Informing Policy to Optimize the Clinical Nurse Specialist Workforce
Leads: Leah Lambert, Sandra Lauck, Jagbir Kaur
This project is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research Catalyst Grant and is being conducted in collaboration with the University of British Columbia School of Nursing.
The purpose of this research is to develop clear, actionable, and evidence-based policy to shape nursing workforce transformation and practice-ready policy recommendations to establish a provincial CNS strategy for PHSA and implementation roadmap for BC Cancer. We will accomplish this through 3 phases.
Outputs from this research hold the potential to substantially impact policy, programs, and practices for CNSs at the provincial, national, and possibly international level.
The study team published the policy research brief titled “Informing policy to optimize the clinical nurse specialist workforce: Advancing the quadruple aim and health equity” in Policy Research for Health System Transformation in 2024.
The study team published the "Policy Recommendations for Optimizing the Clinical Nurse Specialist Workforce in British Columbia PDF" as part of the UBC Open Collections Library.
Study Background & Rationale:
Canada’s nursing workforce is in crisis due to critical staff shortages and challenges surrounding recruitment and retention. Urgent national calls demand action to improve health system quality and capacity as we move forward from COVID-19. British Columbia (BC) is no exception to these challenges, and health service leaders aim to address these issues in innovative and informed ways. BC’s Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) has recently created an initiative to strengthen advanced practice nursing with the goal of developing a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) strategy across the province’s specialized health services. CNSs are advanced practice nurses with graduate training and specialized expertise who lead clinical care, system changes, and advancement of nursing practice. As part of its strategic plan, PHSA is creating a novel CNS Program at BC Cancer, which entails the implementation and evaluation of new CNS roles across all 6 regional centres. This has led to a unique policy opportunity to collaboratively support evidence-informed system transformation in real time.
The 3 Phases: | ||||
We generated evidence on how to best support, retain, and evaluate CNSs through an environmental scan of current policy, a provincial CNS workforce survey, and key informant interviews. |  We co-developed policy recommendations and actionable strategies that can guide a CNS workforce strategy for PHSA through a Policy Setting Workshop with key PHSA partners. |  We will create a detailed roadmap for implementing, sustaining, and evaluating the CNS role across BC Cancer through a Policy Implementation Workshop with key BC Cancer partners. | ||
Study Team
| Name | Role | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Leah K. Lambert, RN, PhD | Nominated Principal Applicant & Co-Principal Investigator | Executive Director and Senior Scientist, Nursing and Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation, BC Cancer Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC School of Nursing |
| Sandra B. Lauck, RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAN, FESC | Co-Principal Investigator | St. Paul’s Hospital Professorship in Cardiovascular Nursing Clinician Scientist, Providence Health Care Associate Professor, UBC School of Nursing |
| Natasha Prodan-Bhalla, NP(A), BSN, MN, DNP | Principal Knowledge User | Vice President, Quality, Safety, Clinical Informatics & Chief of Nursing and Allied Practice, Provincial Health Services Authority |
| Kevin Hare, RN, BSN, MBA | Knowledge User | Senior Executive Director, Provincial Operations, BC Cancer |
| Sherri Kensall, RN, MSN, CNeph(C), GNC(C) | Knowledge User | CNS-C & CNSABC President Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nephrology, Fraser HealthAssistant Professor School of Nursing University of British Columbia |
| Brittany Watson, RN, MSN | Knowledge User | Executive Director, Quality Practice Environments, Providence Health Care |
| Denise Bryant-Lukosius, RN, CON(C) PhD, FAAN, FCAN, FHKANM | Co-Investigator | Professor and Alba DiCenso Chair in Advanced Practice Nursing Co-Director, Canadian Centre for APN Research School of Nursing, McMaster University Clinician Scientist, Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre |
| Farinaz Havaei, RN, PhD | Co-Investigator | Associate Professor, UBC School of Nursing |
| Maura MacPhee, RN, PhD | Co-Investigator | Professor Emeritus, UBC School of Nursing |
| Scott M. Beck, RN, MSN, MPH | Co-Investigator | Clinical Nurse Specialist, BC Cancer |
| Jagbir Kaur, RN, MN, PhD(c) | Co-Investigator | Clinical Nurse Specialist, BC Cancer |
| Sally Thorne, RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAH, FCAN, CM | Co-Investigator | Professor Emeritus, UBC School of Nursing |
| Charissa Chiu, RN, MScN, CHPCN(C), CON(C) | BC Cancer Research Personnel | Clinical Nurse Specialist, BC Cancer |
| Heather Kilgour, RN, MSN | BC Cancer Research Personnel | Clinical Nurse Specialist, BC Cancer |
| Alpamys Issanov, MD, MPH, PhD(c) | BC Cancer Research Personnel | Statistician, BC Cancer |
Learn More
If you are interested in participating in this work, or would like to learn more, please contact the research team at research.kt@bccancer.bc.ca.
BC Cancer Foundation is the fundraising partner of BC Cancer, which includes BC Cancer Research. Together with our donors, we are changing cancer outcomes for British Columbians by funding innovative research and personalized treatment and care.