Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist?

[t2000JC]

Any neonatal CNS out there? Can you tell me what you do daily. I like NICU nursing and would like to go for graduate school but not nurse practitioner (not interested in the increased liability, and the role in general) and am more interested in research nursing and education. Any thoughts? Also, any programs near the NJ area? thanks, t.

[rnkty13]

I do not of program in NJ, but the program I am in is perinatal CNS masters through University of Illinois at Chicago, and there is the option to specialize this degree further to concentrate on more neonatal. Maybe there are other similar programs.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I was a neonatal CNS for 14 years in several different hospitals, but now work on hospital-wide projects. My CNS roles were not that different than other CNS roles. Over the years I did a lot of staff development, ran a parents' group, developed policies, did a little research, monitored practice, implemented new clinical projects and procedures, and consulted with staff nurses on a wide variety of issues. There are probably a lot of other things I did that I can't remember at the moment.

I really liked the role and the variety it provides. Essentially, I did whatever needed to be done in order to promote the delivery of good quality nursing care in my units. It's a great role.

By the way ... My MSN was in Perinatal Nursing with a minor in Nursing Administration and some elective courses in Nursing Education. It was a good general preparation for a CNS role.

[Myethpio]

How funny, I just posted about this in the NICU forum...

My question was related to whether or not a specific neonatal CNS is necessary, or if another CNS could be obtained and one's background in NICU would be a good background... (such as the perinatal CNS mentioned above!)

At my program (an entry MSN) I have the option to go the NP or CNS route. The CNS offered that is closest to peds/NICU in my program is a parent-child CNS. Is this sufficient for a future neonatal CNS? Obviously, I plan to work as a nurse in the NICU for some time to gain that experience and expertise...

I know an NNP is very specific for the NP role in the NICU, but was not sure if it was the same for a CNS. The role seems a little fuzzier to me...

(Pluis there is no Neo-CNS anywhere near me)

Thanks for any help out there!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

The CNS role is a lot fuzzier -- and the graduate degrees that qualify you for a CNS position are not set in stone. In fact, the title "CNS" is not set in stone. In different states and in different hospitals, people have roles that are just like a CNS but don't use the CNS name. At my current hospital, we call the role "Clinical Practice and Education Specialist" and accept people with a wide variety of MSN's -- as long as it is appropriate.

Because most CNS role tasks do not fall outside the regular Nurse Practice Act, efforts to require certain educational requirements, special certification, special licensure, etc. have not been very successful. A hospital can simply make up a new job title and assign those tasks to that person. I'm not against that. I think that is the way it should be. During my 14 years in such roles, I practiced within each state's Nurse Practice Act and saw no benefit to nursing to put up more obstacles for people who wanted to function in such roles. I believe the intrinsic nature of the role is consistent to a flexible approach to the educational preparation of people who practice in such flexible roles.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I agree with llg. Each state has different rules for the CNS role. For instance, in GA - a CNS isn't an advanced practice nurse. However, in IL (where I practice), CNS is a protected by the state board of nursing title and it is an APN role.

When I graduated in May 06, I interviewed several places and was struck by the diversity of the jobs and roles available to CNS's. (I am an adult health CNS). However, when I asked about the APN role, some hospitals used it and some didn't. For many of the CNS's I have met, it is all about what you want from this role. My goal was to be an APN, so I took a position where I could utilize these skills.

The real positive to the CNS role (IMHO) is the diversity of jobs available. Good luck.

[Myethpio]

Yeah, I'm over in southern CA. I have no idea what the "rules" are for a CNS out here. How would I find this out? Is it state or hospital based? Perhaps I could find out more about the CNS here in this state or specifically a NICU CNS?

Any suggestions on where to look?