Much has been written about the difficulties in making the transition from a nursing to a clinical nurse specialist post. Early pioneers learned about the role as they carried it out, and, although many of the new generation of clinical nurse specialists have specific qualifications, some still lack the experience of nursing at a senior level (Hill 2000). Practitioners working at specialist level can ease that transition, and this article outlines a secondment/mentoring project, adapted from a Macmillan Cancer Relief scheme, designed to help hospice nurses move into a clinical nurse specialist post. It includes a detailed and personal description of the mentee’s experience.