Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

The Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) track prepares the professional nurse for advanced practice roles.

Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) are expert clinicians in a specialized area of nursing practice. The specialty may be identified in terms of:

• A Population (e.g. pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health)
• A Setting (e.g. critical care, emergency room)
• A Disease or Medical Subspecialty (e.g. diabetes, oncology)
• A Type of Care (e.g. psychiatric, rehabilitation)
• A Type of Problem (e.g. pain, wounds, stress)

Clinical Nurse Specialists practice in a wide variety of health care settings.

In addition to providing direct patient care, Clinical Nurse Specialists influence care outcomes by providing expert consultation for nursing staffs and by implementing improvements in health care delivery systems.

Clinical Nurse Specialist practice integrates nursing practice, which focuses on assisting patients in the prevention or resolution of illness, with medical diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury and disability.” (National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2008)

Students graduating from the Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AGCNS) track will be eligible for American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) certification examination for Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AGCNS).

Student Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) track, graduates will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Assume advanced nursing roles in clinical practice
2. Deliver culturally competent health care to diverse populations
3. Use epidemiological, social, and environmental data to draw inferences on the health status of clients
4. Design health promotion and disease prevention clinical programs
5. Evaluate nursing practice and organizational policies to produce quality outcomes
6. Demonstrate leadership in clinical practice
7. Use ethical decision making in relevant practice roles
8. Collaborate with other disciplines to achieve quality outcomes in nursing practice
9. Facilitate the use of evidence-based practice in nursing
10. Promote nursing as a profession and a discipline
11. Demonstrates scholarly inquiry through verbal and written communication in clinical scholarship