ASTDN

Welcome to ASTDN Online

Mission...

The mission of ASTDN is to provide a peer and collegial forum for public health nursing leadership, recognizing the authority as well as the responsibility of the governmental role in protecting and promoting the health of the public..

Values...

A world where health is highly regarded

Optional pathways for achieving health

Universal access to health care
Prevention as the foundation for health promotion

An epidemiological base for decision making

Cultural diversity

Community empowerment

Collaboration and partnering

Excellence in health services

Leadership as an essential public health skill

Goals...

To participate with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in promoting a program of national health protection and promotion.

To establish guidelines for states and territories in setting standards for public health nursing services.

To recommend and advocate the effective and efficient use of public health nurses in the provision of preventive, health promotion and personal health services.

To identify and promote methods of improving the education, utilization and distribution of public health nurses.

To develop innovative and collaborative partnerships with national governmental and voluntary agencies in programs to protect the public’s health.

To foster, advocate for and support public health nurses in leadership roles ain administrative, management and staff positions.

To assist in marketing public health nursing.

To assure that inputs from and perspectives of public health nursing are incorporated into position statements on the nursing profession

History...

The Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing (ASTDN) began in 1935 as an advisory group of state health department nurses. ASTDN continues today as an active association of public health nursing leaders from across the United States and its Territories. ASTDN is an affiliate of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

ASTDN Transformation Journey

ANA's - Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Conditions:

ASTDN was a co-sponsor and workgroup member of the subject document and was represented at the 2007 ANA policy conference. Click here to download the 26 page pdf.

Included content in the document:

Ethical Issues
Emergency competencies for clinicians
Unusual care expectations
Recommendations for emergency care pre, during and post event.

ASTDN Revises Its Position Paper
"The Role of Public Health Nurses in Emergency Preparedness and Response”

The ASTDN Public Health Preparedness Committee is pleased to announce that it has completed its work on revising the ASTDN position paper on “The Role of Public Health Nurses in Emergency Preparedness and Response”. The ASTDN Executive Committee approved the revisions on November 16, 2007. (more)

Position Paper's Supporting Poster

ASTDN members click Janet's name to request copy of poster - Janet Deveny-Edwards

ASTDN News Headlines

ASTDN Executive Board Backs PHN Loan Forgiveness Legislation The ASTDN Executive Board voted to sign on to a letter on Loan Forgiveness for Services in Areas of National Need that was sent to the members of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the Higher Education Act (HEA) – namely the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (S-HELP). The House bill contains a provision authorizing a new loan forgiveness program for certain eligible professions, including both nurses and public health professionals. In total, thirty-three organizations and professional associations signed on to the letters to the House Education & Labor and Senate S-HELP Committees urging HEA conferees to include the House provision on Loan Forgiveness for Services in Areas of National Need in the final bill. The new program, while modest, is important in helping to meet national needs. The program makes certain professionals eligible for $2,000/annually for up to 5 years (capped at $10,000 per recipient) on a first-come, first-served basis. PDF of Loan Forgiveness Letter. ASTDN Actions on National Nurse Proposal ASTDN and other Quad Council members are signatories on a Letter of Concern relating to the Office of the National Nurse proposal. Concerns relate to the redunancy of the proposal with existing offices and structures,the current underfunding of the nation's public health system, and the need for effective, evidence-based interventions in addressing public health problems and issues. Rather than creating new, parallel offices and volunteer structures, ASTDN and others believe the nation should invest in and reinforce our existing public health infrastructure and resources. The Letter of Concern and a list of cosigners are located on the ANA website. (clickl link to view): The Public Health Nursing Shortage: A Threat to the Public’s Health Public Health Nursing is in the midst of a critical shortage, one that threatens the health of the nation. While nursing shortages have existed before,. .... Quad Council's final July '07 revision available as PDF here. Revision of the Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) National Stakeholders' Meeting on the Revision of the Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education was held in Washington DC on February 27, 2007. Linda Olson Keller represented ASTDN at this meeting. Following the meeting, the Task Force on the Revision of the Baccalaureate Essentials met for two days to synthesize the input received at this meeting into an initial document that describes the competencies of the entry level professional nurse. The draft document of the Baccalaureate Essentials will be widely disseminated to nursing leaders, administrators, clinicians, and educators through a series of regional meetings held across the country in the next year. Links to reports follow. ACCN Meeting Report Quad Council PHN Competencies ASTDN PHN Competencies Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Consensus Document Assuring Quality Health Care for the United States: Building and Sustaining an Infrastructure of Qualified Nurses for the Nation document released May, 2007 - download PDF here.
Public Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 2007 This book articulates the essentials of public health nursing, its activities and accountabilities.. Now available for purchase from ANA Publishing ANCC Offers New Public/Community Health CNS Certification Exam In 2005, the American Nurses Credentialing Center ( ANCC ) retired the Public/Community Health Nursing (P/CHN) examination. ASTDN, in concert with other nursing partners, was successful in working with the ANCC to continue the administration of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in Public/Community Health Nursing (P/CHN) certification examination in 2007. For more certification application, submission dates, and fees, visit the ANCC at http://www.nursecredentialing.org/cert/eligibility/CNS_CommHealth.html.	Public Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 2007