miriambender

Thanks for the wisdom, I now have a much firmer grasp of what I am getting into. I appreciate all the prompt responses!

How interesting, the CNS job is what you make of it, which I can see is why it is so hard to explain to a newbie. Coming from a medical background, where there is no such flexibility, it is a bit of a leap, but the more I learn, the more I am attracted to the position. I am still a little nervous about job prospects after I graduate though, not for my 'dream job' but any job where I could start using the CNS skills -I am out in Southern California where I guess many of the CNS positions were eliminated in the 90's due to budget concerns, and are only now starting to repopulate the hospital community. The nursing school I am interested in applying to says there is a great demand now for CNSs, but I still am a bit unsure. Thanks for this enormously informative dialogue!!

Thank you llg for the very informative answer. I think the variety of the postion sounds very exciting. From what I have read though CNSs do not yet have a large role in the hospital nationwide. Is this true or not? Is it normal for each department within a hospital to have a CNS, or is it still the exception rather than the rule? Is cost a big factor in this? Appreciate any response!

As a pre-med graduate researching becoming a CNS, I also have had confusion about the medical/surgical CNS "role". I have read the posts and am understanding more and more everyday. What a newbie like me doesn't understand is the idea that an organization defines the role, not your title as CNS (as opposed to being a neonatologist looking for a neonatology position in a neonatology hospital; all pretty straightforward). I wonder about being hired in different organizations when at each place I might be doing completely different things. So is it not my skills that are being hired, but my potential? Miriam