State public health nursing executive leadership functions

Public health nursing (PHN) leaders are a critical component of the executive infrastructure of many state health departments. The nurses who serve in top state public health nursing positions provide leadership to fulfill the core public health functions and provide essential public health services in the context of a state health department's mission, vision, goals and objectives. Top level state health department public health nursing leaders are responsible for the professional practice of public health nursing at the state and local levels. PHNs are integral to the public health infrastructure and play an essential role in the health of many communities, especially rural areas. Public health nursing leadership positions in state health departments are critical to assure the availability of an effective PHN workforce. The Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing (ASTDN) is working to enhance the capacity of public health nursing through an Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Cooperative Agreement funded by the CDC. As part of this project, ASTDN identified a set of ten critical state-level public health nursing leadership functions and a set of measurable activities that delineate the scope of each function, as well as the skills, knowledge, abilities and values expected of a top level state health department public health nursing leader. The leadership functions were identified though a process that analyzed twenty three current PHN Director Positions as well as the results of an ASTDN survey on PHN Directors completed in 1993. The resulting leadership functions were then compared and contrasted with six sets of public health and nursing leadership competencies. These functions are intended for state health department officials to use in creating position descriptions, prioritizing work assignments, and other purposes. This session will present the leadership functions and the skills, knowledge, abilities and values expected of a top level state health department public health nursing leader. It will conclude with an overview of how ASTDN and their partners will utilize these functions to enhance public health nursing leadership in the United States.