Federal Nursing Service Council

The Federal Nursing Service Council (FNSC) comprises the national nursing leaders of the Air Force, American Red Cross, Army, Department of Veterans Affairs, Navy, and Public Health Service. The Council represents over 125,000 nurses with a beneficiary population exceeding 8.5 million.

Organized in 1943 “to provide a means for easy exchange of information… to provide mutual assistance in the consideration of nursing problems… and to formulate recommendations concerning federal agency nursing problems…” (E. Vreeland, 1950), today the FNSC remains united to address tomorrow’s health care challenges today. The Council seeks to enhance and strengthen its constituencies; to collaborate and enrich the environment for Federal nurses and those entrusted to their care; and to advance and explore professional issues and leadership. To accomplish this collective mission, the FNSC has developed a Strategic Plan with four priority areas.

MISSION

Bring together Federal Nursing’s Collective leadership and expertise to advance and strengthen professional nursing and enhance partnerships among federal agencies and the American Red Cross

VISION

United to Address Tomorrow’s Health Care Challenges Today

Federal Nursing Service Council slide

STRATEGIC GOALS

In line with the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report on the Future of Nursing and the top three priorities from the federal nursing leaders the strategic plan of the Federal Nursing Services Council (FNSC) has five strategic goals:

 

IOM Report Key Messages

FNSC Strategies

Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health care professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States. Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure.

Faculty Shortage: Increase federal nurse involvement in academic preparation in nurses and advance practice nurses to help relieve the faculty shortage. Psych Mental Health/Behavioral Health:  Enhance interoperability, reduces variance and enhances quality of care, decreases role confusion. Advanced Practice/Scholars: Quality, safe care; EBP implementation; Model for civilian implementation of full scope of practice. Culture of Inquiry: Standardize process to integrate evidence into practice/policies/guideline. Influence and Collaboration: Establish infrastructure for collaborating and communicating FNSC goals and collaborative efforts in marketing and communication.

Underpinning each of these FNSC Goals is education, training, research and strategic communication.

The Council is committed to:

Provision of quality health care Ethical practice of nursing Learning and growth inherent in collegial relationships

Continued development of leaders Team implementation of the strategic plan Consistent support of all members

FNSC Four Priorities

1. Clinical Skills Sustainment Training – All the Federal services and the American Red Cross face the challenge of clinical competency and skills sustainment for their nurses, whether for battle deployment, back-fill, or disaster response. All the services have nursing resources in purely administrative positions that could participate in clinical deployments if current in clinical skill level to some degree.

• To identify common needs among the federal services in clinical skills sustainment
• Review the services’ current education/training programs and agreements in place
• Gather information on and identify possibilities for sharing resources and staff to maintain clinical readiness for deployment as well as for federal nurses in administrative positions removed from clinical practice.

2. Civilian Nursing Processes

• To identify major obstacles to implementation of congressionally approved programs (i.e., Title 38-like pay authority, Direct Hire authority)
• Discuss status/ updates/ success of Direct Hire Authority, VA’s efforts to improve retention, upgrade LPN salaries, PHS special pays, competitive edge for hiring RNs and leverage needed to be competitive with civilian agencies.

3. Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) licensure policies in Federal services – Recent DoD Instruction (DODI) mandated that all APN’s be licensed by a state to practice as an APN in military capacity. Variation in state’s nurse practice act requirements for licensure/recognition/certification including rules for supervision, prescriptive authority and course requirements compromise the service’s ability to comply with this directive. Furthermore, variations in application of compliance among agencies create conflicting practice issues among uniformed services as agencies attempt to share resources.

• Define the legal issues (i.e., application of Federal Supremacy in federal service within the scope of practice.)
• Literature review to outline states APN authorities and requirements
• Determine which states requirements can be waived
• Current APN licensure procedures utilized by the federal services
• Recommend a plan to comply with DODI mandate

4. Senior Clinical Experts – The purpose of this workgroup is to explore and develop a plan that will influence the development of senior clinical experts with the Federal Health Care System, and to increase the participation of senior nurses in clinical practice that will enhance their ability to meet the needs of the changing healthcare environment.

