Public Health Nurse

Stethoscope. By: Kidest Berhan. Public Health Nurse.

What is a public health nurse?. A public health nurse provides care and education to communities. Along with typical nursing duties, like administering health care services to patients, they also work with government agencies to manage community health programs For example Make sure health information is accessible to underserved communites Inform groups about vaccinations Conduct prenatal training Advocate for better health services for underserved populations.

Public health nurses play a role in preventing disease while promoting public safety and well being. Some specific roles they take to help their communities include Assessment-data collection and analysis to find patterns in disease outbreaks. Communication- working closely with community stakeholders, families and individuals to determine what's needed in a community. Treatments- performing heath screening, administer medications, immunizations, examinations and more as needed by at risk populations..

requirements to become one. Typically, an associate degree in nursing is sufficient Some employers ask for bachelors and masters in nursing Additional licensure is also required to become a registered nurse Pass the NCLEX-RN exam and gain at least two years of experience in the nursing field Obtain a certified in public health (CPH) designation through the national board of public health examiners..

Expected job duties. Outside of basic nursing duties the job requirements differ based on the route you take and what you specialize in. A couple examples Community clinics- work ask front line in developing educational programs to teach the community on improving their health. Government organizations- Focus on policy development to improve the overall health of entire populations. Schools- help educate children how to maintain their own health and prevent illness, address personal hygiene, sexual health etc...

Potential challenges. Some major challenges a public health nurse could face would be Poor community health- as a nurse working in impoverished urban and rural areas, you have to be ready to address preventative care and systemic barriers to better health. Limited resources- health resources are often scarce in rural and impoverished urban communities. This causes the public health nurse to not have all the tools and resources needed to do their jobs. Lots of work- It is not easy to turn around the health of a community that has traditionally suffered from poor health. It could take years before there is a measurable improvement in a communities health..

Rewards. The biggest reward of the all is being able to make a real change in a community and seeing all your hard work pay off. The satisfaction you get from helping others and knowing that you were a part of something big and your work is actively helping people live better lives If creativity is our forte then this is also a great opportunity to put that creativity to use and produce different ways of communication, planning programs, and developing new solutions..

salary. Public health nurses salary range by location and experience, there is no accurate public health nurse salary kept by the Bureau of labor statistics, but a RN earns an average of 73k a year. Working in the government is the highest paying position available making around 79k. Followed by hospital work which is 75k . And the least being in educational services making 63k..

Interest level. After this research I feel even more interested in the field, I switched from nursing to public health major because I was not enjoying the coursework and didn’t see a future for myself as a nurse. Being able to mix the both seems very interesting to me, instead of bedside nursing being able to work one on one with the community to truly make an impact is something I hope to do in the future. The only set back would be having to go through nursing school but if I'm serious enough about it after I finish undergrad I might just go back and get my BSN and make it possible..

References. 10 emerging public health careers in 2021: BestColleges . BestColleges.com . (2022, March 4). Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https:// www.bestcolleges.com /blog/emerging-public-health-careers/ How to become a public health nurse . Public Health Degrees. (2021, February 23). Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https:// www.publichealthdegrees.org /careers/public-health-nurse/ Walden University. (2021, March 25). Pros-and-cons-of-public-health-nursing-in-rural-and-urban-areas . Walden University. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https:// www.waldenu.edu /online-masters-programs/master-of-science-in-nursing/resource/pros-and-cons-of-public-health-nursing-in-rural-and-urban-areas.