Translating the Core Competencies for Public Health into Action

September 23, 2009

“Relationship between the Core Competencies for Public Health and PHN

Discipline Specific Competencies”

Donna Meagher-Stewart, PhD, RNAssociate ProfessorSchool of Nursing

Dalhousie University

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Vision:Through collaborative planning, all jurisdictions in Canada will have a flexible, knowledgeable public health workforce working in safe supportive environments to meet the population's public health needs, & reduce health & social disparities.

Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 1.0(Launched Sept, 2007)

36 statements organized under 7 categories:

1. Public Health Sciences

2. Assessment & Analysis

3. Policy & Program Planning, Implementation & Evaluation

4. Partnerships, Collaboration & Advocacy

5. Diversity & Inclusiveness

6. Communication

7. Leadership

Public health needs of the population

Define the public health workforce for planning purposes

Gather data on the public health

workforce

Identify core public health services

Identify function-specific** public

health competencies

Identify core* public health competencies

Develop worker competency

assessment tools and incentives

Align education programs to reflect competencies and interprofessional

practice

Develop organizational competency

assessment tools and incentives

Map the competencies of each discipline against the

core and function-specific competencies

Develop recruitment / retention strategies to

attract required competencies

Develop structures to support

interprofessional education (space, time, instructors)

Deploy workforce in interprofessional

models based on their competencies

Identify best practices in interprofessional

deployment

Identify best practices in recruitment and retention

Identify best practices in education (including placements, continuing

education)

Develop accreditation

standards / quality control measures

Development of the Public HealthNursing Discipline Specific Competencies Version 1.0 (Launched June 2009)

Built from:• Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada

Release 1.0

• Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice (CHNAC, 2008)– Mapping document of interconnection of Standards and PHN

competencies

• Public health nursing practice in Canada: A review of the literature (Hogan, 2008)

• Delphi process for consensus

Public Health Nursing Competencies

Integrated knowledge, skills, judgement, and attributes required of a public health nurse to

practice safely and ethically.

Attributes include, but are not limited to attitudes, values and beliefs (CNA Code of Ethics, 2008)

Public Health Nursing Discipline Specific Competencies Version 1.0 (Launched June 2009)

66 statements organized under 8 categories:

1. Public Health & Nursing Sciences

2. Assessment & Analysis

3. Policy & Program Planning, Implementation, & Evaluation

4. Partnerships, Collaboration, & Advocacy

5. Diversity & Inclusiveness

6. Communication

7. Leadership

8. Professional Responsibility and Accountability

Core Competencies vs. PHN Discipline Specific Competencies

Core Competencies for Public Health PHN Discipline Specific Competencies1.0 Public Health Sciences 1. Public Health and Nursing Sciences

2.0 Assessment and Analysis 2. Assessment and Analysis

3.0 Policy and Program Planning 3. Policy and Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation

3(A) – Policy Development3(B) – Program Planning3(C) – Implementation And Intervention3(D) - Evaluation

4.0 Partnerships, CollaborationAnd Advocacy

4. Partnerships, CollaborationAnd Advocacy

5.0 Diversity and Inclusiveness 5. Diversity and Inclusiveness

6.0 Communication 6. Communication

7.0 Leadership 7. Leadership

8. Professional Responsibility and Accountability

Relationship between Core Competencies &

PHN Discipline Specific Competencies

1. Public Health & Nursing Sciences

2. Assessment & Analysis

3. Policy & Program Planning,

Implementation & Evaluation

4. Partnerships, Collaboration & Advocacy

5. Diversity & Inclusiveness

6. Communication

7. Leadership

8. Prof Resp & Accountability

• 7 vs 5

• 9 vs 6

• 25** vs 8

• 5 vs 4

• 3 vs 3

• 4 vs 4

• 6 vs 6

• 7

PHN Discipline Specific Competencies

• Nursing science & broad range of theories, models, & frameworks

• Social justice & equity

• Evidence-informed decision making

• Population health focus

• Traditional and social epidemiology

• Multiple strategies

• Advocacy for healthy public policy, societal change & reduction of inequity

• Professional responsibility and accountability

Relationship between Core Competencies &

PHN Discipline Specific Competencies

1. Public Health & Nursing Sciences1..0 & 1.2 -same

 • 1.3 Apply public health & nursing sciences to practice & synthesize knowledge

from a broad range of theories, models, and frameworks.

 • 1.4 Critically appraise knowledge gathered from a variety of sources.

• 1.5. Use evidence and research to inform health policies, programs, and practice: contribute to the development & generation of EBN; use available resources to systematically plan & evaluate PHN practice.

• 1.6. Pursue lifelong learning opportunities in the field of public health that are consistent with: current public health nursing practice; new & emerging issues; the changing needs of individuals, families, groups, and communities; emerging research & evolving information about the impact of the determinants of health.

• 1.7 Integrate multiple ways of knowing into practice.•  

Community Health Nurses of Canada Ongoing Development

• Home health competencies

• Public health manager competencies

• Community health nursing competencies for baccalaureate nursing graduates