This is something that I know is lacking from the majority of ADN programs in the area. How have people been utilizing the CNL lately? Some of my local hospitals seek out and hire CNL's, but the majority do not. Do people look down on a direct-entry nurse with an MSN? I expect to have to prove my skills and knowledge as an RN, but I want to know if there will be additional difficulties because I'm coming out of a master's program. Thanks! RS