A Message From the Chief Nurse

Nurses,

As we close the month of October and celebrate Halloween, let us not be “haunted” by regrets of missed opportunities. I hope we can look forward to the remaining part of 2006 and rally around those new year resolutions that we still have time to work on.

It has been one year since I assumed the Office of the Chief Nurse, USPHS. I have tried to focus on the many dimensions of readiness, research, career development and communications (R2C2). I was asked to reflect on this past year in a recent interview published in Sigma Theta Tau's on line journal “ Reflections in Leadership”.  The interview can be found at http://www.nursingsociety.org/RNL/Current/ . I hope this will provide some insight into the role of the Chief Nurse Officer and my experiences. On a personal note, I continue to be humbled to have the opportunity and privilege to represent and to serve you.

Here are a few updates to keep you informed.

Nursing Leadership and Outreach

The leadership of nurses has been recognized by the promotion of 2 nurse officers to the rank of Rear Admiral Lower Half (RADM). Congratulations are extended to RADM Denise Canton, OCCFM and RADM Kerry Nessler, HRSA

This month marks the change in leadership of the Nursing Professional Advisory Committee (NPAC). I would like to express my appreciation of CDR Lisa Dolan-Branton's leadership of the NPAC over the past year and look forward to her guidance as Immediate Past Chair. As part of this transition, CAPT Amy Collins moves to the role of Past Chair. I look forward to her continued guidance and mentor ship which has greatly contributed to the Nurse Category. And finally, I welcome CAPT David Kelly as the NPAC Chair for FY2007. I look forward to working with him in this nursing leadership role.

We had the opportunity to meet with nurses from the Peace Corps to share information about career options in PHS for nurses. In addition, we were asked to share information with nursing leaders from countries in the Pan American Health Organization on strategies in the US used to address the nursing shortage. Also, I was able to speak at the Maryland Nurses Association annual conference on current public health challenges affecting our communities.

We met with the southern regional nurse leaders from ASTDN (Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing) to discuss perspectives on allocating resources during a mass casualty event. AHRQ and OPHEP collaborated on a white paper on this topic which will be released soon. This paper will supplement the document on altered standards of care published in 2005 by AHRQ http://www.ahrq.gov/research/altstand/. "Altered standards of care" terminology is being replaced with "standards of care appropriate to a situation". I applaud the leadership of CAPT Ann Knebel and Dr. Sally Phillip for their work on the new document which will be available soon at the AHRQ web site.

Recruitment and Career Development

I have had continuing discussions with HHS leadership on proposals for using nurse warrant officers and co-step opportunities for associate degree nurses. We met with the Assistant Secretary for Health and Acting Surgeon General to explore options to enhance nurse recruitment of officers as well as civil service nurses to reduce the unfilled vacancies in clinical nursing areas. Our need for public health nurses and our responsibility to provide emergency response is great. What have you done about recruiting a nurse (Corps or civilian) lately?

Policy Update

The new OCCFM policy issuance process has been implemented. I have nominated nurses to participate on the working integrated policy teams on readiness, recruitment, training and disciplinary processes. I encourage you to check the CCMIS web page monthly for new issuances http://dcp.psc.gov/

Transformation

Transformation initiatives are progressing rapidly. Twelve officers have been hired to fill the newly created transformation positions and work on the development of strategies to implement the decisions made by the Secretary and Agency Heads to support the Corps in this millennium. From a readiness perspective, rapid deployment force (RDF) Teams have been expanded nationally for Tier 3 nurses in any location to volunteer for an RDF team. Nurses are critically needed in this response phase. Log on to http://ccrf.hhs.gov/ccrf/RDFapplicant.htm to indicate your interest and supervisor approval.

Comment

This month I have had the opportunity to “return to the bedside” to care for a loved one. I reflected on the gift of touch that nurses bring to those in need. I encourage you to continue to touch people’s lives in all that you do. We are so lucky to be nurses because nurses make a significant difference in the lives of others. Thank you for your work in changing people’s lives. Your service is a gift to our nation!

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