• Define Senior Clinical Expert
• Identify positions/billets for senior nurses within the Federal Nursing System
• Define clinical skills/expectations for Senior nurses in administrative roles
• Recommend an advanced clinical ladder that preserves the clinical skills, remain competitive for promotion and maintain financial equity with their administrative peers.
• Develop a marketing plan to advance the “Clinical Expert Nurse” and elevate the status and recognition

The Council includes the principal executives and deputies of the:

U.S. Air Force	U.S. Air Force Reserve	U.S. Air National Guard
American Red Cross	U.S. Department of Veterans Affair	U.S. Army
U.S. Army National Guard	U.S. Army Reserve	U.S. Navy
U.S. Naval Reserve	U.S. Public Health Service	U.S.U.H.S

Federal Nursing Service Council Members 2011-2012

AIR FORCE Major General Kimberly K. Siniscalchi  Assistant Surgeon General, Medical Force Development Assistant Surgeon General, Nursing Services	ARMY Major General Jimmie Keenan  Chief, Army Nurse Corps
COL Rose Layman Director, Air Force Nursing Services Chief Education and Training Division	COL Vinette Gordon Deputy Chief, Army Nurse Corps Office of the Chief, Army Nurse Corps
COL Elizabeth Bridges IMA, Director, Air Force Nursing Services Chief Education and Training Division
AIR FORCE RESERVE COL Lisa Naftzger-Kang Mobilization Assistant  Surgeon General, Medical Force Development Assistant Surgeon General, Nursing Services	ARMY RESERVE COL Mary Link OCAR, Deputy Surgeon, Clinical
AIR NATIONAL GUARD Brig Gen Gretchen S. Dunkelberger  ANG Assistant to the Chief Nurse of the Air Force	ARMY NATIONAL GUARD COL Kimberly Ballantyne
NAVY RADM Elizabeth Niemyer  Director, Navy Nurse Corps Deputy Chief, Installation and Logistics	DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Cathy J. Rick, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE Chief Nursing Officer Department of Veteran Affairs (108)
CAPT Sarah Martin Deputy Director, Navy Nurse Corps Bureau of Medicine and Surgery	James L. Harris, DSN, APRN-BC, MBA, CNL, FAAN Office of Nursing Services (108) Department of Veterans Affairs
CAPT Brenda Davis Assistant Director, Nurse Corps Policy & Practice Bureau of Medicine & Surgery	Anna Alt-White VA Liaison to USUHS Director, Research & Academic Programs Office of Nursing Services (108) Department of Veteran Affairs
CDR Valerie Morrison Executive Assistant to Director, Navy Nurse Corps Deputy Chief, Installation and Logistics Specialty Leader for Manpower Systems Analysis, Navy Nurse Corps	AMERICAN RED CROSS Sharon Stanley, PhD, RN, RS Chief Nurse American Red Cross
NAVY RESERVE RADM Margaret Rykowski  Deputy Director, Navy Nurse Corps, Reserve Component Bureau of Medicine and Surgery	Linda MacIntyre RN, PhD National Chair of Nursing (effective January 2012) University of California, San Francisco Dept of Community Health Systems/School of Nursing
CAPT Anne Bloom NC Reserve Affairs Officer	April Wood, BSN, RN, CEN, NREMT Director, National Partnerships Program American Red Cross National Headquarters
UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE RADM Kerry Paige Nesseler   Assistant Surgeon General Chief Nurse Officer, USPHS Director, Global Health Affairs Health Resources and Services Administration	UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY (USU) Ada Sue Hinshaw, RN, PhD, FAAN Dean and Professor Graduate School of Nursing
LCDR Jennifer Sarchet, USPHS RN, BSN Aide to RADM Nessler Clinical Trial Coordinator National Eye Institute	Carol A. Romano, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs RADM, USPHS (Ret)