The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) recently conducted a Public Health Nursing Job Task Analysis Survey giving public health nurses the opportunity to contribute to the future of public health nursing helping to define the skills and knowledge needed in today’s workforce.
Public Health Nursing Job Task Analysis Survey
Through funding support from Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, the NBPHE has begun to explore a certification for public health nurses to recognize foundational knowledge and practical application of public health and nursing. As part of this work, NBPHE conducted a Job Task Analysis surveying the public health nursing workforce.
The purpose of the JTA survey was to validate the day-to-day tasks performed by public health nurses. Public health nurses were be able to rank the importance of each task, the frequency each task is performed, and the point in their career where the task is completed. The JTA survey results will inform the development of a public health nursing certification program.
A Job Task Analysis is a method of determining the essential functions of a set of jobs or a profession. It is the most common way certification bodies determine the content that is tested on their certification exam.
Do my answers remain confidential?
Yes. Names were not requested and the email address provided allows us to share the results of the study with you and cannot be tied to your responses.
Who put together the survey questions?
Members of a public health nursing job task analysis committee were carefully selected to represent a mix of nurses at a supervisor level from non-profits, private section employers, and health departments. In December 2024, they participated in a two-day workshop with measurement specialists who led them through a training process and assisted them in developing a set of tasks that represent the most common tasks performed in public health nursing.
What happens after the survey is completed?
The survey submission deadline has been extended to May 31, 2025. The job task analysis committee will review the responses and consider which tasks did not have adequate responses to be included in the final data set. They will also review all open comments submitted through the survey. Following this, the NBPHE will analyze the remaining data set and publish a draft report on the common functions in public health nursing on a region-by-region basis across the globe. NBPHE will also perform a factor analysis on a subset of responses which will be the basis for the development of a content outline for a public health nursing certification exam. An analysis of the responses as well as an anonymized copy of the full data set will be made available to partner organizations/institutions which they can use for their own analysis.
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