What Is a Clinical Nurse Consultant?

Clinical nurse consultants, also called clinical nurse specialists, help health care facilities ensure they provide superior standards of care and effective treatment. They have extensive and highly specialized knowledge, which they draw on to ensure that a hospital's nurses and its processes offer care that is tailored for a patient's specific circumstances and provides the best chance of recovery.

Who They Are
Clinical nurse consultants are highly trained, highly skilled advanced practice nurses who must have a master's degree or doctorate. They usually focus on one of three areas: patients and family members, management or administration. Those dealing primarily with patients and families generally concentrate on a specialized area within health care, such as working with a specific population such as women or children. They may also specialize in a particular medical setting such as intensive care, emergency room or long-term care. Or, they concentrate on specific diseases or conditions such as diabetes, cancer, psychiatric problems or wounds.

Administration and Management
Health care facilities often depend on the expertise of clinical nurse consultants when developing or evaluating standards of nursing practice. A hospital may hire a clinical nurse consultant who specializes in pediatric care to assess the care provided to the hospital's youngest patients. She'll monitor how nurses care for pediatric patients, both by observing and by interviewing patients and analyzing their medical records. She may identify areas where additional training is needed or make suggestions regarding changes or improvements the hospital can implement. She may also personally train or coach the facility's nursing staff.

Reference Chron.com: http://work.chron.com/clinical-nurse-consultant-13912.html