organization. The nursing service/unit, s'hould also develop its <rim strale'~c plan. An operational plan, on the other hand, is a short-range plan that generally deals.... ;th the routine activities of tbe organization. In a health center. for exam rile. an operation,il plan addresses the requiremen t<; for delivering health services on a daily ba. ~is. It may include the train in?, of health center staff, incornt!generation, purchase ofinstrume-nts and equipment, introduct ion of a new system in queuing Qf clients, how l Q improve intra-office, intra-sectoral and intersectora l CQJlahoration, partic.-ipation in the training or affiliating nursing students, and a new system of recording, among others. A Nursing Service plan includes measures that address the specific needs and concerns of nurses. It focuses on those that impact on how nurses perform their job such as staff development, performance eva Juation, review of job descriptio n, mentoring and coaching, and performanc e standards, rewards system, etc. Plans should be realistic and should be acceptable to the decision-makers-th e local council (particularly the Health Committee) and the mayor.. The Local Health Board may also be of help in advocating for the nursing service plan. Preparation of budget Public health nurses play an important role in preparing a budget for the health department/health cen Lers. 'I11eykoowhow the health center operates and the demands for the health center's services. In preparin g a budget, PHNs should consider the cost­ effectiveness of their inte1ventions/activities. A11 year round, they should assess the cost-effectiveness of their activities or practices in the health center and constantl y explore on ways to improve their efficiency. Policies, standards and procedures Manuals of policies, standards and procedures are very important resources for health personne l. These serve as a guide for their actions and decisions. A manual of personnel policies, standards and procedures should contain all pertinent laws (such as a the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers and Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards) /policies emanating from national agencies such as the Civil Service Commiss ion and U1ose coming from the local governments). It should also contain professional standards prepa1·ed by the DOH, PRC, the PNA and tl1e NLPGN. The nurse supervisor should ensu1·e Lhat these important docume nts are availableto a11 PHNssothattheyare informed of their rights, duties and responsibilities as health workers and government employees. Organizing Prior to RA 7160 (Local Government Code), the organization al structure of be::ilth departments or units was standard. There was a nursing service in big health departments who was headed by a chief nurse (Nurse VIl or Nurse VI). Understandably, there have been and there will be structural changes in health departments and health centers because of cllanges in how decision makers view health care delivery. There is, of course, no one best way in structuring a public health organization, particularly a nursing service or unit. Most, if not al J pub Uc health orgaoization. s, have a wel1-defined organfaat:ional structure. Toe question, however, is whether the current structure is the best way by which the goals and objectives of the organization could be met. In asses. sing an existing organizational structure, nurses should be familiar with some of the principles of organization. 423 