Community Health Nurses Association of Canada

Ontario Residents

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:05:45 +0000

In Ontario, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses in Ontario and includes many interest groups for specialized areas of the nursing profession. Membership in the RNAO (www.rnao.org) provides you with the opportunity to be a member with the Community Health Nurses’ Initiatives Group (CHNIG) (www.chnig.org) and the Canadian Community Health Nurses Association of Canada (CHNAC).

All Other Residents

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:01:14 +0000

There are two ways you can join CHNAC from outside of Ontario. You can either register [ Online ] or by downloading an [ Application Form ].

Member Benefits

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:59:10 +0000

CHNAC provides a strong national voice for community health nurses in Canada
Provincial representation on the national board
Opportunity to represent community health nurses on committees, forums, etc.
A unified voice on national committees.
Communication tools including the newsletter and website.
Up to 25 continuing education hours toward re-certification can be allotted to members who sit on the CHNAC Board of Directors
Ontario CHNs who are members of the Community Health Nurses Initiatives Group (CHNIG) of the Registered Nurses Association receive CHNAC membership as a benefit of their CHNIG membership.

Career Opportunities

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:22:05 +0000

Public Health Nurse – Clinician Communicable Disease Control – Saskatoon Health Region
Public Health Manager – Population Health Unit – La Ronge, SK

Pamphlets and Banner

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:20:24 +0000

We have the attached posters and pamphlets available from our secretariat First Stage and may be acquired by contacting the office via the Contact Us form. We also have a display banner that may be borrowed.

Community Health Nursing Standards Toolkit – Binder Set

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:19:04 +0000

The Community Health Nurses Association of Canada (CHNAC), a federation of provincial/territorial community health
nursing interest groups and members, released the Canadian Community Health Nursing (CCHN) Standards of Practice in May 2003. These Standards were accepted by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), leading to Community Health Nursing being recognized as a specialized field of nursing.

The CCHN Standards Toolkit provides a process, tools and resources for raising awareness of the Standards and facilitating their use. It will be most effective if used as a whole. By building on and adapting existing organizational structures and practices the Toolkit aims to create an environment in which nurses are encouraged and supported to attain and maintain continuing competence.

The Toolkit is currently only available in English, however we hope to make the French version available later in the year.

Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:17:35 +0000

“Nursing standards demonstrate that a profession is dedicated to maintaining public trust and upholding the criteria of its professional practice” (from CNA Website April 2007). The Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice (CHNSoP) represent a vision for excellence in community health nursing. CHNAC took a leadership role in the development of the CHNSoP. They were developed by a representative committee of community health nurses and reflect the integration of feedback from an extensive Canadian community health nursing consultation. These standards, which reflect the values of Canadian community health nurses, were released on October 3, 2003 and re-released in March 2008.

Core Competencies

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:11:25 +0000

Core competencies are a set of essential skills and abilities necessary for the broad practice of public health:

Basic building blocks to develop the public health workforce
Transcend discipline specific boundaries of individual disciplines
Independent of program/topic
Potential to further depth and role of public health

The Canadian Public Health Core Competencies are grouped under 7 domains:

1.   Core public health sciences
2.   Assessment and analysis
3.   Policy development and program planning
4.   Partnership , collaboration and advocacy
5.   Communication
6.   Socio-cultural
7.   Leadership

For further information click here (external link)

Skills Online

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:10:29 +0000

CHNAC has an established partnership with the Skills Online Program. This is a national program which reaches community health professionals across Canada and provides state-of-the-art educational tools and opportunities. The mission of the program is “To provide public health professionals with epidemiological and related skills to conduct evidence-based decision-making and planning at the local level.” A variety of activities are offered through the program. CHNAC and its members have benefited in numerous ways from this partnership, including early opportunities to access the program, reviewing the modules and providing expert feedback, and becoming program facilitators.

What is Skills Online?

Internet-based continuing education program
A series of modules offered in both English and French
Target audience: Public health professionals
Increase knowledge, skills and abilities to support public health core competencies
Lead by Public Health Agency of Canada

Modules currently available:

Orientation Modules:

Introduction to online learning
Facilitator training

Content Modules

Basic Epidemiological Concepts
Measurement of Health Status
Descriptive Epidemiologic Methods
Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
Outbreak investigation and management
Introduction to Public Health Surveillance
Applied Epidemiology: Injuries

For further information click here (external link)

Obtaining CNA Certification

Admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:09:11 +0000

For further information see certification