Health Career Profiles

Clinical Nurse Specialists

Career Description

Clinical nurse specialists are registered nurses who hold a master’s or a doctoral degree in nursing and have advanced nursing knowledge and skills, advanced judgment and clinical experience within a focused area of care, such as oncology, women’s health, paediatrics or mental health. Clinical nurse specialists work in direct patient care as well as in policy development, administrative roles, education and research.

Academic Requirements

  • Completion of either a Masters in Nursing or a PhD in Nursing.

Acceptance into a Masters in Nursing requires one to have:

  • A Bachelors of Nursing with a GPA of 3.0, and the following undergraduate courses:
    • research;
    • statistics;
    • family nursing;
    • community nursing

Acceptance into a PhD in Nursing requires one to have:

  • A Masters in Nursing with a GPA of at least 3.3

Where to study in Nova Scotia