Core Practice Doctorate Competencies

Core Practice Doctorate Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Competencies (RETIRED) (PDF)

The NACNS CNS Statement for Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice and Education (3^rd ed.) delineates the role-specific expectations of the CNS whereas the AACN Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (2011) and The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (2006) address degree-specific requirements regardless of role preparation.  To alleviate overlap in addressing competencies, NACNS has retired the NACNS Core Practice Doctorate Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies (2009) as of January 2019.  The NACNS CNS Statement for Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice and Education (3^rd ed.) is the endorsed role-specific expectations of the CNS regardless of post graduate degree preparation.

Core Practice Doctorate Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Competencies Endorsing Organizations (as of December 2009):

1. Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, AMSN
2. American Association of Colleges of Nurses, AACN
3. American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, ASPAN
4. American Nephrology Nurses Association, ANNA
5. Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nursing, AWHONN
6. Emergency Nurses Association, ENA
7. Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, HPNA
8. National League for Nursing, NLN
9. Oncology Nursing Society, ONS