I did! This past year I went back for my ACNP.
I waited a long time to go back after my RN and about 5 more years after I got my BSN - mainly because I didn't know if I liked the APN role and what kind of APN I wanted to be.
I knew I did not want to be in an office the majority of my time so I did an Acute Care APN program so that I could still spend the majority of my time seeing hospitalized patients.
Turns out, shortly after I started school I was offered the role of Clinical Nurse Specialist in the units I had been working as a staff nurse all those years (Medical and Trauma ICUs). I did not get my degree specializing in CNS because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it (I love it) and I wanted the option of changing roles in the future.
Here's a short blurb that kind of tells you what a CNS does:
The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) functions in the role of expert clinician, educator, consultant, case manager, and researcher. In collaboration with the medical staff and nursing staff, the CNS monitors the clinical care of patients and provides clinical support to improve patient care and patient outcomes. Incorporated within each of these role functions, the CNS is a role model, patient advocate, change agent, leader, and cost-effective practitioner.
