LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES

Table 1: Characteristics delineating Clinical Nurse Specialist practice

Table 2: Differentiating a Specialised Nurse and a Clinical Nurse Specialist

Table 3: Characteristics of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners

Table 4: Similarities between Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners

Table 5: Differentiating the Clinical Nurse Specialist and the Nurse Practitioner

Figure 1: Progression from Generalist Nurse to Clinical Nurse Specialist

Figure 2: Distinction between Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Practitioner

Glossary Of Terms

Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP)

Advanced Nursing Practice is a field of nursing that extends and expands the boundaries of nursing’s scope of practice, contributes to nursing knowledge and promotes advancement of the profession (RNABC Policy Statement, 2001). ANP is ‘characterised by the integration and application of a broad range of theoretical and evidence-based knowledge that occurs as part of graduate nursing education’ (ANA, 2010 as cited in Hamric & Tracy, 2019, p. 63).

Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

An Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is a generalist or specialised nurse who has acquired, through additional graduate education (minimum of a master’s degree), the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for Advanced Nursing Practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context in which they are credentialed to practice (adapted from ICN, 2008). The two most commonly identified APN roles are CNS and NP.

Advanced Practice Nursing (APN)

Advanced Practice Nursing, as referred to in this paper, is viewed as advanced nursing interventions that influence clinical healthcare outcomes for individuals, families and diverse populations. Advanced Practice Nursing is based on graduate education and preparation along with the specification of central criteria and core competencies for practice (AACN, 2004, 2006, 2015; Hamric & Tracy, 2019).

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)

APRN, as used in the USA, is the title given to a nurse who has met education and certification requirements and obtained a license to practice as an APRN in one of four APRN roles: certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), certified nurse-midwife (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), and certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) (APRN Consensus Model, 2008).

Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

A Clinical Nurse Specialist is an Advanced Practice Nurse who provides expert clinical advice and care based on established diagnoses in specialised clinical fields of practice along with a systems approach in practicing as a member of the healthcare team.

Nurse Practitioner (NP)

A Nurse Practitioner is an Advanced Practice Nurse who integrates clinical skills associated with nursing and medicine in order to assess, diagnose and manage patients in primary healthcare (PHC) settings and acute care populations as well as ongoing care for populations with chronic illness.