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Clinical Nurse Leader

Types of Degrees Clinical Nurse Leader Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Clinical Nurse Leader have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	9
Master’s Degree	421
Doctor’s Degree	4

What Clinical Nurse Leader Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Clinical Nurse Leader develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Clinical Nurse Leader graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Clinical Nurse Leader emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Clinical Nurse Leader program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Clinical Nurse Leader careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Clinical Nurse Leader graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.7 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Clinical Nurse Leader professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Clinical Nurse Leader graduates include:

• Pediatric Oncology Nurse
• Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse)
• Nurse
• Staff Nurse
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• PACU RN (Post Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse)
• Charge Nurse
• Delivery Nurse
• Hospice Registered Nurse (Hospice RN)
• Operating Room Registered Nurse (OR RN)
• Nurse Consultant
• Trauma Nurse
• OB/GYN Nurse (Obstetrics/Gynecology Nurse)
• Central Supply Nurse
• Obstetrics Scrub Nurse (OB Scrub Nurse)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Clinical Nurse Leader graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	43.7%
Bachelor’s degree	25.1%
Doctoral degree	9.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.0%
Postsecondary certificate	7.8%
First professional degree	1.5%
Post-doctoral training	1.5%
Post-master’s certificate	1.2%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.2%
Some college courses	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Clinical Nurse Leader?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.4% of Clinical Nurse Leader degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	388	89.4%
Men	46	10.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Clinical Nurse Leader graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	215	49.5%
Asian	46	10.6%
Hispanic or Latino	46	10.6%
Black or African American	85	19.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	3	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	5	1.2%
Two or More Races	15	3.5%
Race Unknown	17	3.9%
International Students	2	0.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Clinical Nurse Leader Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Clinical Nurse Leader graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Clinical Nurse Leader Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Clinical Nurse Leader. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	14	4
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Clinical Nurse Leader Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Clinical Nurse Leader graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	51.38
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	51.3803
Clinical Nurse Specialist	51.3813
Critical Care Nursing	51.3814
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	51.3816
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	51.3805
Forensic Nursing	51.3824
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	51.3821
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing	51.3806
Nurse Anesthetist	51.3804
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery	51.3807
Nursing Administration	51.3802

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.