WS Chronicle

Forsyth County Public Health Nurse Celisha Daniels became the first North Carolina Credentialed Public Health Nurse (NCCPHN) last week.  

Daniels was recognized for completing the pilot program for the new course by NC DHHS Chief Public Health Nurse Dr. Susan Little and Public Health Nursing Institute for Continuing Excellence Director Kristin Briggs on May 18, during a public health nurse appreciation event held at Forsyth County Public Health.  

During the event, Little talked about how North Carolina was the first state to allow nurses to become licensed and, with this program, is making history again by allowing public health nurses to earn credentials. 

Daniels works as a school nurse. She has an associate degree in nursing from Forsyth Technical Community College. She also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in rehabilitation counseling. 

The NCCPHN course, which will launch this fall, lets participants demonstrate the foundational knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgments associated with being a public health nurse. It gives participants access to evidence-based fundamental information about their profession.   

The self-paced online course provides an overview of how the N.C. Public Health system operates with real-life examples built into the curriculum. After that, there are annual webinars so the nurses can continually improve their competency and maintain their professional credential. 

“It is an exclusive invitation to be a leader and set the gold standard for public health nursing credentialing and professional practice nationwide,” said Little. 

For information about this new educational opportunity for public health nurses, visit https://sph.unc.edu/nciph/nccphn/.