Two Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) faculty and eleven students attended the 2009 Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Summit in New Orleans on January 29-31, 2009. The summit was titled, "CNLs leading Microsystems Improvement: The Link to Quality and Safety", and was sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Department of Veterans Affairs. This annual meeting of CNLs, CNL students, and hospital agencies was well attended with over 400 participants.
The program included presentations from national nursing leaders, nursing and Veterans Affairs administrators, CNLs in practice, and agencies employing CNLs. There were a number of presentations which demonstrated the CNL impact on patient care outcomes and how CNLs could save institutional money and resources by “making the business case”. A representative from the Joint Commission spoke on how CNLs could be on the frontline in improving patient quality and safety. All of the Curry participants agreed that this was a very exciting meeting. We anticipate that even more Curry students and faculty will attend next year!