Career Central

The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse whose function is to improve outcomes in patient care, in collaboration with nursing staff, the interdisciplinary team, and organizational leaders. The CNS influences across three spheres-the patient and family, nurses and nursing practice, and at the organizational/systems level, while demonstrating competency in leadership, clinical expertise, education, collaboration, consultation, research and evidence-based practice, coaching and mentoring, and ethical decision-making and advocacy.

Leadership
Develops criteria for and evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice at an individual, unit, departmental, and systems level.
Standardizes nursing practice through development of evidence-based policies, procedures, and protocols.
Leads clinical practice and quality improvement initiatives.
Cultivates a practice environment in which mutual respect, communication, and collaboration contribute to safe, quality outcomes.
Partners with organizational leaders to achieve and maintain continuous readiness for regulatory accreditation, i.e. The Joint Commission.

Clinical Expertise
Designs and implements nursing plan of care for patients with complex needs.
Identifies and investigates harmful and near miss events and partners with leadership to implement process change as necessary.
Analyzes quality and safety reports from a systems level providing trends, raising areas of concern to organizational leadership, and making recommendations for systems improvement.
Identifies, researches, and implements evidence-based practice and new technology in collaboration with interdisciplinary partners.

Education
Partners with Clinical Nurse Educators to develop and implement educational programs related to nursing practice.
Participates in the planning and implementation of interdisciplinary education.
Promotes nursing's unique contributions toward advancing health to the organization and the community.
Disseminates CNS practice and outcomes to internal stakeholders.

Collaboration
Collaborates with interdisciplinary team to optimize outcomes and patient experience.
Collaborates with Clinical Nurse Educators on content and operational design of orientation, clinical competency, and other clinical educational program development.
Collaborates with nursing leadership in the monitoring and evaluation of the quality, safety, and appropriateness of patient care within the organization.
Uses leadership, teambuilding, negotiation, collaboration, and conflict resolution skills to build partnerships within the hospital/across the system.
Consultation
Provides expert specialty consultation to nurses related to complex patient care needs.
Designs evidence-based, cost-effective interventions to meet the needs of complex patients.
Assesses the nursing practice environment and processes for improvement opportunities.

Research and Evidence-Based Practice
Utilizes research to promote evidence-based practice.
Evaluates the impact of nursing on patient outcomes using methods that provide valid data.
Seeks opportunities for publication and presentations at local and national conferences.
Provides leadership to interprofessional team in identifying, developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based practices and research opportunities.

Coaching and Mentoring
Mentors nurses to acquire new skills and effectively incorporate evidence into practice.
Assists staff in developing critical thinking and clinical judgment skills.
Creates a care environment that stimulates continuous self-learning, reflective practice, feeling of ownership, and demonstration of responsibility and accountability.
Engages nurse in reflective practice activities that promote self-awareness and invite peer feedback to improve nursing practice.

Ethical Decision-Making and Advocacy
Facilitates resolution of ethical conflicts in complex patient care situations.
Leads efforts to resolve ethical conflict and moral distress experienced by nurses and nursing staff.
Analyzes the ethical impact of scientific advances, cost, and clinical effectiveness on patient and family values and preferences.
Advocates for patient and family preferences and rights.
Advocates for nurses to practice to the full extent of their role in healthcare delivery.

Qualifications:

• Graduate of accredited school of nursing, MSN required
• Minimum 5 year related clinical experience
• Florida APRN (CNS) and RN license required
• National Board Certification as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (population/age appropriate), required
• American Heart Association BLS and PALS required