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Clinical nurse specialists in long-term care, and their managers, are encouraged to weigh in on what specific core competencies are needed for the job. The request comes from authors working on the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists’ 2017 Draft CNS Core Competencies.

Clinical nurse specialists are one of the four types of APRNs (Advanced Practice Registered Nurses), and around 20% work outside of acute settings, including some in long-term care. Nursing home administrators also should be paying attention to both the competencies and changes for the nurse specialists, said NACNS President Vince Holly, MSN, RN.

“As an administrator, you want to make sure the CNSs you hire have the core competencies, because that’s the basis of our practice and where you’ll get the best outcomes,” Holly told McKnight’s.

The competency list was thinned from 2004 to 2010 to reduce duplication, and this is the first review since then, he explained. Additionally, both new and experienced CNSs may be looking at post-acute care options in a shifting healthcare landscape, he said.  

“It’s a big opportunity. Many of the clinical nurse students I’ve been precepting are interested in long-term care,” he said.

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