Credentialing – Lessons learned about credentialing from the public health nursing workforce

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Betty Bekemeier, RN, MPH, MSN, Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health, Box 358852, Seattle, WA 98195, 206-616-8410, bettybek@u.washington.edu

In our efforts to ensure an adequately prepared workforce, credentialing of the public health workforce and of nurses has long been a topic of heated debate within our professional organizations. At the same time, little has been done to systematically examine the value of and potential barriers related to credentialing within public health. The purpose of the study described here was to accurately depict the perceived value of community/public health nursing credentialing and the barriers that exist to the utilization and maintenance of this credential among public health nurses. At the November 2004 conference of the American Public Health Association (APHA) the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced plans to discontinue the C/PHN certification examination at both the basic and advanced levels. The plan to discontinue testing was due to inadequate numbers of nurses choosing to sit for the examinations. The Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations, as a result, sought opportunities to thoughtfully examine, articulate, and address the reasons behind the examinations' low numbers and the value of this credential to public health practice and to the nursing profession. The Quad Council provided expert advisory support to the subsequent development and pilot testing of a survey instrument created as an on-line, Likert-type scale with two primary subsections that measure “value” and “barriers” related to credentialing. Data collected in March 2006 from public health nurses around the country provide findings that will significantly inform discussions about the future value and promotion of certification (or similar specialty recognition) for public health nursing as well as for the public health workforce more broadly.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

1) Describe the perceived and apparent value of community/public health nursing certification to public health nurses
2) Apply findings from this study to the development of credentialing for the broader public health workforce
3) Describe system issues that need to be addressed in order to maximize the potential for credentialing in public health nursing

Keywords: Workforce, Certification

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Public Health Nursing Workforce Challenges: Strengthening research,

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA