Clinical Nurse Specialists

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or infection control standards.
• Identify training needs or conduct training sessions for nursing students or medical staff.
• Collaborate with other health care professionals and service providers to ensure optimal patient care.
• Develop, implement, or evaluate standards of nursing practice in specialty area, such as pediatrics, acute care, and geriatrics.
• Instruct nursing staff in areas such as the assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of disability, illness, management, technology, or resources.
• Write nursing orders.
• Teach patient education programs that include information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
• Design patient education programs that include information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
• Direct or supervise nursing care staff in the provision of patient therapy.
• Monitor or evaluate medical conditions of patients in collaboration with other health care professionals.
• Provide consultation to other health care providers in areas such as patient discharge, patient care, or clinical procedures.
• Develop and maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or patient care standards, based on evidence-based practice guidelines or expert opinion.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to other caregivers to help facilitate their professional growth and development.
• Develop or assist others in development of care and treatment plans.
• Perform discharge planning for patients.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
• Chair nursing departments or committees.
• Provide specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients within a designated specialty, such as obstetrics, neurology, oncology, or neonatal care.
• Coordinate or conduct educational programs or in-service training sessions on topics such as clinical procedures.
• Participate in clinical research projects, such as by reviewing protocols, reviewing patient records, monitoring compliance, and meeting with regulatory authorities.
• Prepare reports to document patients' care activities.
• Provide direct care by performing comprehensive health assessments, developing differential diagnoses, conducting specialized tests, or prescribing medications or treatments.
• Design evaluation programs regarding the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice or organizational systems.
• Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice or organizational systems.
• Develop nursing service philosophies, goals, policies, priorities, or procedures.
• Present clients with information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
• Lead nursing department implementation of, or compliance with, regulatory or accreditation processes.
• Observe, interview, and assess patients to identify care needs.
• Make clinical recommendations to physicians, other health care providers, insurance companies, patients, or health care organizations.
• Plan, evaluate, or modify treatment programs, based on information gathered by observing and interviewing patients or by analyzing patient records.