Responsibilities The major functions of the Clinical Nurse Specialist include education, consultation, clinical practice and research, and leadership. The primary job responsibility is the direct application of clinical expertise to patients/families and patient care staff. The Clinical Nurse Specialist is responsible for the application of nursing principles at an advanced level of clinical nursing specialization to include assessing patients' health status by synthesizing and analyzing multiple sources of data, diagnosing and managing clients' acute and chronic health problems within a nursing framework, applying strategies to promote wellness and prevent illness, implementing therapeutic and corrective nursing measures which improve clinical outcomes, reduce cost, enhance efficiency and reduce length of stay. Practices in collegial and collaborative relationships with clients, families, other health care professionals and individual. Applies measures to evaluate health care outcomes and modify nursing practice decisions. Applies research findings for the improvement of health care outcomes. Integrates education, consultation, management, leadership and research into clinical practice. Additional Duties: Clinical Practice and Consultation: Coordinates with the nursing staff to identify patient care problems, to implement approaches to these problems and to evaluate the effectiveness of the care provided. Collaborates with the nursing and ancillary staff in assessing patient and family population-specific nursing needs to develop a plan of care for patients. Performs clinical evaluations and make clinical judgments based on a synthesis of concepts, principles, models and theories to solve complex problems. Establishes and monitors care standards and making recommendations for changes as needed. Serves as a nursing consultant for patients, nurses and other health team members. Leadership: Participates in departmental and hospital committees and meetings to facilitate improvement of patient care and development of goals, philosophies and objectives for a specialized patient population. Maintains liaison with faculty members of schools of nursing to arrange and facilitate clinical experience for nursing students; communicate with faculty members concerning students' needs and progress. Leads the introduction of new techniques and best practices which are evidence-based. Makes recommendations to change standards of care or standards of practice Education: Coordinates the development and implementation of an educational program designed to convey specialized knowledge and skills to nursing personnel. Coordinates plans for the professional development of the nursing staff. Designs and implements teaching programs for patients/families based on identified population groups and assessment of community health care needs. Assesses staff knowledge to identify competency-based education needs of staff. Education Requirements Completion of a Master's Degree program consisting of a minimum of 500 hours of clinical experience in the clinical nursing specialty. Recognized as a Clinical Nurse Specialist by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. Has an unrestricted license to practice as a Registered Nurse in North Carolina or a party state. Current certification in the clinical nursing specialty from a national credentialing body approved by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. Minimum Experience, Knowledge, Skill, and Ability Requirements One year of nursing experience beyond the Master's degree. An equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience may be considered. |
