I am commenting in favor of the following petition... "support the Virginia Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (VaCNS)’s petition to revise the regulations governing Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) registration and practice.  The recommendations are necessary to clarify CNS registration requirements and to differentiate CNS practice from that of the professional nurse. The revisions align with nurse practice acts and regulations in neighboring states, across the nation, as well as the tenets of the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation (2008)"

The master prepared, certified Clinical Nurse Specialist should be recognized as advanced practice within the medical and nursing professions.  The CNS must be allowed to work in their full scope of practice and training so we can best ensure excellence in quality and patient safety within all care areas.  It is vital this is both supported and clearly stated in the Virginia regulations as purposed above.