FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A noted lecturer and nurse consultant will speak about the value of the clinical nurse specialist role at a nursing research conference sponsored by the University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, which admitted its charter class of clinical nurse specialists last fall.

Janet Bingle, network chief nursing officer for Community Health Network in Indiana, will address advanced nursing practice in her keynote speech for the 15^th annual Nursing Excellence in Research and Practice conference, which begins at 8:15 a.m. Monday at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The nursing school began offering a master of science in nursing for clinical nurse specialists in medical-surgical nursing with a nurse educator option last fall.

“The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing continues to address the need for highly qualified nursing personnel in the state by offering the master of science in nursing and to address continuing education needs of local nurses with this annual conference,” said Reed Greenwood, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “The conference also provides a vital opportunity for our students to be involved in research during their undergraduate years.”

Kathleen Barta is associate professor of nursing and president of Pi Theta, the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International nursing honor society that sponsors the conference each year. “We are pleased to have Janet Bingle speak to the nursing community about the importance of clinical nurse specialists as our charter class of master’s students prepares to offer their services to the public. Individuals and communities benefit from access to advanced nursing care provided by clinical nurse specialists who are clinical experts in managing responses to illness and promoting health outcomes,” Barta said.

Bingle is a founding member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists and past president of the association. She was named a Distinguished Lecturer by the international honor society and has won its award for utilization of research in nursing practice.

The essence of the clinical nurse specialist’s practice is expertise in diagnosis and treatment in order to prevent, remediate or alleviate illness and promote health. Graduates from the nursing master’s program will be eligible for national certification as clinical nurse specialists in medical-surgical nursing and licensure as advance practice nurses in Arkansas. Employment opportunities for graduates include providing clinical leadership and consultation in health care settings; functioning as case managers in acute- and primary-care settings; conducting clinical research; and teaching in schools of nursing and other institutional settings.

About 200 nurses and nursing students are registered to attend the conference, which drew presentations this year from professionals in Kansas and Missouri as well as Arkansas.

Dr. Martha Butler, nursing program director at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., will present research on mentoring relationships and their role in creating workplace environments that support professional nursing practice.

Her presentation will focus on the importance of the role of the staff nurse in contributing positively to the workplace environment and in assisting new graduates in the transition from student to staff member. She will talk about a toolkit developed by the Kansas Committee on Nursing Education and Practice that provides information on mentoring, communication, progression from “novice to expert” thinking, professionalism, generational issues and delegation.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected in 2005 that more new jobs are expected to be created for registered nurses than for any other occupation, Butler noted in her abstract for the presentation.

Judges will critique posters created by Mann School nursing students based on their research projects, and round table discussions at lunch will focus on topics such as student internships, preparing for senior year, preparing for the licensure exam and diversity in health care.