Curry College’s new Master of Science in Nursing will focus on the timely and relevant Clinical Nurse Leader role.  The program will launch in Fall 2008 at Curry’s Milton Campus and is designed for nurses who want to enhance their practice with cutting-edge knowledge and skills.  Thousands of area nurses have graduated from Curry’s undergraduate nursing programs and Curry College is pleased to continue that tradition of excellence at the graduate level.  The new MSN program is designed to provide an excellent educational experience while meeting the complex scheduling and convenience needs of adult students. 

Among the program features are:

• Convenient campus locations in Milton (Fall 2008 launch) and Plymouth (Fall 2009 launch)
• A superb nursing faculty committed to excellence in nursing education
• A cohort based model where students will stay together as a group throughout the program
• A 2 ½ year commitment; one full day of classes per week for five 15-week semesters
• Extensive clinical immersion at a range of clinical sites

Why the Clinical Nurse Leader role?

Our highly complex American healthcare system has forced professional nurses to think differently about how they care for their patients. Advances in technology, the explosion in knowledge and increases in medical errors have created new challenges and opportunities for nursing leaders. Today, understanding a diagnosis and implementing a treatment plan are only part of the competencies required for quality patient care.

The professional nurse must know how to anticipate risks, maintain patient safety, and understand technology using leadership, evidence-based practice and decision analysis. The professional nurse must be an effective communicator, a patient and community advocate, a member of a healthcare team, an educator, a leader, and so much more. This is the Next Generation nurse; this is today’s Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL® ).

Curry College’s timely and relevant Clinical Nurse Leader program is designed for nurses who want to enhance their practice with cutting-edge knowledge and skills. The program advances clinical judgment and provides the tools that are necessary for career success in the demanding healthcare environment, yet keeps the nurse with the patient.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recognized the need to re-define the role of the professional nurse in the healthcare delivery system. In collaboration with leaders from the practice environment, AACN developed the new Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL® ) role.

In short, the CNL®, a generalist role, is the career next-step for nurses who seek advanced education in patient care and competency in quality improvement, patient safety, risk assessment, and outcomes measurement. The AACN reports that healthcare organizations recognize the value of CNLs® as they are making significant and measurable improvement in overall quality and safety, with increased patient, family, and physician satisfaction, while reducing costs, and raising the level of practice for all nurses.