The perceived importance of clinical nurse specialists' role components as viewed by nurse administrators and clinical nurse specialists in academic hospitals

Abstract

This study examined the perceived importance of clinical nurse specialists' (CNS) role components as viewed by a sample of 42 nurse administrators (NA) and 60 CNSs in eight academic hospitals in the United States. The participants completed the Clifford Clinical Nurse Specialist Functions Inventory and a demographic survey mailed directly to each individual. Each of the four CNS role component mean scores, of the total sample of the CNSs and-the total sample of the NAs, were ranked for comparison of impor~ance. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean scores for each of the four role components and the mean score between hospitals. Results of this study indicated that the CNS ranked the four CNS role components in de:;;cending order of importance: ( 1) education, (2) clinical, ( 3) research, and (4) administration. The NAs ranked the role components in descending order of importance: (1) research, ( 2) education, ( 3) clinical, and (4) administration. Results of the ANOVA to test differences of the importance of CNS role components indicated that there was a significant difference (E < .005) between the nursing groups of the sample hospitals only for the clinical role component and a significant difference (E < .001) between the hospitals only for the administration role component.