Online Clinical Nurse Leader Programs
Lead Efforts to Enhance Clinical Care
Clinical Nurse Leaders oversee nursing teams and improve the quality of care in clinical settings. Our online clinical nurse leader programs prepare you for clinical leadership roles and support your pursuit of CNL certification through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
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Begin Your Journey to Clinical Nurse Leadership
If you’re passionate about improving patient outcomes and leading transformative care initiatives, you might have a bright future as a Clinical Nurse Leader. Sacred Heart’s online Clinical Nurse Leader programs provide advanced skills and hands-on experiences to help you make a meaningful impact on clinical care teams.
Curriculum for the clinical nurse leader programs focus on evidence-based practices, innovative tools and process improvements while exploring ways to influence policies and reduce health care costs. In addition to aligning with CNL certification requirements, the coursework imparts competencies for nursing careers in administration, risk management and community health leadership.
Explore Clinical Nurse Leader CurriculumPathways to Become a Clinical Nurse Leader
Sacred Heart offers two paths to become a Clinical Nurse Leader, and you do not need a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to get started. Each program includes high-quality online courses taught by faculty members with advanced expertise and extensive experience in their nursing specialties.
RN-MSN
Take a Direct Path to Becoming a Clinical Nurse Leader
Total credit hours: 51 to 153
Duration: 3.5 years
Degrees earned: BSN and MSN
Program Details: Gain access to top-tier nursing positions by earning both your BSN and MSN. Focus on providing exceptional patient care or branch out into education, research, consulting, management and more.
Who Should Apply: Sacred Heart offers this streamlined program to registered nurses ready to begin their journey to an MSN degree and obtain CNL certification. Admission requires an associate degree or diploma in nursing, and eligible students can transfer up to 90 credits.*
View ProgramMSN
Build on Your BSN to Become a Clinical Nurse Leader
Total credit hours: 36 to 42
Duration: 2 to 2.5 years
Degree earned: MSN
Program Details: Explore health care policy and ethics, principles of health care research and the underlying theories of contemporary nursing.
Who Should Apply: Designed for registered nurses with a bachelor’s in nursing,* the online MSN program delivers advanced education to prepare you for upper-level roles. You’ll complete core courses and the Clinical Nurse Leader specialization courses to be prepared for the CNL certification exam.
View ProgramDay in the Life of a Clinical Nurse Leader
As a clinical nurse leader, you’ll play a central role in ensuring patients receive compassionate, continuous and appropriate care within medical facilities. Sacred Heart’s CNL specialization will equip you with skills for satisfying this role’s daily responsibilities, including:
- Coordinating patient care
- Overseeing health assessments
- Advocating for patients
You’ll prepare to thrive as a CNL by completing a practicum and a capstone through this specialization. These hands-on experiences will introduce you to tasks found in real-world clinical settings, such as managing outcomes, analyzing risk and leading nursing teams.
Where Do Clinical Nurse Leaders Work?
- Hospitals
- Physicians’ offices
- Community health agencies
- Clinics
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*Each online nursing program includes specific admission requirements, available on the following pages: