I am a CNS. Most of the few of us left do not work in a provider role. Though we are one of the APRN roles, we have less in common with those roles in many cases than we do with the RN role. Mostly, we do not bill separately in my state or prescribe meds, except for PMH CNS's. Though I have seen CNS's as providers in some areas, most of us are in a supportive and consultative role to the nursing staff -from the bedside to the administrative nurses. I think that our role should be revisited. We are experienced nurses, not like the Master's entry Clinical Nurse Leader role, who are generalists and often entry level. (Why the heck did they allow this role to have a name so close to CNS????---CONFUSING to the general public and even nurses). We are the nurses' nurse, as we were once known. I think the role is needed more than ever as we have many people entering practice who need a lot of support. Many nurses want to advance, but do so by leaving the bedside. We need nurse experts more than ever to support nursing, not just to support the "medical" provider role. Keep at least some of our nurses in nursing...please!!!
