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Clinical Nurse Specialist Major

Clinical Nurse Specialist

21 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
368 Master's Degrees Annually
#930 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Clinical Nurse Specialist Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many clinical nurse specialist graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 224
Doctor’s Degree 37
Graduate Certificate 17
Bachelor’s Degree 14

What Clinical Nurse Specialist Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to clinical nurse specialist were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Clinical Nurse Specialist Majors

Clinical Nurse Specialist majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Clinical Nurse Specialist Majors

A major in clinical nurse specialist prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Clinical Nurse Specialist Majors

As you progress with your clinical nurse specialist degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Clinical Nurse Specialist Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with clinical nurse specialist:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Clinical Nurse Specialists 14.8% $71,730
Nursing Instructors and Professors 24.0% $73,490
Registered Nurses 14.8% $71,730

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Nurse Specialist?

14 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
100% Percent Women
29% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of clinical nurse specialist majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 0
Black or African American 1
Hispanic or Latino 0
White 9
International Students 1
Other Races/Ethnicities 3

Geographic Diversity

Clinical Nurse Specialist appeals to people across the globe. About 7.1% of those with this major are international students.

Some degrees associated with clinical nurse specialist may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for clinical nurse specialist careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses 4.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 26.3%
Bachelor’s Degree 11.0%
Master’s Degree 41.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 2.8%
Doctoral Degree 13.5%
Post-Doctoral Training 2.3%

Online Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 0 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 0 0
Bachelor’s Degree 5 3
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 27 3
Post-Master’s 19 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 4 2
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 1 1

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to clinical nurse specialist.

Major Number of Grads
Registered Nursing 253,629
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 15,154
Nursing Practice 9,216
Nursing Administration 8,050
Nursing Science 4,481
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,364
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 3,261
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,295
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,963
Nurse Anesthetist 1,939
Critical Care Nursing 652
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 566
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 538
School Nursing 508
Clinical Nurse Leader 447
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 288
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 208
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 135
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 76
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 29
Forensic Nursing 20
Palliative Care Nursing 3

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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