CNL Academics & Curriculum

The part-time, hybrid Clinical Nurse Leader master's program is designed for experienced registered nurses who want to build on their clinical nursing knowledge to focus on improving patient care at the point of care delivery.

The CNL assumes leadership/accountability for health outcomes for a specific group of clients within a unit, setting, or organization through the application of evidence-based information to design, implement, and evaluate clinical systems. The Clinical Nurse Leader is also responsible for the coordination and planning of care team activities and functions. Health promotion, risk reduction, and improvement in point-of-care outcomes are critical elements in the role of the clinical nurse leader.

This program prepares nurses for the clinical management of comprehensive client care for individuals and clinical populations across the continuum of care and in multiple settings. The program combines leadership courses with advanced clinical nursing courses in health assessment, physiology/pathophysiology and pharmacology, and evidence-based practice. The curriculum also covers:

• informatics
• process improvement
• value in health care
• epidemiology
• population health
• program design

To round out the program, students complete 448-hours of clinical immersion hours where they take on the leadership role of a clinical nurse leader at the unit, service or organizational level.

Graduates of this program will be prepared to sit for the national certification examination with the Commission on Nurse Certification (CNC)  to earn professional certification as a CNL.

CNL Master's Curriculum