Clinical Nurse Specialist Careers

Career Overview

A clinical nurse specialist provides complete care to patients suffering from different medical conditions through emotional support and advice. This is a popular specialized area of registered personnel known as clinical nurses. They practice medicine by focusing on various aspects of health-care. With proper education and licensure, a career in this reputed field of nursing could turn out to be rewarding. Therefore, decide right away if you want to thrive in this field.

The job scope of a clinical nurse focuses on specific clinical areas by working in medical clinics, health-care offices, hospitals and other health-care settings. They are also trained to work in areas depending on gender or age group, like women’s health-care or pediatrics. During duty, their area of work could be allocated to emergency rooms or critical care units, and also taking care of other units’ patients. In order to overcome with the health-care issues, doctors need clinical nurses to assist them. Clinical nurses are the expert consultants who provide utmost care and encouragement to patients and promote swift recover. In addition, some clinical nurse specialists are also involved in handling management and administration work at different clinics.

Job Outlook

Clinical nurse specialists work as clinical experts, consultants, researchers or educators. They combine all their expertise to provide attentive care to patients, while also researching on health problems and find ways to resolve them. They may also have to evaluate patient care methods and execute the necessary changes accordingly. It is also possible that the constant change in trends of the health industry requires nurses to undergo advanced nursing courses to serve better. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics the estimated number of people employed as registered nurses, including advanced practices of nurse specialist, were 2,724,570, in May 2011. The general medical and surgical hospitals employees are around 1,556,930, which is the highest count till to date.

Salary Prospects

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average salary of registered nurses was nearly $69,110 annually in May 2011. By providing personal care services, clinical nurses have earned the highest annual pay of $85,940.

Education Requirements

Mostly, the education requirements to become a clinical nurse specialist in every state are the same but the licensure requirements may vary. To be a specialist of this nursing field, specialized education is mandatory, which is possible through a graduate, Masters or level nursing program.

Courses that are compiled in nursing degrees train students in management, social strategy and develop critical-thinking. These courses include research, statistics, theory, epidemiology, and pharmacology, which may take 2 to 5 years to complete. Upon completion of a specific degree, students might work professionally. Licensure is obligatory in all states for which one has to graduate from an accredited nursing institute and ultimately pass the National Council Licensure Examination.

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