Capturing the public health nurse scope of practice.

When NZNO's Public Health Nurses' (PHN) Section committee met late last month in Wellington, members had mostly recovered from the demands of Last year's MeNZB campaign. Just as 2005 clearly demonstrated the worth of PHNs, this year is set to provide more examples of the versatility and complexity of the PHN scope of practice. Promoting, advocating for and representing the PHN workforce are important section roles and are reflected in the range of activities the section is involved in. These include:

The PHN scope of practice: This is a section project aimed at capturing what is generic and specialist practice in PHN scopes of practice across the country. It is nearing completion and the committee is Looking forward to sharing it at the PHN conference tater this year.

The Public Health Workforce Development Plan: The key focus of this strategy is to strengthen the workforce through a range of activities, including increasing the satisfaction of those who choose to work in public health, by building opportunities and strong career pathways, improving and nurturing what is strong in our sector, and building a strong profile without setting up boundaries.

Pandemic Planning: PHNs practise pubic health at the grassroots and it is very valuable to have this perspective in the planning phase.

PHN Conference: The Hawke's Bay PHN team will host our conference this year, with planning under way.

PHN in Touch: The magazine in published three times a year. If you have a PHN story to tell, visit the NZNO website: www.nzno.org.nz, go to the PHN section home page and contact us.

Section report by committee member Rhonda Mikoz