The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a Registered Nurse who, through advanced academic and clinical specialty-practice preparation, is an expert in a defined area of knowledge and clinical practice.  The CNS participates in nursing practice management of select complex patients and aggregate patient populations in collaboration with health-care team members in accordance with professional practice standards and Bryan Medical Center policies.  The CNS serves as a catalyst to promote evidence-based practice to improve patient and family outcomes along the care continuum.  The CNS holds five interactive role accountabilities:  advanced clinical practice, patient outcomes research, leadership, consultation, and education.  Internal and external to Bryan Medical Center, the CNS builds and strengthens relationships with nurses, physicians and health-care leaders in various settings and collectively influences outcomes and "best practice."

The Clinical Nurse Specialist supervises Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and/or other support staff in the delivery of patient care as described in Nebraska Statute 38.

PRINCIPAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. *Commits to the mission, vision, beliefs and consistently demonstrates our core values.
2. *Identifies priority health-care needs of individuals, aggregate patient populations, families, and/or communities within designated specialty practice.
3. *Provides routine or urgent care management for complex, high-risk patients/families to improve patient outcomes, investigate clinical practice issues, generate clinical study/research questions, develop new clinical modalities or improve systems in a quality-conscious, cost-effective manner.
4. Detects and reports patterns of variance for designated patient populations and participates in identification of the problem source.
5. Standardizes care practices and measures outcomes of care to directly improve patient outcomes.
6. *Utilizes evidence-based practice to improve clinical practice and/or patient population-specific outcomes; provides leadership for performance improvement initiatives.
7. Conducts single-subject case reviews, point-prevalent studies or continuum-based patient/family outcomes research as identified through an analysis of key programs or clinical initiatives.
8. Mentors colleagues in scientific inquiry, critical thinking and patient outcomes research.
9. Collaborates with clinical research efforts that support patient/family focused outcomes.
10. Collaborates with Directors and/or Nurse Managers to develop strategic plans in designated specialty practice areas.
11. *Establishes, implements, and evaluates goals related to the strategic plan and practice initiatives.
12. Builds cohesiveness across organizational boundaries to strengthen "best practice".
13. Provides leadership in the development of organizational systems/process that will integrate appropriate standardized resources (e.g., nursing taxonomies, information systems, professional standards/guidelines, research tools).
14. *Serves as a consultant to ensure continuity of care, "best practice," and systems improvement for nurses, patients/families, health-care disciplines, and/or the community at-large.
15. *Identifies learning needs of target groups, and facilitates/provides education that promotes practice improvement and professional growth.
16. Commits to excellence in education through application of research, presentations, publications and/or preceptorships.
17. *Commits to self-directed professional development for knowledge, competence and experience in specialty practice area (e.g., memberships in professional and specialty-practice organizations, networking).
18. Performs other related projects and duties as assigned.