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Date: 07/18/2025

Clinical Nurse Specialists

Direct nursing staff in the provision of patient care in a clinical practice setting, such as a hospital, hospice, clinic, or home. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Participate in clinical research projects, such as by reviewing protocols, reviewing patient records, monitoring compliance, and meeting with regulatory authorities.
    • Develop nursing service philosophies, goals, policies, priorities, or procedures.
    • Make clinical recommendations to physicians, other health care providers, insurance companies, patients, or health care organizations.
    • Write nursing orders.
    • Develop or assist others in development of care and treatment plans.
    • Direct or supervise nursing care staff in the provision of patient therapy.
    • Provide coaching and mentoring to other caregivers to help facilitate their professional growth and development.
    • Develop, implement, or evaluate standards of nursing practice in specialty area, such as pediatrics, acute care, and geriatrics.
    • Maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or infection control standards.
    • Present clients with information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
    • Provide direct care by performing comprehensive health assessments, developing differential diagnoses, conducting specialized tests, or prescribing medications or treatments.
    • Design patient education programs that include information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
    • Coordinate or conduct educational programs or in-service training sessions on topics, such as clinical procedures.
    • Participate in clinical research projects, such as by reviewing protocols, reviewing patient records, monitoring compliance, and meeting with regulatory authorities.
    • Provide consultation to other health care providers in areas such as patient discharge, patient care, or clinical procedures.
    • Observe, interview, and assess patients to identify care needs.
    • Observe, interview, and assess patients to identify care needs.
    • Teach patient education programs that include information required to make informed health care and treatment decisions.
    • Plan, evaluate, or modify treatment programs, based on information gathered by observing and interviewing patients or by analyzing patient records.
    • Instruct nursing staff in areas such as the assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of disability, illness, management, technology, or resources.
    • Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
    • Chair nursing departments or committees.
    • Monitor or evaluate medical conditions of patients in collaboration with other health care professionals.
    • Prepare reports to document patients' care activities.
    • Collaborate with other health care professionals and service providers to ensure optimal patient care.
    • Provide direct care by performing comprehensive health assessments, developing differential diagnoses, conducting specialized tests, or prescribing medications or treatments.
    • Plan, evaluate, or modify treatment programs, based on information gathered by observing and interviewing patients or by analyzing patient records.
    • Identify training needs or conduct training sessions for nursing students or medical staff.
    • Provide specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients within a designated specialty, such as obstetrics, neurology, oncology, or neonatal care.
    • Monitor or evaluate medical conditions of patients in collaboration with other health care professionals.
    • Design evaluation programs regarding the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice or organizational systems.
    • Perform discharge planning for patients.
    • Lead nursing department implementation of, or compliance with, regulatory or accreditation processes.
    • Develop and maintain departmental policies, procedures, objectives, or patient care standards, based on evidence-based practice guidelines or expert opinion.

    Skills

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    Knowledge

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    Career Video

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    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 81250/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 39.06/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 135,860
    • Yearly Projected Openings 7630

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Dependability
    • Leadership
    • Attention to Detail
    • Analytical Thinking

    Tools

    • Acute care fetal or maternal monitoring units
    • Anesthesia nerve block kit or tray
    • Apnea monitors
    • Arterial blood gas monitors
    • Arterial line catheters
    • Autotransfusion units
    • Bedpans
    • Blood collection syringes
    • Blood pressure cuff kits
    • Breast pumps
    • Bronchoscopes
    • Cardiac output CO monitoring units
    • Cardiac pacemaker generators or cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers CRT-P
    • Cast cutters or saws
    • Cast or splint carts or stands
    • Central venous catheters
    • Clinical incubators or infant warmers
    • Clinical trapeze bars
    • Crutches
    • Desktop computers
    • Diagnostic or interventional vascular catheters for general use
    • Electrocardiography EKG transmitters or telemetry devices
    • Electrocardiography EKG units
    • Electronic blood pressure units
    • Electronic medical thermometers
    • Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment
    • Emergency or resuscitation carts
    • End tidal carbon dioxide monitors
    • Endoscopic hemostatic balloons or needles or tubes or accessories
    • Endoscopic instrument sets
    • Endotracheal or tracheotomy sets
    • Endotracheal tubes
    • Enema kits
    • Enteral feeding infusion pump tubing sets
    • Eye charts or vision cards
    • Finger ring removers or cutters
    • Flow sensors or regulators or components
    • Glucose monitors or meters
    • Goggles
    • Gurneys or scissor lifts
    • Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB machines
    • Intracranial pressure ICP monitoring units
    • Intravenous infusion pumps for general use
    • Intravenous or arterial catheter trays
    • Intubation forceps
    • Intubator components
    • Laboratory graduated cylinders
    • Lancets
    • Manual resuscitators
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Medical aspiration or irrigation syringes
    • Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves
    • Medical nasal oxygen catheters or catheterization kits
    • Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances
    • Medical oxygen masks or parts
    • Medical radiological positioning aids for general radiological use
    • Medical staff isolation or cover gowns
    • Medical staplers for external use
    • Medical syringes with needle
    • Medical tuning forks
    • Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer
    • Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer accessories
    • Medication or pill dispensers
    • Microscope slides
    • Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
    • Mobile medical services spine boards
    • Multiparameter vital sign units
    • Nasal exam specula or dilators
    • Nasogastric tubes
    • Nasopharyngeal tubes or airways
    • Nebulizers
    • Non invasive bi level machines
    • Notebook computers
    • Ophthalmic irrigation or aspiration supplies
    • Ophthalmic slit lamps
    • Ophthalmic tonometers
    • Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets
    • Orthopedic splint systems
    • Orthopedic traction hardware or weights
    • Ostomy appliances
    • Otological instruments
    • Oxygen concentrators
    • Patient care beds for specialty care
    • Patient floor scales
    • Patient shifting boards
    • Patient stabilization or fall prevention devices
    • Perfusion oxygen or hematocrit saturation monitors
    • Pericardiocentesis needles or kits
    • Pleural cavity drainage units or containers
    • Pulse oximeter units
    • Reflex hammers or mallets
    • Skin staple removers or kits
    • Specimen collection container
    • Spirometers
    • Surgical clamps or clips or forceps
    • Surgical drains or drain sets
    • Surgical irrigation sets
    • Surgical isolation or surgical masks
    • Surgical scalpels or knives or blades or trephines
    • Surgical scissors
    • Surgical shave kits or prep razors or clippers
    • Suture removal kits or trays or packs or sets
    • Suturing kits or trays or packs or sets
    • Tablet computers
    • Tablet crushers
    • Therapeutic heating or cooling blankets or drapes
    • Thoracentesis sets or trays
    • Tongue depressors or blades or sticks
    • Tourniquets
    • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
    • Ultraviolet UV lamps
    • Umbilical catheters
    • Urinalysis analyzers
    • Urinalysis test strips
    • Urinary catheterization kits
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
    • Vaginal exam speculas
    • Vascular or compression apparel or support
    • Walkers or rollators
    • Wheelchairs

    Technology

    • Electronic mail software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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