Advocating for Change: How the CNS Role Improves Patient Care

Allison Plata, BSN, RN, CMSRSN, EBP-C, is a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) who provides medical/surgical and progressive care at Summa Health. She recently earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Kent State University. Allison holds national certifications as a Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN) and in Evidence-Based Practice (EBP-C).

In addition to her clinical work, Allison is actively involved in both local and national nursing committees. She serves as a student member of the NEOCNS Steering Committee and is also a member of the NextGen Committee for the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS).

Allison’s nursing career began in 2015, following her previous roles as a high school science teacher and EMT-Basic/Firefighter. Her passion for teaching and mentoring has been a driving force throughout her career, and it motivated her to pursue her role as a CNS. She is committed to advancing evidence-based practice within her organization, contributing to initiatives focused on handoff protocols, fall prevention, and a nurse-driven telemetry discontinuation protocol.

Q: What attracted you to the CNS role?

I love being a medical surgical nurse and being a Clinical Nurse Specialist gives me the ability to advocate for the patients, nurses, and organizational changes that will improve the care for medical surgical patients. I also get to promote the fact that medical-surgical nursing is a specialty and needs to be treated as a specialty.

Q: Why did you choose Kent State University? 

Kent State University’s Clinical Nurse Specialist program is a well-known program in the Northeast Ohio nursing community, and they have fantastic faculty that are invested in your success! Dr. Wilk and Dr. Saunders are passionate CNSs who are passionate about the CNS role and that comes through with every interaction.

Q: What did you learn from completing your project?

The nurse-driven telemetry discontinuation protocol has taught me two major lessons:

1. projects that are organizational in size take much longer than ever expected!

2. Even if this is the best practice and promoting nursing to work to the top of their license, you will still need to get the buy-in of all levels as to why this should be adopted as a change in practice.