Summary Report for:
29-1141.04 - Clinical Nurse Specialists
Plan, direct, or coordinate the daily patient care activities in a clinical practice. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.
Sample of reported job titles:
Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Intensive Care Unit Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiology Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiothoracic Surgery Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emergency Department Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Clinician, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Job Openings | Additional Information
Tasks
- Collaborate with other health care professionals and service providers to ensure optimal patient care.
- Provide specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients within a designated specialty such as obstetrics, neurology, oncology, or neonatal care.
- Observe, interview, and assess patients to identify care needs.
- Monitor or evaluate medical conditions of patients in collaboration with other health care professionals.
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
- Develop or assist others in development of care and treatment plans.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate standards of nursing practice in specialty area such as pediatrics, acute care, and geriatrics.
- Plan, evaluate, or modify treatment programs based on information gathered by observing and interviewing patients, or by analyzing patient records.
- Make clinical recommendations to physicians, other health care providers, insurance companies, patients, or health care organizations.
- Identify training needs or conduct training sessions for nursing students or medical staff.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Arterial line catheters — Swan Ganz artery catheters |
| Cardiac pacemaker generators or implantable defibrillators or accessories — Transcutaneous pacemakers; Transvenous pacemakers |
| Emergency or resuscitation carts — Crash carts; Pediatric crash carts |
| Floor grade forceps or hemostats — Alligator forceps; Ring forceps; Straight hemostats |
| Suction kits — Nasal suctioning equipment; Oral suctioning equipment; Tracheal suctioning equipment |
| Tablet crushers or accessories — Pill crushers; Pill splitters |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Electronic mail software — Email software |
| Information retrieval or search software — Online medical databases |
| Internet browser software — Web browser software |
| Medical software — eClinicalWorks software; GE Healthcare Centricity EMR; Medscribbler Enterprise; StatCom Patient Flow Logistics Enterprise Suite |
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Knowledge
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
| Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
| Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Therapy and Counseling — Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance. |
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins. |
| Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
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Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
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Work Activities
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
| Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
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Work Context
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections — How often does this job require exposure to disease/infections? |
| Consequence of Error — How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed |
| Education |
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| Related Experience |
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job. |
| Job Training |
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers. |
| SVP Range |
(8.0 and above) |
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Education
Percentage of Respondents |
Education Level Required |
95   |
Master's degree |
| 5 |
Associate's degree |
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Interests
Interest code: ESC
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
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Work Styles
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
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Work Values
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
Median wages data collected from Registered Nurses.
Employment data collected from Registered Nurses.
Industry data collected from Registered Nurses.
| Median wages (2012) |
$31.48 hourly, $65,470 annual |
| Employment (2010) |
2,737,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2010-2020) |
Faster than average (20% to 28%)
|
| Projected job openings (2010-2020) |
1,207,400 |
| Top industries (2010) |
|
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 wage data
and 2010-2020 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2010-2020). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
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Job Openings on the Web
Find Jobs
for Clinical Nurse Specialists
State & National Job Banks
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- Registered Nurses
. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition.
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