Nursing specialization in New South Wales, Australia

SPECIALIZATION IN NURSING is a phenomenon that occurs worldwide. In New South Wales, Australia, the positions of clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and clinical nurse consultant (CNC) were formally established only in the last decade. How these positions developed and the responses to the roles are considered in this article. In 1990/1991, we surveyed 568 specialist nurses (CNSs and CNCs) working in the Sydney metropolitan area to identify their perceptions of what they ought to be doing and what they were actually doing in the performance of their roles. The results revealed discrepancies in perceptions of the potential role and the actual role. Comments indicated the challenging nature of the roles and thematic analysis of the comments identified problem areas related to role performance, such as workload and role conflict. Further research should be undertaken to explore the origins of role expectations and current role satisfaction.