The
Graduate Nursing
CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST (CNS)
FAQs
Q. What is a
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)?
A. Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) are
licensed registered nurses who have graduate preparation (Master’s Degree) in
nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Clinical Nurse Specialists are expert clinicians in a
specialized area of nursing practice.
The specialty may be identified in terms of:
·
A Population (e.g. adult, pediatrics,
geriatrics, women’s health)
·
A Setting (e.g. critical care, emergency
room)
·
A Disease or Medical Subspecialty (e.g.
diabetes, oncology)
·
A Type of Care (e.g. psychiatric,
rehabilitation)
·
A Type of Problem (e.g. pain, wounds,
stress)
Clinical Nurse Specialists practice in a wide variety
of health care settings.
In addition to providing direct patient care, Clinical
Nurse Specialists influence care outcomes by providing expert consultation for
nursing staffs and by implementing improvements in health care delivery
systems. They are experts in the integration
of theory and research into practice.
CNS practice is consistently targeted to produce
quality, cost-effective outcomes in 3 spheres of influence: the patient/client, nursing personnel, and
organizations/networks, through clinical expert, teacher, consultant and/or
researcher roles.
Clinical Nurse Specialist practice integrates nursing
practice, which focuses on assisting patients in the prevention or resolution
of illness, with medical diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury and
disability.
Research about Clinical Nurse Specialist practice
demonstrates an impact upon outcomes such as:
·
Reduced Hospital Costs and Length of Stay
·
Reduced Frequency of Emergency Room Visits
·
Improved Pain Management Practices
·
Increased Patient Satisfaction with Nursing
Care
·
Reduced Medical Complications in
Hospitalized Patients
Q. Where
do Clinical Nurse Specialists practice?
A. CNS practice occurs in settings across the
health care delivery continuum. Many practice in acute care and hospital
settings, but long term care facilities, educational settings, and private
practice are also options.
Q. What are the CNSs
Prescribing Rights:
A. CNSs may apply for prescribing authority if they
meet the following criteria:
·
Certification by a national nurse
certification organization acceptable to the MN Board of Nursing
·
Completion and verification of no less
than 30 hours of formal study from a college, university health care
institution which includes health assessment, medication classifications,
indications, dosages, contraindications and side effects, minimum of 45 hours
of supervised practice, and competence evaluation of the therapeutic management
of the clinical type of patients in the area of certification.
·
Written agreement with a physician based
on standards established by the MN Nurses Association and the MN Medical
Associate Memorandum of Understanding.
Third Party Payment/Medicare
Eligibility:
Third party reimbursement is an
interaction that occurs between the health care provider and the patient. The
payment between these two parties can involve a third party, such as a
government agency (Medicare or Medicaid) or a private insurance company.
Federal legislative directives and those in the State of
Q. What are the certification requirements for
Clinical Nurse Specialists?
A. Currently CNSs can
obtain certification by examination in some specialties, such as adult medical
surgical nursing, critical care nursing, gerontological nursing, psychiatric
mental health nursing. For many specialty areas there is no advanced practice
certification exam available, at this time.
The
Certification guidelines are available
at:
http://nursingworld.org/ancc/certification/exams.html
Advanced Practice nurse (including CNS)
regulations by state are available at:
http://www.ncsbn.org/public/regulation/boards_of_nursing_board.htm
More information is available from the
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
website at: