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Also called adult health clinical nurse specialist, board certified clinical nurse specialist, clinical specialist nurse and community health clinical nurse specialist.
$97,550
Median pay a year
3,379,720
People do this work
6
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Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Clinical Nurse Specialist resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Clinical Nurse Specialist
1 certification
Summary
Clinical Nurse Specialist directing nursing staff in patient care within clinical practice settings, ensuring adherence to policies and standards while collaborating with healthcare professionals and evaluating nursing practices
Experience
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Provided specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients within designated specialties
Collaborated with other health care professionals to ensure optimal patient care
Evaluated the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice and organizational systems
Instructed nursing staff in assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of patient care
Developed and maintained departmental policies and patient care standards based on evidence-based practice
Monitored medical conditions of patients in collaboration with other health care professionals
Participated in clinical research projects by reviewing protocols and monitoring compliance
Skills
Core Skills
Establishing nursing policies, Managing healthcare operations, Advising medical personnel on healthcare, Collecting medical professionals, Conducting research, Monitoring activities, Monitoring medical facility activities, Examining patients, Developing medical treatment plans
Leading & Coordinating
Training medical providers
Education
Professional Degree (JD, MD, DDS) Your university, Year
Certifications & Licenses
State license for this work Your state board, Year
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What did you do each day?
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Provided specialized care to inpatients and outpatientsCollaborated with health care professionals for patient careDeveloped and evaluated nursing practice standardsMaintained departmental policies and infection control standardsInstructed nursing staff on assessment and managementEvaluated quality and effectiveness of nursing practice
becomes
On your resume
Provided specialized direct and indirect care to inpatients and outpatients, ensuring high-quality patient outcomes
Developed and evaluated nursing practice standards to enhance care delivery and compliance with departmental policies
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Add how many patients you cared for each week
The line
Provided specialized direct and indirect care to several patients each day, ensuring high-quality outcomes
Add how many patients you cared for each week
Pick one that fits
Several patients each dayA diverse group every weekMultiple cases per shift
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In your wordsAdd it
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Added to your resume
Show what improved in care delivery after you evaluated the standards
The line
Developed and evaluated nursing practice standards to enhance care delivery and compliance with departmental policies
Show what improved in care delivery after you evaluated the standards
Pick one that fits
Patient satisfaction scores increasedFewer compliance issues aroseCare delivery became more efficient
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In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
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What it is made of
Skills for a Clinical Nurse Specialist resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Developing medical treatment plans
Establishing nursing policies
Training medical providers
Managing healthcare operations
Advising medical personnel on healthcare
Collecting medical professionals
Conducting research
Monitoring activities
Monitoring medical facility activities
Examining patients
Evaluating program effectiveness
Evaluating personnel policies
The work itself
What a Clinical Nurse Specialist does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Direct nursing staff in the provision of patient care in a clinical practice setting, such as a hospital, hospice, clinic, or home. Ensure adherence to established clinical policies, protocols, regulations, and standards.
What it pays
How much does a Clinical Nurse Specialist make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$80,330
Median
$97,550
75th percentile
$112,350
About 3,379,720 people do this work in the United States.
What it pays in each state
State
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
AK
$97,700
$109,480
$129,100
AL
$63,500
$77,080
$83,380
AR
$66,640
$78,940
$90,280
AZ
$81,810
$99,500
$108,580
CA
$122,440
$140,270
$173,170
CO
$84,590
$100,260
$108,930
CT
$86,120
$102,740
$121,840
DC
$85,850
$102,540
$127,800
DE
$85,900
$99,520
$111,720
FL
$78,660
$84,190
$101,180
GA
$79,090
$93,550
$106,330
HI
$101,200
$136,320
$144,140
IA
$68,290
$78,630
$85,940
ID
$80,900
$92,460
$102,320
IL
$80,020
$95,990
$105,960
IN
$78,750
$83,500
$100,410
KS
$73,300
$79,320
$94,700
KY
$75,670
$81,040
$97,200
LA
$69,040
$80,230
$93,600
MA
$87,460
$104,550
$136,110
MD
$83,740
$99,790
$107,340
ME
$79,890
$86,990
$101,460
MI
$82,080
$94,300
$103,450
MN
$88,940
$101,510
$114,760
MO
$76,050
$81,780
$98,560
MS
$64,930
$77,090
$84,500
MT
$80,210
$85,280
$100,800
NC
$78,770
$84,350
$102,040
ND
$69,620
$80,730
$93,080
NE
$79,240
$84,730
$99,640
NH
$82,880
$99,700
$108,400
NJ
$99,710
$106,500
$127,730
NM
$80,960
$94,340
$102,750
NV
$86,850
$103,670
$120,270
NY
$94,840
$109,440
$129,660
OH
$79,200
$82,510
$99,030
OK
$77,350
$82,920
$98,910
OR
$107,220
$129,010
$134,420
PA
$80,610
$96,430
$104,730
PR
$38,170
$39,880
$49,340
RI
$81,840
$100,640
$107,100
SC
$77,320
$82,360
$97,230
SD
$65,070
$78,060
$84,280
TN
$75,460
$81,500
$95,250
TX
$79,170
$95,970
$105,100
UT
$80,050
$84,600
$105,130
VA
$80,090
$93,600
$103,030
VT
$82,210
$97,460
$105,210
WA
$103,100
$124,200
$134,240
WI
$81,920
$95,530
$102,610
WV
$68,160
$80,130
$99,770
WY
$77,890
$83,760
$101,100
Other names
Other names for this job
adult health clinical nurse specialist, board certified clinical nurse specialist, clinical specialist nurse, community health clinical nurse specialist, critical care clinical nurse specialist, emergency clinical nurse specialist, gerontological clinical nurse specialist, intensive care unit clinical nurse specialist, neuroscience clinical nurse specialist, oncology clinical nurse specialist, OCNS, pediatric clinical nurse specialist.
More names for this work
psychiatric adult clinical nurse specialist, psychiatric clinical nurse specialist, public health clinical nurse specialist, trauma intensive care unit clinical nurse specialist, adult health cns, advanced practice nurse, APN, clinical ambulatory nurse, clinical medical surgical nurse, clinical nurse, clinical nurse manager, clinical resource nurse, cns, cns bc, critical care cns, emergency cns, gerontological cns, hospitalist np, hospitalist nurse practitioner, icu cns, infection preventionist, neuroscience cns, nurse practitioner, NP, pediatric cns, pediatric oncology nurse, psychiatric adult cns, psychiatric cns, public health cns, quality management nurse, trauma icu cns.
If you served
Military jobs this work counts as
From the crosswalk the US Department of Labor publishes itself. If one of these was your job, this page is about the civilian work it maps to.
46N1 Clinical Nurse
66H Medical Surgical Nurse
46N1G Clinical Nurse, Obstetrical
0925 Clinical Specialist, Nursing
66G Obstetrics and Gynecologic Nurse
46N1D Clinical Nurse, Staff Development
46N1R Clinical Nurse, Post Anesthesia Care Unit
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This page is about the occupation Clinical Nurse Specialists. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.