Bees, the Marines, and Public Health Nursing: What We have in Common

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Betty B. Daniels, MN, RN, SONAT, Medical College of Georgia, 6933 Ayers Ct, Atlanta, GA 30360, 404-731-2206, bdaniels@mcg.edu

The nursing shortage has been the subject of many headlines and articles in the media. Most of the publications have focused on the shortage of hospital nurses, with little focus on the state of the public health nursing workforce. Recent disasters have brought to light the need for a stronger public health infrastructure, but, in general, funds to build that infrastructure have not been directed at public health nursing per se. Therefore, it is incumbent upon those of us in the public health arena to highlight public health nursing as a career choice, and to devise strategies of retaining those nurses currently in the field. Programs that have been devised to address the severe shortage of public health nurses and means of attracting nurses to the field will be reviewed.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of the session the participant will be able to

1.Compare and contrast the state of the PHN workforce, both currently and in the future.
2.Generate new ideas for making public health nursing more appealing in undergraduate coursework.
3.Specify means of retaining public health nurses in the workforce.
4.Describe three successful programs that boost public health nursing recruitment and retention.

Keywords: Public Health Nursing, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Marketing and Promoting Public Health Nursing

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