Clinical Nurse Specialist
The program prepares registered nurses
with the advanced theoretical knowledge,
clinical judgment, and practice
skills required to influence and improve
patient care outcomes by providing
expert consultation for nursing staff,
implementing improvement in health
care delivery systems, and contributing
to the health and well-being of individuals,
familes, groups and communities.
Specialty may be identified in terms of:
1) a population (e.g., adults, mothers,
and infants); 2) a setting (e.g., critical
care, ER); 3) a disease or medical subspecialty
(e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular,
and oncology); and 4) a type of problem
(e.g., pain, stress, and wounds).
Upon successful completion of the
Clinical Nurse Specialist degree, graduates are
eligible to take the national certification
examination given by the AACN
certification corporation, if such an
exam is available in the student’s area
of specialty.
