Abstract

This paper describes a clinical nurse specialist/clinical nurse specialist-nurse practitioner (CNS/CNS-NP) internship program in a tertiary care teaching hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, located in south-central Ontario, Canada. The goal of the program is to increase the number of fully qualified CNS/CNS-NPs in the organization. With this program, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is able to recognize and reward nurses already employed within the hospital. The program assists nurses in transition to the CNS/CNS-NP role while they are completing the required educational requirements. The authors describe the components of the internship program, responsibilities of participants and the infrastructure required to support the program. Overall, the internship program is a valuable mechanism for supporting the development of advanced practice roles in the hospital setting.