N.C. Credentialed Public Health Nurse
The North Carolina Division of Public Health is launching a new course, the North Carolina Credentialed Public Health Nursing Course (NCCPHN), in fall 2023. Prior to the launch, the course will be piloted in spring 2023. Information about the pilot course is provided below.

 

Pilot Course Key Dates and Registration

Tentative Dates: April-May 2023

Registration: Registration is currently closed for the pilot course. New public health nurses needing to fulfill 10A NCAC 46. 0301 prior to November 15, 2023 who provided contact information using the survey distributed by the Office of the Chief Public Health nurse will be contacted individually for the pilot course.

The course will be offered again in fall 2023.

Course Overview

The goal of the course is for participants to apply the foundational knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgements associated with the roles and functions of governmental public health nurses. The NCCPHN pilot course is being offered to ensure the goals of the NCCPHN course will be met when the course is officially launched in fall 2023.

The five-week course will be provided online through on-demand modules and will require readings related to each subject area. There will be knowledge checks, a final exam and a course evaluation.

Registration Fee

Currently, there is no registration fee for the pilot course. However, registration is required.

Who Should Take the Pilot Course?

As described in administrative code 10A NCAC 46. 0301, all public health nurses shall either “have a nursing degree from a baccalaureate school accredited by the National League for Nursing or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or complete within one year of employment with the health department an introductory course in the principles and practices of public health and public health nursing sponsored by the Department.” The NCCPHN course can be completed to meet this requirement. Priority for this pilot will be given to nurses who need to take the course per the current administrative code (10A NCAC 46 .0301) and whose one-year hiring anniversary falls on or prior to June 30, 2023.

This course is only open to governmental public health nurses currently employed in a North Carolina local public health department or with the North Carolina Division of Public Health or the Division of Child and Family Well-Being.

Prerequisite

All participants will be required to complete all five modules of the Introduction to Public Health in North Carolina Online Training Series prior to starting the course. The completion certificate for each module must be submitted prior to the NCCPHN course opening. Failure to submit the certificates on time will cause the participant not to be admitted into the course.

Course Book

The course is based on ANA’s 2022 Public Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd edition. All participants will receive view-only access to this book once they register for the course. Please note, this is view-only access; you will not be able to download, highlight or make notes using this access. If you would like a book that you can download to your computer to highlight, make notes in etc., or if you would like a hard copy of the book, you can purchase an electronic or hard copy of the book from Amazon or the American Nurses Association.

Course Requirements  

Participants must complete all required readings, all online modules, the course evaluation and the final exam (with a passing score).

All nurses who successfully complete the course will be approved to use a credential title. Additional guidance on the approval and utilization of this distinction will be provided upon successful completion of the course.

Continuing Nursing Education/Contact Hours

Nursing continuing professional development contact hours will be awarded upon successful completion of the course.

The Public Health Nursing Institute for Continuing Excellence is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an approver of continuing nursing education accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Course Providers

This course is offered through a collaboration between the Public Health Nursing Institute for Continuing Excellence at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health and the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The course is supported through a contract to the N.C. Institute for Public Health from the N.C. Division of Public Health as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Public Health Workforce Development Initiative investment in North Carolina’s public health workforce.

For more information about the course, contact Lori Rhew, the course director, at Lori.Rhew@unc.edu.