 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Cherié R. Forsha, RN, MSN/MPH, CNS, Public Health Nursing Administration, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, 251 North Figueroa St., Rm 347, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-989-7095, cforsha@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Over the past several years, the focus of public health has been to improve the infrastructure and enhance the core competencies. Although the standards for public health nursing (PHN) practice have been established, a need existed to customize the standards to particular circumstances and make them applicable to the field PHN experience. These standards could then be used to guide the work of PHN and set criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of their work. Additionally, limited resources have made it challenging for jurisdictions to develop a manual that interrelates the requirements of mandated work and the practice of public health nurses. Realizing the need to have a manual that would reflect the practice of PHN as it is today, Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Health Services (DHS), PHN Administration formed a multilevel committee to develop the LAC DHS PHN Practice Manual. The manual is a compilation of policies and procedures that have been incorporated within the PHN standards of care and serves as a reference guide for the practice of PHN. The contents of the manual reflect the current mandates for disease control and client focused programs, such as Acute Communicable Disease, Lead Poisoning, Newborn Screening, Sexually Transmitted Disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and Tuberculosis. The manual incorporates population-based practice throughout its sections as it defines the LAC PHN Practice Model and other key elements used in practice. In summary, the manual is comprehensive, but concise allowing the autonomy for the professional judgment of public health nurses.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Quality Assurance, Field Experience
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment