Advancing the clinical nurse leader model through academic-practice-policy partnership

• Published in: Nursing outlook 2019-07, Vol.67 (4), p.345-353
• Main Authors: Bender, Miriam, Baker, Patricia, Harris, James L., Hites, Lisle, LaPointe, Robert J., Murphy, Elizabeth A., Roussel, Linda, Spiva, LeeAnna, Stanley, Joan M., Thomas, Patricia L., Williams, Marjory
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical nurse leader; Evidence based nursing; Nursing; Nursing care model; Participatory approach
• ISSN: 0029-6554; 1528-3968
• DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2019.02.007

•The nursing profession creates models of care that add value to healthcare.•The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) initiative began in 1999.•The initiative is grounded in academic-practice-policy partnerships.•These partnerships have evolved into the CNL research collaborative.•The CNL research collaborative is generating a systematic, generalizable CNL evidence base. The nursing profession is tasked with identifying and evaluating models of care with potential to add value to health care delivery. In consideration of this goal, we describe the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) initiative and the activities of a national-level CNL research collaborative. The CNL initiative, launched by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in collaboration with education and healthcare leaders, has delineated CNL education curriculum and practice competencies, and fostered the creation of academic-practice-policy partnerships to pilot CNL integration into frontline nursing care delivery. The partnership has evolved into an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality affiliate practice-based research network, the CNL Research Collaborative, which links research, policy, education, and practice stakeholders to advance the CNL evidence base. We summarize foundational CNLRC research to explain CNL practice, quantify CNL effectiveness, and bring clarity to how CNLs can be implemented to consistently influence care, quality, and safety.