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Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist - Career Profile |
Career OverviewReturning to normal life after a debilitating injury or disease is often a considerable ordeal. Patients and their families often need considerable support to adjust and recover from the experience of a long-term illness or injury.
The role of a Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist is to provide help and support to patients recovering from debilitating injuries or illnesses. They often work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, or for health care agencies that offer support to rehabilitate patients.
Rehabilitation Nurse Specialists are trained Clinical Nurse Specialists with advanced training to function as administrators, clinicians, consultants, case managers, educators, and researchers to provide the best possible readjustment and education to patients recovering from serious illness or injury.
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Career RequirementsRehabilitation Nurse Specialists are required to train as Clinical Nursing Specialists prior to completing any advanced training in the field. They are required to have some advanced training in the nursing field. Most Clinical Nursing Specialists have advanced degrees. Approximately 93% of all CNSs have a Master's Degree or equivalent graduate certificate to compliment their training as an RN.
Rehabilitation Nurse Specialists are required to have an active RN license and typically have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing to have obtained this qualification.
Specialist training in patient rehabilitation is a requirement for this profession, typically met by the practical experience of each candidate. Experience is focused working in primarily outpatient settings to assist patients and their family members adjust recovery from an illness or serious injury.
Some institutions offer specialist training programs and certification in rehabilitation nursing. More information about training programs and certification is available through the following organization:
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
4700 W. Lake Ave.,
Glenview, IL 60025
www.rehabnurse.org
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Job OutlookHospitals and in-patient medical facilities are working to reduce the amount of time patients spend away from home. It is thus incumbent on the medical community to, at the same time, facilitate the rehabilitation of patients who have experienced trauma due to serious illness or injury.
Increasingly this obligation is being met by nurses as opposed to physicians or less qualified medical assistants because nurses possess both the education and the experience to support patient rehabilitation and to monitor the health of these patients to a sufficient degree.
The employment prospects for Clinical Nurse Specialists trained in rehabilitation are very promising for the foreseeable future.
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Career TrackSee Clinical Nurse Specialist
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CompensationSee Clinical Nurse Specialist
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