What degree is best for a new nursing student? CNL, BSN or RN?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I already have a Bachelors degree in healthcare management and in human resources management. Currently I am a financial analyst but I would like to enter the nursing career field. I am not sure what degree to get. I can transfer my non-nursing bachelors in and get a Masters as a CNL (Clinical Nurse Leader), but I have not heard much about this position. I can get my associate degree RN and BSN in about the same amount of time. I definitely want to pursue a master's at some time, I am just not sure if the CNL is the best way to go! Any suggestions?

Specializes in Cardiac.

Indeed, the L in CNL programs is definitely a misnomer. You will get laughed off the unit if you try to protray yourself as a leader as a new grad. In addition, I have yet to meet a real practicing CNL who has an actual CNL degree. Most are the bedside nurses, who are experts in thier field and dedicated to their units.

Stick with the BSN. You may find you really want to be an NP or CNS instead of a CNL. Might as well save your money, get an accelerated BSN somewhere and find your niche after that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The program I a looking into at the University of Iowa requires no prior RN experience. I think it is a good option for someone who already has a non-nursing bachelor's degree. It will take me the same amount of time and cost about the same. Plus I don't have to do the ADN-BSN-MSN route. After I finish the CNL program I plan on going into a DNP program when I get some experience under my belt. I think that the title should change. I can see where nurses are coming from, CNL's being called leaders. They aren't leaders in the nursing sense, but the CNL takes a different perspective than the ADN.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

A "CNL" leader who is also a newbie nurse...

seems like such a paradox....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.
The program I a looking into at the University of Iowa requires no prior RN experience. I think it is a good option for someone who already has a non-nursing bachelor's degree. It will take me the same amount of time and cost about the same. Plus I don't have to do the ADN-BSN-MSN route. After I finish the CNL program I plan on going into a DNP program when I get some experience under my belt. I think that the title should change. I can see where nurses are coming from, CNL's being called leaders. They aren't leaders in the nursing sense, but the CNL takes a different perspective than the ADN.

To get into most DNP programs, there is a minimum experience in patient care. Why not try accelerated BSN program and save a little $$$ and get your experience then transition to DNP. Just a suggestion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Trust me, I have looked into an accelerated BSN program in my area and it is really expensive. My only other options are an ADN program or this CNL program. But the school with the CNL program is an hour away. The ADN program is about 20 minutes away. I think that I will end up gettting my ADN instead. The CNL program sounds like a good program, but I think it is a little strange to get your masters when you have no experience in the area you are studying in.

I am doing my pre-req's for the ADN program now. I am really getting antsy. Hopefully in a year I'll be in the program if I'm not put on a waiting list! This route will probably be the best for me. After I get my ADN I can get my RN-BSN mostly online from the University of Iowa. I think that I will wait to get my BSN until I have a couple years of experience as a nurse though. Real world experience is key.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well put. It is confusing to figure out who wants what. My only option in my area is an ADN program. The other schools that offer BSN's are 5-6x as much.

The ADN program that I am enrolled in has 1132 clinical hours. The MSN-CNL program has 900. So, an ADN has more clinical hours put in than a person with a "master's degree".

A big difference between the CNL program and other MSN programs is that you are NOT considered an advanced practice nurse when you are finished. You just simply have a master's degree with no experience in the field whatsoever.

I don't know why they call it a master's degree. It really should just be an accelerated BSN for second degree students, but the school makes more money for graduate credit. So I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Hmmm...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in being a Credible Source.
The ADN program that I am enrolled in has 1132 clinical hours. The MSN-CNL program has 900. So, an ADN has more clinical hours put in than a person with a "master's degree".

A big difference between the CNL program and other MSN programs is that you are NOT considered an advanced practice nurse when you are finished. You just simply have a master's degree with no experience in the field whatsoever.

I don't know why they call it a master's degree. It really should just be an accelerated BSN for second degree students, but the school makes more money for graduate credit. So I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Hmmm...

A couple of points:

My DEMSN program (CNL) had 1090 clinical hours, a difference of less than 4% with your ADN program.

Masters degrees in any field do not generally require experience in the field.

It is the graduate-level classes that make it a masters degree and not a bachelors degree. Our content had some overlap with the BSN students but had 34 units of graduate classes in addition to the 32 units of nursing core curriculum. Two of our graduate classes were "advanced generalist" classes including an assessment class which was taken by NP students.

I should also note that some of the projects in our graduate classes were hospital based. So while they weren't clinical per se, they did have in the hospitals and interacting with staff and patients.

The feedback that we received from the staff nurses at our clinical sites is that we have been very well prepared and that we "didn't seem like ____-semester nursing students." Our graduates are receiving similar comments, "You don't seem like a new grad."

How much of that is due to the kinds of people that they recruit, who are generally older and coming out of other careers, and how much due to the program itself, I don't know. I can say, though, that the CNL training is excellent and that I think the profession would do well to incorporate a lot of it into standard nursing education.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in E.D..

I will start an MSN-CNL program next month. There are many pros to going the master's route. For one, as a graduate student, you are eligible to borrow way more in federal loan money than you are as a second bachelor's degree student. If you are full-time, you might not be able to borrow enough money to go to school for a second bachelor's and so the BSN may cost you more in the long run (think private education loans--cringe). In my school's case, their CNL program, though accelerated a 16 months, affords MORE clinical hours than the BSN program does. Lastly, you may always have the option of pursuing a post-master's certificate in a specialty (FNP, PNP, etc.) once going the MSN-CNL route and gaining the required amount of experience per your school and state. Many post-master's certificates are part-time and allow you to still work while in the program. Or, you might be eligible for a DNP program down the road. That is just my 2 cents.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment