The community clinical nurse specialist. A two-year perspective

I have described my role as a clinical nurse specialist in an official agency over the past two years. The circumstances of my setting and position, my personal feelings of commitment and accountability, have all influenced the direction of my position. In relation to my nursing practice, I have concentrated on areas that have appeared to me as high-risk. I believe that there is a very definite role in the community for nurses who have the expertise to deliver health care of a high quality with more independence than usually exists in a nursing role. Before a clinical nurse specialist can function in an official agency, however, there are limitations that must be resolved.