The Census of Nurses in PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract

D URING THE PAST DECADE the number of public health nurses in local agencies, who serve the general public, has not risen in proportion to the population growth in the United States. However, an encouraging gain in the educational preparation of these nurses between 1960 and 1962 is shown in the latest data on the number and qualifications of nurses employed in public health work on January 1, 1962. The data, compiled by the Division of Nursing, U.S. Public Health Service, will be available soon in the new USPHS publication, Nurses in Public Health, January 1, 1962.1 This is the twenty-fifth year in which state health departments and the USPHS have cooperated in securing such information. On January 1, 1962, 32,550 fulltime and 1,772 part-time nurses were employed for public health work by state and local health agencies and boards of education (Figure 1); 501 nurses were reported by national agencies and 348 by universities. This article deals primarily with the 32,345 full-time and 1,758 part-time nurses in state and local agencies for whom educational qualifications were reported. In addition to the nurses engaged in public health, 509 full-time and 263 part-time registered nurses were employed to supplement the work of