The role of the clinical nurse leader (CNL) continues to evolve in a dynamic health care environment. The essential CNL competencies-promote and facilitate interprofessional collaboration, create an appreciation of nursing's roles, disseminate evidence-based practice, and use theory to enhance quality improvement processes-remain constant.1 CNLs can function in the role of nurse educator by providing prelicensure nursing students with a strong foundation of quality improvement guided by evidence. Students attend CNL-led huddles during their clinical rotation to learn about the impact of length of stay, infection prevention, and lateral transition of care after the inpatient stay. Clinical experiences in wound care, home health, and hospice/palliative care in community settings are arranged by the CNL educator for students to gain an understanding of the importance in continuity of care. Evidence-based care plans create a holistic understanding of a patient's needs. Clinical research presentations guide students in the search of nursing literature that supports interventions and protocols they learn in theory and at the bedside. CNLs are lifelong learners who pass knowledge along to the next generation, starting at the prelicensure level.

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