The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists - The NACNS was founded in 1995, specifically to enhance and promote the unique and high-value contributions that clinical nurses make to the health and well-being of individuals, families, groups, and communities in their particular branch of healthcare. They also have a foundation, scholarship programs, a journal and discussion portal, various levels of conferences, scholarship programs, honors and awards, and the ability for advanced certification. A Clinical Nurse Specialist is a licensed RN who has graduate preparation (MA or PhD) in nursing specifically as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. This field of healthcare goes beyond the duties of an LPN or RN, or even charge nurse, and deals with either advanced levels of clinical specialization, or broader, community and national health concerns. The field requires a rather significant academic bent, and the association is designed to support and enhance that paradigm focus (CNS - Who We Are and What We Do, 2010)
Conclusions- Modern nursing is a rewarding, but challenging, career choice. The modern nurse's role is not limited only to assist the doctor in procedures, however. Instead, the contemporary nursing professional takes on a partnership role with both the doctor and patient as advocate caregiver, teacher, researcher, counselor, and case manager. The caregiver role includes those activities that assist the client physically, mentally, and emotionally, while still preserving the client's dignity. In order for a nurse to be an effective caregiver, the patient must be treated in a holistic manner. Patient advocacy is another role that the modern nurse assumes when providing quality care. Advocacy is the active support of an important cause, supporting others, or speaking on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves (Kozier, Erb, & Blais, 1997).
The organizations seem robust, active, professional, and above all, interested in aligning professional goals of their membership. The ENA is probably the broadest of the three, simply because there are more trauma, emergency room and clinic, and advance pain and wound care personnel. The others are narrow in respect to either midwifery -- a specialized vocation dedicated to the birth process and a more advance clinical and academic expertise dedicated to specifics in clinical research, education, and action. All are attractive for membership, depending on the specific specialization one chooses.
REFERENCES
About ENA. (2010, January). Retrieved October 2010, from Emergency Nurses Association: http://www.ena.org/about/Pages/Default.aspx
About the ACNM. (2010, February). Retrieved from American College of Nurse-Midwives: http://www.midwife.org/members.cfm
CNS - Who We Are and What We Do. (2010, January). Retrieved October 2010, from National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists: http://www.nacns.org/AboutNACNS/MissionStatement/tabid/57/Default.aspx
Kozier, B., Erb, G. & Blais, K. (1997), Professional nursing practice (3rd edition),
Addison-Wesley.
Mason, D., et.al. (2007). Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care.
Elsevier.
Watson, Jean. (2008). Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring. Revised Edition, University Press of Colorado.
