Connecting the Dots With Community Health Nursing
At first glance, the nursing profiles below might seem to be quite different from each other. But these five nurses all have a specialty in common:
This family nurse practitioner works tirelessly to advocate for reproductive rights...
This travel nurse provides affordable health care to a Hispanic migrant community...
This nurse researcher educates other nurses about appropriate methods for providing health care to women who have been ritually circumcised...
This school nurse is caught between school regulations and parent concerns about recurring head lice outbreaks....
And this nurse midwife reports on the health outcomes of planned interventions for expectant mothers with a history of substance abuse...
Despite the variety and scope of their roles, all these nurses share a background in Community Health Nursing. As you can tell, there's no single job description for a community health nurse.
Community health nurses are not restricted to caring for a particular group--they can work with populations of any age, sex, size, diagnosis or treatment area. They're not restricted to working in a specific type of setting--they can work in hospitals, clinics, residential institutions, government agencies, homes, schools, ambulatory service settings or occupational health settings. And they're certainly not restricted to a single approach to providing health care.
Community health nurses can educate, research, and practice in the realms of disease prevention, nutrition, childcare, acute care, political issues, socioeconomic problems, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, emergency management, nursing administration and dozens of others.
What sets community health nursing apart from other types of nursing?
Community health nursing can be understood as a blend of nursing and public health practice. Community health nursing practice is always focused on promoting and preserving the health of populations. The foundational belief of community health nursing is that health care given to an individual, a family, or a group contributes to the health care of the population as a whole. In this way, the practice of community health nursing connects the dots, giving nurses and other providers a way to understand the "big picture" of health in the community.
Although many nurses who work in community health settings are inspired by their passions to "go career," it's also common for nurses to bring the community health approach into their nursing practice on varying levels. For example, the nurse mentioned above who works with the Hispanic migrant population provides care only during the summer months, due to other obligations. An acute care nurse might take part in a study to evaluate the specific health needs of the homeless population. And a nurse educator might teach a class on community health nursing, as does Karen T. Pardue, MS, RN, CNE, an associate professor at the University of New England in Portland, Maine.
Pardue is extremely positive about the outcomes of community health education for all nurses. As quoted in Nursing Education Perspectives on September 1, 2008, she says that many RNs are initially "skeptical," wondering how community health nursing applies to their specific fields. However, they end up reaping the benefits. "I enjoy watching them grow and make connections from the course to the care of their patients, their families, and even to the towns where they live," says Pardue. "Concepts in community health truly touch us all!"
Community Health Nurses have a wide range of career opportunities to choose from which include occupational health nursing, health education, health advisory leadership roles in governments or at world health organizations, occupational health experts for individual corporations, advisers, policy makers, and consultants about food safety, environmental safety, disease control, disaster management, or bio-terrorism. Community Health Nursing public education programs, policies, and interventions help prevent the suffering of millions of people around the world from diseases.
If you are interested in putting your nursing expertise to good use in caring for the health of your community or the health of the global community, then consider earning a Master's degree in Nursing, becoming a Nurse Practitioner, or earning a dual MSN - Master of Public Health degree online. Earning an advanced nursing degree opens the door to many diverse career opportunities and expands your ability to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of so many people.
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