Clinical Nursing Specialist: Career, Training, & Certification

Clinical Nursing Specialist

An advanced practice nurse, a clinical nursing specialist fulfills a specific demand for specialized knowledge in the medical field or a subsection of patients. This can encompass a variety of factors, from knowledge about specific diseases, to age ranges of patients. Other areas of specialty could include medical environments, such as the operating room, critical care unit, or other specific areas of the hospital that this nurse is trained in. This is a rather prestigious unit of nursing, because nursing specialists have a highly advanced level of knowledge about their special area of study, and help not only with patient care but also research and management of other nurses on the team.
 
Salary Outlook
 
Due to the higher level of education required for nurse specialists, they tend to receive a higher pay level, which will depend on years of experience and what working environment is chosen.
 
Average Annual Salary
$74,350
 
Salary Range
$62,510-$82,305
 
Work Environment
 
Because clinical nursing specialists make their area of expertise in a specific realm, the work environment will correspond to this. For example, if psychiatric nursing is the nurse’s specialty, then he or she will most likely work in the psychiatric ward of a hospital or a specialty clinic. They could practice independently, directly with a physician, or in a variety of other environments ranging from hospitals to health agencies.
 
Requirements
 
The minimum requirements to become a clinical nursing specialist is a four-year Bachelor’s degree, a nursing certificate or license depending on what state the nurse plans on practicing in, and at least two years of experience. From there, most will complete Master’s degrees in their chosen field of expertise, which is what leads to them becoming a specialist, receiving a higher level of prestige and pay.
 
Career Outlook
 
With the aging of baby boomers, the need for clinical nursing specialists is expected to skyrocket in the next decade. There will be an unprecedented demand for those nurses who are technically skilled in an area of specialty, in order to give the highest quality of healthcare to an aging population. With diseases on the rise, there is a need especially for those nursing specialists who are skilled in geriatric care as well as the treatment of cancer and heart disease, for example. As a result, more and more nurses are taking the time to go back to school and receive a graduate level education, to prepare for the opening of so many new jobs in this field.
 
Professional Organizations
 
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
2090 Linglestown Road, Suite 107
Harrisburg, PA 17110
Phone: (717) 234-6799
www.nacns.org
 
American Nurses Association
8515 Georgia Avenue
Suite 400
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3492
Phone: (301) 628-5000
www.nursingworld.org