Memo To:
ECU Graduate Curriculum Committee
From:
Dr. Susan Williams; Clinical Nurse Specialist Concentration Director; College of Nursing
Re:
NURS 6958 Clinical Practice for the CNS Across the Adult Lifespan
Date:
September 20, 2011
The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists has revised the CNS Competencies and the criteria
for the Evaluation of Clinical Nurse Specialist to include the geriatric population. In addition, the American
Nurses Credentialing Center is in the process of revising the Adult CNS certification exam to meet the
new competencies. Competencies that were added related to revisions from the NACNS and include the
impact of CNS practice on the geriatric population, patient safety and patient outcomes.
Currently there is one 3 semester hour Role and Theory Course (NURS 6959) in the CNS concentration.
Including the above content in the current course is not possible due to the extent of material already
being covered. By adding an additional course the faculty will meet the goal of better preparing the
students for their clinical experiences while continuing to meet the educational standards set by the
NACNS and continuing to prepare students to sit for national certification as a CNS.
We would like this course to be available to students in the spring of 2012.
Course description:
NURS 6958: Focuses on the role of the CNS in adult through geriatric practice including
various care settings and analyzes the effectiveness of the CNS in bringing innovation
and change to improve care delivery, safety and patient outcomes to this population.
Objectives:
In this course the student will:
i) Analyze the role of the CNS in various care settings where adults through geriatrics
receive care.
ii) Examine the role of the CNS spheres of influence on safety and outcomes.
iii) Evaluate practices that promote innovation and change in the clinical setting
iv) Analyze models of effective care delivery to adult patients, geriatric patients and their
families
v.) Analyze CNS practice in project development and technology innovation to improve
outcomes and safety for the adult and geriatric patient.
This course will be the second of two didactic courses for the CNS student prior to their beginning the
clinical courses 6960, 6961 and 6962. Currently the only didactic course is NURS 6959. The proposed
class will expand students’ knowledge by including geriatric specific content, patient safety issues in
various settings and patient outcomes specific to age. The students need the content described above
before they enter the first clinical course
Our CNS concentration met the original Criteria for Evaluation of CNS Education and will be able to meet
the revised criteria, but we do need more didactic hours to fully cover all of the required material. The
clinical hours and practicum courses will not change. The prerequisites for NURS 6959 and NURS 6960
are being revised as part of this package. The clinical nurse specialist MSN and post MSN certificate
programs are being revised to include the new course. Next spring I will submit a proposal to:
2.
Switch the numbers of NURS 6959 and NURS 6958 so that the fall course will be titled
NURS 6958 ‘Clinical Nurse Specialist Role and Theory’
3. Request renaming of NURS 6959 to ‘Clinical Practice for the CNS Across the Adult
Lifespan’ so that the spring course will be titled: NURS 6959 ‘Clinical Practice for the
CNS Across the Adult Lifespan’