Communities affect the health of individuals. Caring for the community as a whole can empower individuals to become more responsible for their own health. Community health or public health nurses are often on the front lines of this type of care.
The benefits of nursing in the community include:
- Population-based preventive measures. For example, if an ethnic neighborhood is prone to a disease because of ethnicity, nurses can focus on preventive measures within that context.
- Targeted care for high-risk groups, such as teenage mothers, senior citizens, the homeless, sedentary people and smokers.
- Care for patients in community settings. These settings might include the patient’s home, a community clinic or a nursing home.
The focus of community and public nursing is health promotion, disease prevention and risk reduction. To gain more knowledge in these areas, RNs can complete an RN to BSN program. These programs teach evidence-based nursing practice, which nurses need to care for a variety of people in diverse settings.
Public Health Nurses
Nursing in the community can take many forms. The distinction between public health nursing and community health nursing is blurry, and experts do not always agree on the definitions. Many sources say that public health nurses tend to focus on the needs of a population with common characteristics, whereas community health nurses focus on the needs of the broader community and provide direct care to individuals.
Public health nurses typically develop or provide programs for a group of people. For example, a public health nurse might:
- Provide prenatal care and teach skills such as breastfeeding and other baby care to new mothers.
- Provide immunizations to children.
- Teach children about their changing bodies as they enter puberty.
- Help women experiencing menopause deal with the changes.
- Educate the public to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
- Promote wellness through weight management.
Public health nurses also help prepare for disaster relief and can be first responders during disasters. They often work in public health departments, occupational health facilities, correctional facilities, schools, businesses and non-profit organizations.
At an advanced level, public health nurses become leaders in evaluating the strengths and needs of a population, while also proposing solutions.
Community Health Nurses
“The expert community health nurse comes to understand the needs of a population or community through experience with individual families and working through their social and health care issues,” according to Chapter 3, Community-Based Nursing Practice, of Basic Nursing.
The book goes on to explain that a successful community health nursing practice involves building relationships with the community and responding to changes within it. Nurses need patient advocacy skills, the ability to communicate people’s concerns and the skills to design new systems that complement existing systems.
Community-Based Nursing
Another type of nursing in the community is working directly with individuals who need medical care. Examples of this type of work include providing in-home patient care and education, or offering services through mobile healthcare clinics. Nurses might also work in a community health clinic, a homeless shelter, an adult day center, or a care facility that helps people transition from the hospital back to their homes.
Nurses who want to make a career of nursing in the community can benefit from completing an RN to BSN program. This preparation for a broader scope of evidence-based nursing practice opens more options for nurses to advance their careers.
Learn about the Lamar University online RN to BSN program.
Sources:
Community Health Nursing
http://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2009/01001/Community_Health_Nursing.5.aspx
Evolving Public Health Nursing Roles: Focus on Community Participatory Health Promotion and Prevention
http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No2-May-2012/Evolving-Public-Health-Nursing-Roles.html
Public Health Nursing Careers & Salary Outlook
http://nursejournal.org/public-health-nursing/public-health-nurse-careers-salary-outlook/
