McNeese State University in Louisiana offers a clinical nursing specialty program to students who are enrolled in the nursing graduate degree program. The CNS program prepares students for an advanced nursing profession in adult health or adult psychiatric health. The total program is 39 to 45 credit hours, upon which students will receive a clinical nursing specialist credential.
Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, Missouri, offers a post-master's certificate as a clinical nurse specialist to nursing students who have already obtained a master's degree from a nursing graduate college. Coursework for the CNS program at Saint Louis University includes pediatrics, family medicine, adult care, acute care and psychiatric specialties. Once the post-master's certificate program is completed, students qualify to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) certification exam or the National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses certification exam.
Students in the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Nursing College can obtain a Master of Science in nursing degree in order to work professionally as clinical nurse specialists. The MSN program requires students to take advanced nursing application and theory courses that help develop students' competencies in the nursing industry. Practicum courses are also part of the academics in this program.
The Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia offers a CNS program in the nursing graduate school. The program is specifically designed to train nurses for working with adult patients. Nursing students learn a variety of valuable skill sets, including how to perform assessments and diagnoses, how to provide wellness prevention information and how to perform as a clinical leader. The CNS course consists of 37 semester hours.