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An Office of the National Nurse would:
- Elevate the Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) of the US Public Health Service to full time status within the Office of the Surgeon General to become the National Nurse to enhance prevention efforts in all communities.
- Complement the work of the US Surgeon General.
- Promote involvement in the Medical Reserve Corps to improve the health and safety of the community.
- Incorporate proven evidence-based public health education when delivering prevention.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Latest Version of Policy to Create an Office of the National Nurse
Thank you to the leadership of the Medical Reserve Corps for providing feedback for the working draft of the policy to establish an Office of the National Nurse. The following is the very latest version of the working draft:
National Nurse Proposal-Working Draft-August 1, 2007
Purpose:
Why establish an Office of the National Nurse?
• To establish symbolic national leadership for a new philosophy and cultural shift to prevention in US Healthcare
• To raise visibility, enhance prestige and support recruitment to nursing and other healthcare professions.
• To provide guidance for state and local leadership that can mobilize nurse volunteers and other healthcare providers at the local level to enhance prevention and improve health outcomes.
Complementing the work of the US Surgeon General
The role of the Office of the National Nurse would be to provide a visible symbol of the nursing profession at the national level. The NN would provide symbolic leadership to build partnerships and support the development of a philosophy and culture to promote disease prevention and health promotion.
To assure local autonomy, legislative guidelines that create the Office of the National Nurse will be general, not prescriptive, and result in policies and practices that build on existing partnerships and allow local PH jurisdictions to determine local actions. The Office of the National Nurse would offer guidance based on authoritative resources such as the CDC and NIH, and may suggest specific focus topics and/or activities that complement the work of the Surgeon General. However, decisions on which strategies to adopt would be determined at the grassroots level.
Promoting volunteerism to improve health and safety in local communities
A key strategy of the NN Campaign would be to promote nursing involvement in local volunteer efforts. These activities will focus on strengthening health related linkages and creating a culture of prevention. The goal is to improve health outcomes by teaching and promoting healthier living. Nurse volunteers could engage community partners to introduce, emphasize and reinforce prevention concepts and establish best practices to change behaviors. Some key focus areas would include exercise, better nutrition, tobacco cessation, and mental health. These efforts would also seek to reduce health disparities, which is consistent with the Surgeon General’s priorities and Healthy People 2020 goals.
The NN would particularly promote involvement with the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) (www.medicalreservecorps.gov). Local MRC units improve the health and safety of their communities by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers. MRC volunteers not only donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies; they also promote healthy living throughout the year through a variety of public health activities. While over 30,000 nurses are currently involved with their local MRC units, many more are needed.
Local Leadership
Because public health is traditionally addressed at the local level, each state and
public health jurisdiction will be encouraged to engage nurses on unique activities to best address their identified needs. The Surgeon General may advise and offer guidance, but does not have a direct line of authority over the physicians in the nation. An Office of the National Nurse would parallel these concepts and provide structure, guidance and leadership. This model will allow a focus on local issues, and build partnerships that strengthen existing linkages to best serve local communities.
Why Nurses?
Nursing is strategically positioned to become the driving force for prevention efforts in US healthcare. Nurses are the largest group of healthcare workers in the US, numbering nearly 3 million. Nurses are in the trenches at the frontline assessing need and delivering healthcare 24/7 in every community. Gallup polls repeatedly find the public rates nurses as the most trusted profession. The nurse workforce is educated, licensed, skilled, experienced and rich in cultural diversity and bi-lingual skills. Nurses are used to coordinating multidisciplinary team efforts. These facts make nurses the logical existing resource to mobilize for prevention efforts. Nurses are ubiquitous; they work in a variety of community settings including hospitals, home health, public health, community clinics, K-12 schools, occupational health wellness programs and other provider agencies. Universities enroll thousands of nursing students every year that could earn community service hours and play active roles with local voluntary organizations such as the MRC.
The critical shortage of manpower in the nursing profession remains a challenge. Nursing needs a visible boost in recognition and prestige via an Office of the National Nurse, because recruitment of youth into nursing is critical to continue quality health services for our nation. In addition, volunteering would allow continued involvement and draw on the experience of the boomers in the aging nurse workforce.
Assuring Support of Nursing Organizations
To assure inclusion and seek input from all nursing specialties, the Office of the National Nurse could periodically survey professional nursing organizations such as those in the Quad Council (ANA, ASTDN, APHA, and ACHNE). This would provide formal opportunity for key nursing organizations to suggest topics and influence strategies for activities.
National Nurse as a Visible Symbol of Nursing - Staff Support
The position of Chief Nurse of the USPHS is uniquely qualified to become the first National Nurse, our nation's visible symbol of nursing.
The USPHS Chief Nurse Officer currently has several major areas of responsibility:
• Chief of USPHS Commissioned Corps nurses (the Commissioned Corps has approximately 6000 members, of which 1360 are nurses).
• Advisor for issues affecting nurses in the US Department of Health and Human Services and the agencies it supports with nursing services
• Government representative to the World Health Organization for nursing issues
• Member of the federal nursing service chief council which includes the chief nurses of the American Red Cross, Veteran's Administration, Public Health Army, Navy and Air Force
• Works with educational and professional nursing organizations including ASTDN and the ANA.
It is suggested that logistically a dedicated staffer would likely be assigned as the day-to-day liaison for the ONN.
Funding and Sustaining National Nurse Efforts
Funding for the NN Project would be a small investment considering the potential return on investment (ROI) via the healthcare cost savings that can result from creating a culture of prevention. Nationally, the ONN would be created from the existing USPHS Chief Nurse with only a few if any new staff assignments. At the state level, it may be feasible to create a new, or designate an existing state nurse, position to be the official "state coordinator" of ONN efforts.
Seeking grants for community based volunteer organizations, such as the MRC, could result in creative partnerships to fund the teams and/or provide stipends or salary to sustain leadership for team activity. There are a large number of both public and private grants that may be applicable for funding the educational activities. Grants that focus on preventing obesity via improved nutrition and increasing physical activity are a good example. An evaluation component will be a critical element of the National Nurse Campaign efforts. Healthcare foundations are likely to adopt and fund efforts once data can demonstrate evidence of their positive impact on health behaviors. Establishing best practices to improve community health outcomes can be validated via the research.
Partnerships with other existing organizations like March of Dimes or The American Cancer Society would enhance activity based on that organization's programs and educational materials. Volunteers may also become involved as "presenters" for a variety of organizations with different healthcare focus issues. These nurses could develop strong liaisons between those organizations, schools, businesses and their community's public health planners. The potential rewards for our communities are obvious, and may only be outweighed by the satisfaction that could be experienced by the volunteers in this win-win concept.
- posted by Teri Mills @ 6:45 AM 5 comments
