Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) are graduate-prepared nurses with expertise in both clinical care and systems improvement. They lead practice change, support interdisciplinary teams, and bring a nursing lens to health service planning and evaluation.
A recent CIHR-funded policy study co-led by Dr. Leah Lambert, senior scientist and nursing research theme lead with the BC Cancer Research Institute, examined how CNS roles are implemented across the province and identified policy and structural factors that limit their full impact. It pointed to the need for clearer role definition, intentional integration into organizational structures, alignment with system priorities, and mechanisms to support role development and impact over time.
“Strengthening the CNS workforce means more than simply recognizing the role,” says Dr. Lambert. “It requires investing in the conditions that allow CNSs to lead — with clinical depth, systems insight and the ability to drive meaningful change across programs and teams. These are the kinds of contributions that improve care and build a more responsive health system.”
These findings set the stage for the BC Clinical Nurse Specialist Summit, held in October 2025, where more than 110 CNSs and senior nursing leaders from across the province came together to advance this work. The focus of the summit was on developing an evidence-informed framework to evaluate the impact of the CNS role and workforce in BC in a way that is meaningful, credible, and usable across health authorities. This work builds on the recent endorsement by the BC Provincial Nursing and Allied Health Council (PNAHC) of recommendations outlined in Dr. Lambert’s study.
Pictured: Attendees at the BC Clinical Nurse Specialist Summit at the LJ Blackmore Cancer Research Centre, BC Cancer Research Institute.
“This summit was about advancing Policy #5, which calls for developing, testing, implementing and reporting on CNS impact metrics to support role evaluation and impact,” says Dr. Lambert. “Our goal was to move beyond definitions and toward demonstrating the meaningful difference CNSs make for patients, teams and systems. Through this summit we are helping to build the foundation for how CNS leadership is understood and supported across BC, while recognizing that important work is also taking place to advance CNS roles within other contexts, including Indigenous health and cultural safety.”
Pictured: Members of the CNS Panel at the Summit: Insights from Across the Role Spectrum (L-R) Serena Eagland (CNS, Providence Healthcare), Charissa Chu (CNS, BC Cancer), and Allana LeBlanc (CNS, Vancouver General Hospital)
This work aligns with a key priority of BC’s 10-Year Cancer Action Plan to stabilize and enhance the cancer care workforce.
Summit discussions focused on three key objectives:
- Exploring the challenges and opportunities for articulating how CNS roles contribute to improved patient outcomes and stronger health service delivery
- Gathering diverse perspectives on how CNS work influences clinical care, nursing practice advancement, system leadership, research and knowledge translation
- Developing a draft evaluation framework to enhance visibility and understanding of the unique contributions made by CNSs across the health system in BC
Pictured: Summit in-person attendees
The BC Nursing Workforce Research Network was co-founded by Dr. Lambert and brings together nursing and research professionals dedicated to strengthening the CNS role and the broader nursing workforce, with a focus on sustainability, role clarity, interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centred practice and policy.
The summit was organized by nursing and research leaders representing multiple organizations and health sectors. Dr. Lambert and Dr. Sandra Lauck (Clinician Scientist, and Senior CNS Lead at Providence Health Care, Associate Professor UBC School of Nursing) co-founders of the BC Nursing Workforce Research Network led the event alongside, Ms. Kirsten Redman (CNS, St Paul’s Hospital), Ms. Jagbir Kaur (CNS, BC Cancer) and Ms. Connie Clark (PhD candidate, UBC School of Nursing).
This Summit was supported by a Michael Smith Health Research BC Reach grant to translate evidence into practice and build capacity to strengthen and sustain the CNS workforce across BC.