Clinical nurse practitioners. Identifying their roles

1. The functions of GCNS may be vague and therefore difficult to implement. A GCNS with a secondary role, such as in discharge planning, can make the GCNS more visible. 2. The secondary role of discharge planning is complimentary to the role of GCNS and allows the GCNS easy access to the geriatric patients. 3. To provide the GCNS with more visibility, a specific plan including education and community programs was needed. 4. Because of the wide spectrum of information in gerontological nursing, GCNS must define their limitations.