Clinical Nurse Specialist 
Clinical Nurse Specialist Career Overview
A clinical nurse specialist is an advanced practice nurse who has expertise in a specific knowledge and practice area of nursing. The specialty may be identified in terms of:
- A Population (e.g. 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)
The clinical nurse specialist is expected to observe, conceptualize, diagnose, and analyze complex clinical or nonclinical problems related to health; and to consider a range of theory relevant to understanding those problems and determining possible treatment options. Responsibilities include clinical practice, education, research, and consultation.
The highly focused training and education provided to clinical nurse specialists qualifies them for more in-depth involvement and improvement of the healthcare delivery system. Therefore, the role of the clinical nurse specialist usually goes beyond patient care. A CNS may consult, educate, or evaluate their respective department and staff within it for quality improvement, and to increase efficiencies, and reduce medical errors. CNS nurses may also work in community outreach, educating patients to improve their compliance, lifestyle, and satisfaction with their health and health care.
Clinical Nurse Specialist Employment Opportunities
Clinical nurse specialists practice in a wide variety of health care settings, including medical-surgical, pediatric, perinatal, geriatric, psychiatric, rehabilitation, critical-care, and emergency/trauma, as well as outpatient areas such as home health, community, public health, occupational health, and schools.
Clinical Nurse Specialist Salary
According to the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), an estimated 69,017 RNs have the education and credentials to practice as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). Approximately 14,643 are qualified to work as a nurse practitioner and a CNS. In general, CNS salaries range from $65,000 to over $110,000 annually depending on region of the country and practice specialty.
Qualification for a CNS Career
To become a clinical nurse specialist, one must be an active licensed RN. A CNS must have earned a master's or doctoral degree in a defined clinical area of nursing from an accredited educational institution. Typically clinical hours are required as part of a CNS program. Finally, a CNS candidate would take the certification exam for his/her specialty.
Clinical Nurse Specialist Certifications
Currently CNSs can obtain certification by examination in some specialties. For many specialty areas there is no certification exam available.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers the new CNS-BC credential to individuals who successfully complete clinical nurse specialist exams in:
- Adult Health CNS
- Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health CNS
- Child/Adolescent Psych & Mental Health CNS
- CNS Core Exam
- Diabetes Management - Advanced
- Gerontological CNS
- Home Health CNS
- Pediatric CNS
- Public/Community Health CNS
Certified Nurse Specialist Career Outlook
Overall job opportunities for registered nurses are expected to be excellent with growth expected at 23% from 2006 to 2016 (creating 587,000 new jobs). Over 70,000 clinical nurse specialists are practicing in the U.S., according to the NACNS. That may sound like a lot of CNS's, but when you consider that there are well over 2.5 million nurses in the country, 70,000 is not a very large proportion of clinical nurse specialists. Plus, those 70,000 CNS's are divided up into about 12-15 different types of CNS's, depending on their area of specialization. Therefore, demand for CNS's, especially in particular specialties such as oncology, is high.
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