Generic professional behaviors: implications for the clinical nurse specialist role

The clinical nurse specialist (CNS) as an advanced practitioner contributes significantly to the provision of comprehensive and sophisticated patient care services. If the CNS is to remain a dominant clinical force in these days of cost consciousness in the health care system, however, clinicians and administrators must justify and define this important clinical role. This article offers a framework for describing the role of the CNS from a pragmatic but conceptually based perspective. A professional practice model is examined and discussed in relation to the authority base for practice, the legal definition of nursing. Issues of social relevance and the tradition of sexism are explored as important factors to consider when validating the CNS role. If the CNS is to have the opportunity to make a difference in the practice setting, the position must survive the budgetary process. Clear explanations of the value of basic and advanced nursing practice in our current health care system are critical.