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Clinical Nursing Specialist - Career Profile |
Career OverviewWhen most people think of a career in nursing, they imagine it involves working in a hospital as subordinates to doctors and surgeons. Even Registered Nurses (RNs) have greater professional responsibility and autonomy that most people realize, but Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) hold advanced degrees and have the skills and credentials to work in whatever area of nursing they want and focus on a specialist kind of patient care, whether it's critical care or home help nursing.
Clinical Nursing Specialists work in virtually every area of medicine. As a Clinical Nursing Specialist, you can do pretty much what ever you want as a nursing practitioner. You can work in the capacity of a hospital administrator, surrounded by others and having minimal direct contact with patients. You can work independently, managing your own practice.
The training a Clinical Nursing Specialist receives enables them to specialize in a particular branch of medicine or practice generally in a hospital, clinic, or freelance capacity, just like Nurse practitioners. Clinical Nursing Specialists work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and for various health care agencies, depending on what they want to do. Some work as administrators, researchers, policy-makers, educators, and consultants, as well as, or rather than as practitioners.
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Career RequirementsTo become a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Registered Nurses typically studies for a Master's Degree in Nursing and receive advanced training in a number of specialist medical fields.
There are approximately 72,521 Clinical Nursing Specialists in the United States, comprising approximately 24% of all APRNs. Of these, approximately 93% obtained their Clinical Nursing Specialist qualification from Master's programs and a further 3% obtained it from a post-Master's certificate.
A typical Clinical Nursing Specialist divides their work time between five general areas of practice – clinical practice, teaching, research, consulting, and management – and these five areas tend to be the core study areas in most graduate courses.
Most graduate programs for nursing require you to have a valid license to practice as a Registered Nurse (RN) and at least Bachelor's Degree in Science. Many Clinical Nursing Specialists have doctorate degrees, so some courses may require a Master's Degree.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center awards licenses to qualified Clinical Nursing Specialists and is the official source for more information about finding an accredited training course. Contact information features below.
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
P.O. Box 12846,
Austin, TX 78711
www.aanp.org
American Nurses Credentialing Center
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 100 West
Washington, D.C. 20024-2571
(800) 284-2378
American Nurses' Association
8518 Georgia Ave.,
Ste. 400,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.nursingworld.org
National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Service, Inc
P.O. Box 25647
Alexandria, VA 22313
www.napnes.org
National League for Nursing
61 Broadway
New York, NY 10006
www.nln.org
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties,
National Directory of Nurse Practitioner Programs
1522 K St. NW, Ste. 702,
Washington, DC 20005
www.nonpf.com
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Job OutlookIn the next decade, nursing will be one of the top 10 fastest growing professions in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Health care facilities will be looking to cut back on general costs so clinical nurse specialists may become the preferred alternative to more specialized medical professionals.
The future looks bright in the nursing field, with the number of jobs for registered nurses expected to increase at a rate far greater than that of most other jobs in the next couple of years.
Over the next decade or so, the nursing profession is expected to change as well. Nearly one out of every eight Americans is over 65 years of age and the size of the elderly population looks set to double by 2050, according to the US Census Bureau. Nurses specializing in care of the elderly will be in particular demand.
Hospitals are constantly downsizing, cutting back on the number of general staff, and reducing the time of patients' stay as well, so at home patient care is likely to be the standard practice for nurses in the not too distant future.
There has also been some discussion about dividing the field of nursing into professional nurses and technical nurses. This will distinguish between those who have four-year degrees and those who have associate degrees. Clinical Nurse Specialists will likely be more secure in the job market if such a distinction occurs.
As the field develops, there will certainly be increased opportunity for Clinical Nurse Specialists to demonstrate leadership and to influence the direction of nursing at all levels.
Trends suggest that the education role of Clinical Nurse Specialists will become increasingly important, too. As patients spend less time in hospital, patient education will become an increasingly crucial part of the overall patient experience. Likewise, as more and more nursing and non-nursing staff members are hired by hospitals, clinics, and other health care establishments, the expertise of Clinical Nursing Specialists as educators will become yet more crucial.
The role of Clinical Nurse Specialists is and will remain a vital ingredient to ensure a positive experience for patients and staff.
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Career TrackClinical Nurse Specialists have credentials that allow them to take on a number of specialist roles in the field of medicine. They can choose to work day-to-day on a general hospital ward, practicing general medicine, or they can choose to specialize in a particular area of medicine.
Areas of specialization are listed below:
- Acute Care Nursing
- Adult Care Nursing
- Ambulatory Care Nursing
- Cardiovascular Care Nursing
- Community Health Nursing
- Critical Care Nursing
- Enterostomal Therapy Nursing
- Family Medicine Nursing
- Geriatric Medicine Nursing
- Home Health Nursing
- Infectious Diseases Nursing
- Neonatal Medicine Nursing
- Occupational Health Nursing
- Oncology Nursing
- Parent-Child Care Nursing
- Prenatal Medicine Nursing
- Psychiatric Care Nursing
- Rehabilitation Nursing
- Women’s Health Nursing
- Wound Care Nursing
The career track of every Clinical Nursing Specialist varies considerably. However, the education and training of Clinical Nursing Specialists prepares them well for a career track in a variety of areas and in a variety of capacities, from patient care to hospital administration. Wherever your ambitions take you, the Clinical Nursing Specialist qualification is likely to help you get there.
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CompensationAlthough compensation for Clinical Nurse Specialists varies considerably, depending on the type of work that they do and where they work, the annual pay is generally above that of a nursing practitioner working in the same type of situation.
- Emergency room nurse: $45,000 to $70,000
- Gerontology nurse: $40,000 to $95,000
- Licensed practical nurse: $35,000 to $45,000
- Nurse practitioner: $60,000 to $125,000
- Nurse supervisor: $55,000 to $85,000
- Registered nurse: $40,000 to $65,000
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