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Lessons learned from an academic-practice collaboration to increase capacity of local public health nursing workforce to provide enhanced health services
Kasey P. Decosimo, MPH,
North Carolina Institute for Public Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Avia Mainor, MPH,
NC Institute for Public Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Phyllis Rocco, RN, MPH,
Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC
Kathy Dail, RN, MEd, BSN,
Communicable Disease Branch, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC
Tammy DuBrey, RN, BSN,
Communicable Disease Branch, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC
Jean Vukoson, RN, FNP,
Children and Youth Branch, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC
Although Public Health Nurses (PHNs) represent the largest discipline of the local health department (LHD) workforce, significant gaps exist in workforce development and training opportunities. The passage of the Affordable Care Act outlines the expansion of prevention and public health programs which will require an additional need for qualified public health workers, including PHNs. In North Carolina, PHNs have historically provided core public health services including physical assessment of adults, child health screenings, and clinical assessment for sexually transmitted diseases (STD). To assure the accessibility and quality of these services, the NC Division of Public Health (NCDPH) and the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health collaborated to address ongoing shortages of adequately trained PHNs. The Enhanced Role Registered Nurse (ERRN) training program credentials PHNs currently working in LHDs to provide nursing services under standing orders in compliance with Medicaid billing guidelines. The competency-based program follows a sequence where PHNs participate in blended online and on-site learning covering population health, evidence-based practices, and standards of care along with a clinically supervised practicum. Over 20 years, the ERRN program has credentialed almost 700 PHNs in Physical Assessment of Adults, STD, and/or Child Health. This poster will provide an overview of the process and resources used to build a sustainable Enhanced Role PHN training program in North Carolina, how the program was tailored over time to address the changing public health landscape, and lessons learned from an academic-practice collaboration to maintain training and credentialing for the PHN workforce.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related nursing
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the academic-practice partnership used to develop a training program to increase the capacity of local public health nurses
List key components of the Enhanced Role Registered Nurse training program
Identify best practices and lessons learned in developing, funding, and maintaining a public health nurse training and credentialing program
Keyword(s): Nurses/Nursing, Training
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve as the project coordinator for the Child Health ERN Training Program to coordinate activities between the NCIPH and the NC State Health Department, manage the training program curriculum and document nurse completion.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
