A Message From the Chief Nurse

Nurses,

January is when we open the new year with hopes and resolutions. The first month of 2007 has quickly passed and I hope your personal and professional plans for 2007 are well under way. We continue to focus on the public health priorities of prevention, preparedness and the elimination of health disparities. This year will also focus on the implementation of transformation of the Commissioned Corps and the aggressive recruitment and retention of nurses as major agenda items. Our current nurse basic readiness status is 78.9%—we still have work to do in this area to attain the required 100%. Here are some updates to keep you informed.

Policy Update

The 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the accompanying National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) have been released. The NHQR is a comprehensive national overview of the quality of health care in the United States, and the NHDR tracks disparities in both quality of and access to health care in the United States. The reports can be viewed at http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2007/nhqdr06pr.htm, and the reports can be downloaded at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/measurix.htm.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) voted to raise the passing score for the NCLEX-RN exam effective April 2007. This recognizes that changes in health care delivery and nursing practice require a greater level of knowledge, skills and abilities to ensure minimal competence for entry level RNs. The NCSBN also received a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to reduce license barriers impacting tele-health and interstate nursing practice and to expand implementation of Nurse Licensure Compacts and Criminal Background Checks to support licensure portability.

Paperless licenses are also being implemented in some states and we are evaluating with OCCO and OCCFM the impact on policies and procedures for verification of licenses for officers.

The deadline for the 2007 Assimilation Year is 15 February 2007.

In writing or updating your CV or resume, remember to include your contact information. OCCO has asked that officers include contact information and this is good practice for all nurses to facilitate access and communication with you. Also remember that the cover page should be one page.

Nursing Leadership and Outreach

The National Nurse Practioners’ Foundation is supporting 2 nurses as Senior Fellows in the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) – Dr. Mary Beth Bigley and Dr. Catherine Wisner. This is an acknowledgement of nursing leadership in health policy and the support of nursing by the Acting Surgeon General RADM Moritsugu.

The Nursing Professional Advisory Committee (N-PAC) had a successful retreat on January 12 under the leadership of chair, CAPT David Kelly. Clarification of roles and responsibilities and the challenges for the N-PAC during this year of transformation initiatives were the focus. CDR Katherine Berkhousen was voted as chair elect of the N-PAC and we look forward to her leadership.

This month I convened an inaugural meeting of the senior nurse leadership in federal public health to discuss issues and concerns related to our shared interest in nurse recruitment and retention. We have over 900 vacancies for nurses in federal public health. Our focus was the need to create the future nursing workforce in DHHS and the agencies it serves. The Chief Nurses from NIH, IHS, BOP, ICE , the past 3 Chief Nurse Officers, the N-PAC Chair, the 4 nurse RADMs and the 2 nurse senior fellows in OSG participated in a productive work session. We will continue this work in follow up sessions with the intent to forward recommendation to the Acting Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health.

I presented the commencement address for the winter graduating class at Walden University this month. Among the many graduates were the first nursing masters degree students who will be prepared as educators and administrators for nursing.

Transformation

Functional Advisory Committees for clinical, research, mental health and applied public health have been formed and are in the process of developing definitions and criteria for each functional designation for officers. As part of transformation each officers will be classified into one of 4 functional groups and are additionally characterizing how to reflect situations where an officer may have responsibilities in more than one category. The Committees will also develop strategies for implementation and nursing has strong representation.

Commissioned Corps policy reviews are in process and nurses continue to participate in the transformation working groups. Communication, involvement and feedback from the Professional Advisory Committee in policy development are progressing to insure transparency of the process.

Comment

As we look to the promise of 2007 we need to focus on hopes for continuing to improve our nation’s health. I recognize that nurses are stretched thin and that your workload at times can be daunting. Please hang in there and stay focused on our mission. Set your goals high, take responsibility for your actions, learn from your mistakes, build bridges- not barriers, and find inspiration in the world around you. Thank you for the dedication that you show each day in building the future.

Carol A. Romano, PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Surgeon General
Chief Nurse Officer, US Public Health Service