Lt. Colonel David Bradley Interview – Q&A
Q. What prompted the reinvigoration of the military affiliate within NACNS?
A few colleagues and I have been attending the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist (NACNS) Annual Conference for years and always found it exciting and informative. We decided there was a real
need for a military affiliate, and — in true military fashion — we just went ahead and completed all the paperwork and executed the mission. We plan to launch NACNS’s military affiliate in October with representation across three branches of the military — Navy, Air Force and Army. We’ve had a lot of interest already.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish with the creation of the Armed Services affiliate?
People are just unaware of the Clinical Nurse Specialist’s (CNS) role. They ask: “What are your skill sets and how can we better utilize you?” There is a great need for education and awareness around the CNS in the military. We want to make sure that the role of the CNS is understood and valued. The best ambassadors for this effort are the CNSs themselves, so we want to put our heads together and have an organization to build awareness and appreciation of our role.
Being an affiliate linked to a national organization can support and help with visibility and grow awareness. Our second goal is to share and collaborate on evidence-based practice and research. NACNS gives us the best forum for accomplishing these goals.
Q. Can you tell us more about the benefits of a NACNS military affiliate?
The primary benefit of the NACNS military affiliate is that it establishes a platform to better market the role of the CNS. An active affiliate will highlight the great things CNSs are doing across the nation as well as showing how CNSs are making an impact in military healthcare. We also plan to use the military affiliate to network and establish a robust mentoring program for newer CNSs. That’s an area of opportunity for the military affiliate, providing experienced mentors for recently graduated CNSs.
Q. Do you have anything else you would like to share about the role of the CNS?
I’m always looking for better ways to describe the role of a CNS. When the message gets through, people really do understand the unique value we bring to the table. I’ve found that analogies go a long way in this regard; they’re a simple way to explain what otherwise can sound like a complicated role. Here’s one of the best analogies about CNSs that I’ve heard:
A CNS is like a pitching coach in baseball. Now, can you play baseball without a pitching coach? Absolutely. So, why do they have pitching coaches and pay them so much money?
Teams invest in pitching coaches because pitching is the most important position on the field. For a team to be great, it has to have great pitching. So, even small improvements to a pitcher’s mechanics, to his pitch selection, or to something as simple as how he grips the ball can have significant impact on the team. The pitching coach can look at the spin of the ball, the velocity, or the way the ball leaves a pitcher’s hand and be able to offer insight that no one else on the field can see. The pitching coach will see things others miss. “You’re dropping your shoulder,” he’ll tell the pitcher who can’t find the strike zone. This advice and corrective action can and regularly does change the outcome for a pitcher and for the game.
A CNS plays a similar role to the pitching coach, providing expertise and guidance at key moments, relying on their deep expertise, to improve the quality of care and outcomes in hospitals and health systems across the country.