IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS
Providing quality, affordable health carE
advanceD practice registereD nurseS
Ohio APRNs
A CNS may provide and manage the care of individuals and groups with complex health problems and provide health care services that promote, improve, and manage health care within the CNS's nursing specialty. A CNS must obtain a master's or doctoral degree from a clinical nurse specialist accredited program and pass a national CNS certification examination. A CNS is licensed by the Ohio Board of Nursing as an APRN. A CNS must practice in collaboration with a physician or podiatrist when providing direct patient care. In addition to providing direct patient care, the CNS influences care outcomes by providing expert consultation for health care team members and by implementing improvements in health care delivery systems.
Research about CNS practice demonstrates outcomes such as:
- Reduced hospital costs and length of hospital stay
- Reduction in the frequency of emergency department visits
- Improved pain management
- Increased patient satisfaction with nursing care
- Reduced medical complications in hospitalized patients
Other important information to know:
- A CNS has prescriptive authority and may prescribe medications.
- Each CNS is required to have a Standard Care Arrangement with one or more collaborating physicians or podiatrists.
- When a CNS is collaborating with a podiatrist, the CNS's scope of practice is limited to the procedures that the podiatrist has the authority to perform according to section 4723.43(D) of the Ohio Revised Code
There are 11 accredited CNS programs in Ohio
*The median annual salary of a CNS in Ohio, not including bonuses, benefits, or other factors that impact base pay (courtesy of salary.com).
*The total number of CNSs with an active (or current) license in Ohio as of June 30, 2021 (Ohio Board of Nursing, 2021)
- $107,230* Median Annual Salary
Hospitals
Intensive Care Units
Hematology/Oncology
Hospice/Palliative Care
PRACTICE SETTINGS
Courtesy of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS)
Clinical Nurse Specialists are expert clinicians in a specialized area of nursing practice. The specialty may be identified in terms of:
- Population (e.g., pediatrics, geriatrics, or women’s health)
- Setting (e.g., critical care or emergency department)
- Disease or medical subspecialty (e.g., diabetes or oncology)
- Type of care (e.g., psychiatric or rehabilitation)
- Type of health problem (e.g., pain or wounds)
- 1,096* Number of CNSs in Ohio