The role of the pediatric clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is grounded in the core
curriculum and competencies outlined by the National Association of Clinical Nurse
Specialists Statement on CNS Practice and Education and the certifying body (
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2019
). As of 2019, there were over 70,000 practicing CNSs across the United States (
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2019
). The NACNS program directory outlines 12 CNS pediatric programs in eight states
and over 60 adult programs across the country (
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2020
). While there are fewer pediatric programs, the 2020 NACNS census survey revealed
that based on the CNS competencies and the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
Consensus Model's certification for licensure, approximately 22.5% (n = 557) of CNS respondents practice in pediatrics. Care of the pediatric patient has
become more complex and therefore a need for a pediatric CNS to support more complex
care becomes even more apparent (
Cohen et al., 2011
;
Murphy and Ehritz, 2021
). The purpose of this article is to review ongoing pediatric CNS challenges, the
value of the role, opportunities and outlining the journey of the CNS team at Seattle
Children's (SC) in Seattle, Washington.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 18, 2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
