Wednesday, January 25, 2006
By Fred A. Davis III
fdavis@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Jillian Bauhs likes the idea of being a part of something cutting-edge. The Clinical Nurse Leader program, or CNL, a pilot program at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., provides her that opportunity.
The CNL program is a “New Nurse” model created by the American Association of Colleges of Nurses. Because of the dire need of nurses in a rapidly growing health care industry, the AACN realized in 1999 that a new approach was needed to recruit more nurses. Thus, the CNL program was devised.
Aimed at non-traditional students, the CNL is a generic, entry-level masters program intended for those who have completed a degree — which does not necessarily require a medical background — and want to become a nurse. The CNL program pays special attention to bedside care.
“This is an innovative program,” said Karen Miller, dean of the school of nursing. Aside from the Med Center, there are 90 CNL programs underway in 35 states and Puerto Rico, according to the AACN’s Web site.
Different from a standard nursing degree, which requires four-and-a-half years, the CNL is a three-year commitment that consists of two years of school and the final year spent working at a hospital. For those participating in the Med Center’s CNL program, the year will be spent at the KU Med Center Hospital or Children’s Mercy Hospital, Miller said.
The pilot program is in its first year, with the ten students beginning their CNL journey last fall. Now in her second semester of the CNL program, Bauhs, a Chaska, Minn., graduate student, was intrigued by the idea of completing her masters degree in three years — opposed to the five years it would have taken her had she gone the traditional masters degree route.
“To get done with school and have a masters degree after completing the program seemed like a pretty palatable idea,” she said.
Bauhs, who graduated in May with a degree in Spanish, came to the University with the hopes of graduating in four years with degrees in both nursing and Spanish. She soon realized if she wanted to travel abroad and learn Spanish, the nursing degree and the drive to the Med Center campus in Kansas City, Kan., would have to wait.
Fortunately for Bauhs it was a seamless decision to be a part of the CNL program. Yet the new program is not without its worries. Bauhs has fears about — and this sentiment is echoed by the AACN — the acceptance of the newly created position by the medical community.
“This job has never been done before, so convincing others of the importance of continuity of care will be important,” she said.
Edited by Lindsey Gold
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