The NACNS Board of Directors is challenged to respond to the needs and concerns of clinical nurse specialists. It is working on your behalf in several ways. NACNS continues to participate in the activities of the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Coalition. This has included meetings with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Division of Nursing about priorities for funding authorized by the Nurse Reinvestment Act. NACNS leaders will also meet individually with leaders of the Division to establish a working relationship and share clinical nurse specialists' interests and issues with them. The Board continues to address CNS certification issues through dialogue with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) about contemporary CNS practice and through participation in the Alliance for Nursing Accreditation. In April, the Board finalized an agreement with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing for future collaboration on surveys of graduate programs, an important strategy for refining the body of knowledge about CNS education programs.

As this issue of the newsletter goes to press, the NACNS Board of Directors is completing enhancements to the NACNS Web site, which it urges you to review. The Web site serves as a primary means for communication between the organization and NACNS members and for dialogue within the CNS community.

This summer, the Board expects to finalize an updated edition of the NACNS Statement on Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice and Education, which was originally published in 1998 and is now widely accepted as the standard for CNS education programs and CNS practice.

Finally, this newsletter is intended to serve as a vehicle for you, the members, to share your accomplishments and achievements with your colleagues. Deborah Antai-Otong and I, as co-chairs of the 2003 publications committee, urge you to let NACNS know how you are advancing nursing practice and share a newsworthy item with us.

NACNS Statement on Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice and Education

This document articulates the competencies requisite to CNS practice, outlines the necessary outcomes of nursing, and provides direction to schools of nursing regarding the preparation of CNSs. You can purchase your copy of this landmark document through the NACNS Office. The cost is $15 per copy for members of NACNS and $25 per copy for nonmembers. Discounts are offered on purchases of 15 copies or more. Contact the NACNS Office today to order your copy of the Statement.