Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between clinical nurse specialists and certified nursing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a clinical nurse specialist, becoming a certified nursing assistant takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a clinical nurse specialist has an average salary of $77,086, which is higher than the $32,597 average annual salary of a certified nursing assistant.
The top three skills for a clinical nurse specialist include patients, BLS and clinical practice. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $77,086 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $37.06 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 268,303 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 3 |
Clinical nurse specialists (CNS) serve as experts in practicing nursing based on evidence in one or more specialty areas. These nurses use their advanced knowledge and experience in assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients. CNS is known to be called nurse educators for being assigned to conduct lectures in educational institutions due to their extensive effort to improve their craft. Additionally, their experience and expertise in a certain medical specialty qualify them to do case research.
A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.
Clinical nurse specialists and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $77,086 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $109,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a clinical nurse specialist and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | - |
Here are the differences between clinical nurse specialists' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 9.9% Female, 90.1% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |