Clinical Nurse Specialist

Clinical Nurse Specialists often specialize in certain clinical areas to provide a high level of individual patient care. These nurse specialists serve as mentors to other clinical staff and design effective patient treatment plans and procedures.

These specialists also explain clinical directions to patients and families, and they measure the quality of care given to each patient. Clinical Nurse Specialists use this information to analyze the effectiveness of patient care in a unit, department, or entire facility to create improved procedure plans.

Job Responsibilities

• Audit clinical practices and develop improvement plans
• Communicate quality analysis with facility management
• Direct and provide guidance to staff in clinical tasks
• Design patient treatment plans for admission and post-discharge
• Educate patients and families on post-discharge care

Qualifications and Skills

• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree
• Active Clinical Nurse Specialist certification
• 3+ years of experience in a healthcare setting

Clinical Nurse Specialists must have strong interpersonal communication skills to analyze and effectively inform employees on revised care techniques. These specialists also interact with patients and families to educate them on post-discharge care, rehabilitation, and at-home treatment.