Clinical Nurse Specialist Schools:
Information on Clinical Nurse Specialist Training

The prerequisites you'll need in order to begin you clinical nurse specialist school will depend on whether you plan to enter your program with a bachelor's degree in nursing, an associate's degree in nursing. Typical entrance requirements for those who hold a bachelor's degree in nursing include:

• Bachelor's degree in nursing from an accredited nursing school
• License to practice in state in which nursing school is located
• Completion of the GRE with satisfactory score
• Completion of a statistics course with satisfactory grade
• Letters of recommendation
• A personal statement detailing why you'd like to become a clinical nurse specialist

Many clinical nurse specialist schools offer RN-to-MSN programs for nurses with 2-year degrees, and/or "direct entry" programs for students with bachelor's degrees in non-nursing fields. Entrance requirements for these types of programs differ. for example if you choose to enter a master's in nursing program as an RN, you won't need to have a bachelor's degree or to have taken the GRE. If you're entering your program with a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field, you won't need to have your nursing license.

Your clinical nurse specialist school program will include most, if not all, of these core courses:

• Nursing theory and philosophy
• Health assessment
• Health care systems management
• Ethics in health care
• Pharmacology
• Physiology/Pathophysiology
• Research methods

In addition to the coursework, you'll need to complete 500 clinical hours in order to complete your degree.

You'll need to choose a nursing specialty in order to begin your training. Most of your clinical nurse specialist school coursework will be tailored to your specific area of focus. Some possibilities include:

• Acute Care Nursing
• Adult Nursing
• Cardiovascular Nursing
• Geriatric Nursing
• Home Health Nursing
• Infectious Disease Nursing
• Neonatal Nursing
• Occupational Health Nursing
• Oncology Nursing
• Parent-Child Nursing
• Perinatal Nursing
• Public Health Nursing
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Rehabilitation Nursing
• School Health Nursing
• Women's Health Nursing

Most full-time programs take about 18 months to complete. Part-time programs can generally be completed in as few as three years. You can take longer to complete your degree, if you need to take things slowly in order to fit school into your schedule, but many schools will require you to complete your program within five or six years.

On a final note, you should expect the nursing school you choose for your clinical nurse specialist training to be nationally accredited. This will allow you to qualify for federally funded financial aid and give you an advantage in your credentials when you start to look for employment.

Two national organizations accredit nursing education programs:

^{Sources:
NLNAC; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010; CCNE.}