Published
There don't seem to be a lot of CNS jobs around these days. Fortunately, the CNS role is broad enough that you can work in a variety of capacities. There are plenty of people in nursing who seem to be determined to eliminate the CNS role altogether. I've been a psych CNS for 20 yrs, and, sad to say, it's hard to think of reasons to encourage anyone to take that route these days.
There are still a few of us around. lol
I'm dual certified as both an adult and peds CNS. I care for pts from birth to death. I have an APRN role: I see pts, order tests, diagnose, write scripts, follow-up, etc. In IL, where I practice, I have full prescriptive authority and have my own DEA and NPI numbers.
I personally would not be happy with the educator or change agent role or the "true CNS" role. And...to be honest, health care is a business. In order to keep your job as an APRN, you need to bring in $$ to your practice. So, you need to perform billable services. Just my take on it.
I attended an online CNS program based in CA. In CA, your job prospects are probably much better than here on the East Coast. I do not think any of my CA based classmates mates worried that they would get a job as a CNS. The CNS role is very popular with organizations like Kaiser and UCLA. I wish I could say the same was true here in PA, but it is not. That is not to say you cannot get a job as an educator, case manager, or in the Quality Department. Licensure as a CNS differs widely from state to state. In CA, if a program is certified by the CA BON, you can get a CNS license. Here in PA, if you do not have a national certification which is recognized by our board, there are numerous hoops to jump through. For some specialties like mine, which is perinatal, there is no exam.
I'm actually a UCSF grad from the CNS program here in CA. I'm also a PA native and I chose to relocate out here in CA for that region. I know Stanford uses CNS a lot and has many CNS positions open - they use them to see patients and bill them, but you need to be nationally certified in order to bill. So that's a stipulation of the employment. Agree that Kaiser uses them, there are more NP jobs it seems - but there are also not a lot of people pursuing CNS careers so it makes me stand out a bit. Not to open a can of worms here, but I work with a physician group that loves CNS's in their practice, but don't view NP's in a favorable light.
eshilts
2 Posts
I'm considering a career change to nursing and am looking at accelerated Masters programs, such as the UCSF MEPN program. The Adult / Gerontology CNS - Oncology (AGCNS-ONC) program sounds like something I'd be good at given my background (Director of Analytics and Data Science), but I'm worried about the job prospects.
Specifically, I'm worried that I won't have enough experience to get a CNS-type job when I graduate, and that there doesn't seem to be many of these jobs.
Has anyone gone through one of these accelerated programs and had success or difficulty finding CNS-type work?
Thanks!