Clinical Nurse Leader--a New Nursing Role (Nursing Practice‪)‬

In 2004, a new role in nursing, the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), was introduced by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Department of Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (VATVHS), in partnership with Vanderbilt University School of Nursing began a pilot program to introduce the CNL role to VATVHS. I was asked by Dr. James Harris, the then Associate Director of Patient Care Services at VATVHS, to work in this pilot program and implement the CNL role in the outpatient Gastroenterology area where I currently served as a staff nurse. This did not mean taking on a new job, but incorporating the Clinical Nurse Leader role into my existing role as staff nurse. I was given the AACN White Paper which defined the role as follows: A clinician, outcomes manager, client advocate, educator, information manager, system analyst/risk anticipator, team manager, member of a profession and that of being a lifelong learner. I related to each of these roles, and I had worked part or all them during my 20 years of being a nurse. I decided to accept the position and to learn more about it.