Graduate Program
Dominican University of California is an environment that is conducive to self-care and reflection. The MSN Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) program at Dominican provides a curriculum and educational approach that is consistent with this environment, offering a holistic approach to understanding, interpretation, planning, and delivery of nursing care. Graduates of the Dominican CNL program serve as nurse leaders and positive agents for change in any setting in which health care is delivered, and assume accountability for healthcare outcomes across the continuum of care.
This unique CNL program emphasizes inclusion and respect for all clients, acknowledging diversity among ethnic and gender-specific cultures and the values inherent in each. This respect includes appreciation for both traditional and complementary and alternative approaches to health care across the life span. With these values in mind, the CNL designs, implements, and evaluates client care by coordinating, delegating and supervising patient care provided by the interprofessional health care team. The Dominican CNL is rooted in clinical nursing; optimistic about the possibility of effecting change in healthcare systems; committed to improving healthcare outcomes for all clients, and prepared to assume a leadership role in their selected clinical environment.
The master’s portion of the program includes 36 units (9 units in each of 4 semesters). The on-campus program meets alternating weekends, Friday night and all day Saturday. The program does not meet during the summer. Off-site program schedules may vary. Our highest priority is providing students with a supportive and healthy learning environment. We help you to succeed.
The roles of the CNL include:
- Leadership in the care of the sick in and across all environments
- Design and provision of health promotion and risk reduction services for diverse populations
- Provision of evidence-based practice
- Population-appropriate health care to individuals, clinical groups/units, and communities
- Clinical decision-making
- Design and implementation of plans of care
- Risk anticipation
- Participation in identification and collection of care outcomes
- Accountability for evaluation and improvement of point-of-care outcomes
- Mass customization of care
- Client and community advocacy
- Delegation and oversight of care delivery and outcomes
- Team management and collaboration with other health professional teams members
- Development and leveraging of human, environmental, and material resources
- Management and use of client-care and information technology
- Lateral integration of care for a specified group of patients
(American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2007, p. 10-11)
