The roal of public health nursing is to promote and protect the health of the population. This proactive approach does not limit their scope of practice to health concerns of individuals but also to developing and implementing programs and policies that help enhance the health of populations. The role of public health nurses is to focus on population centered care with the outcome of promoting health, preventing disability and disease, and improving the quality of life. An effective public health nurse is able to evaluate assessment data to define population diagnoses and set priorities accordingly. They can also serve as advocates for individuals and families in the population to develop policies, access resources, and protect their dignity. Most importantly the nurse should be capable of providing care, respecting human dignity, be unbiased by concerns of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.
Population Diagnosis and Priorities
Public health nursing is a practice that focuses on promoting and enhancing health of populations through the nursing knowledge, critical thinking, and disease or disability prevention. An effective public health nurse can also evaluate and gather data through an assessment that functions to formulate a diagnosis for the population and setting priorities. An assessment is derived from direct input from the population, data regarding access and use of health services, preventive and health promotion factors, risk factors, and basic nursing and public health skills. Public health nurses engage in research that enhances public health nursing practice and document the outcomes of specific activities and strategies. They have a responsibility to activel...
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...stand that information that is exchanged between individuals, families, communities, and populations are interconnected as a whole entity. Through the actions of advocacy nurses can promote self-determination in population and its aggregates which, can ultimately lead to health promotion, accessibility of resources, and human dignity. Advocacy empowers clients to participate in problem solving processes and decisions about health care.
Works Cited
American Nurses Association. (2007). Public health nursing: scope and standards of practice. Silver Springs, MD: American Nurses Association.
Stanhope M. & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care
in the Community (7th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
Parse, R.R. (2003). Community: A Human Becoming Perspective. Sudbury, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Nursing advocacy is a professional obligation and the standard of practice expected by the Ontario College of Nurses (CNO, 2009). The concept of advocacy is enshrined into the code of professional ethics that nurses “must promote the interests of clients in their care” (CNO 2009). To meet this standard the nurse must first ensure a deep understanding of advocacy and how it relates to the nursing profession. Advocacy in nursing is a concept that can be first seen in the early work of nursing theorist Florence Nightingale and her plight to protect the safety of patients through autonomous nursing actions (Goldie, 1987). Although the concept of advocacy had been presented in early nursing theory, the term “advocacy” had not been
Association, A. N. (2010). Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice. (2nd ed.) Maryland: American Nurses Association. Retrieved January 20, 2014 from http://media.wix.com/ugd/8c99f2_4fde86431966e34f2e03bbb137edfee3.pdf
The care that the public health nurse provides to her clients is patient-centered. During one of the home visits, the nurse talked and questioned her client about what her needs were and if there was anything she could do for her. The client mentioned that she needed more supplies such as diaper and baby clothes. The nurse agreed to bring these items the next time she visits. When the nurse had to perform an assessment on the client’s son by using the ASQ-3, which is a screening tool that screens for developmental delays, the client mentioned that she was not feeling well and did want to answer questions. The nurse respected her client’s request and did not carry on with the assessment. Patient-centered care was evidenced in the nurse’s practice as she was assessing and responding to her client needs. The client also had control on how the care was delivered to her. By letting the client have a voice in her care, the nurse was establishing a caring relationship with the client, which is one of the cornerstones of public health nursing (Garcia, Schaffer, & Schoon, 2014, p. 9). In addition, by providing support and care as well as addressing the client’s needs, the nurse was working at the individual level of practice.
Provision 8 states, “The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs.” (Nursing World, 2001). Provision 8 taught me that ANA’s goals are not limited to the health and welfare of individuals, but their goals also encompass the welfare of the community through promotion of collaborative work of nurses with other health professionals and the members of the community.
Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) nursing programs prepare students to deliver primary healthcare to women throughout their lifespan. This nursing specialty program consists of in-depth theory, pathos-physiology, research application, pharmacological therapy, and critical thinking skills based on clinical studies. Prospective nursing students are expected to meet the requirements of the nursing program, including full-range comprehension of reproductive-gynecologic health. Prospective students should seek accredited nursing programs that meets the guidelines for women's health nursing education established by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioners of Women's Health. Prospective nursing students should conduct the proper research to determine if the institution has obtained accreditation through the National Association of Nurse Practitioners.
According to the American Nurses Association, nursing is defined as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations” (American Nurses Association, 2016). Nurses have many jobs and responsibilities and wear many different hats. Nurses can perform at many different levels depending on their scope of practice which is defined by the board of nursing in one’s state of residence. It is important as nurses to understand and follow
According to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). In order for this to occur an assessment must take place. An aggregate or community assessment begins with a collection of data. This includes: the community’s health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data, and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can collectively come together to help promote an overall better health standing.
American Nurses Association (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, Md: American Nurses Association.
Zerwekh, J., Claborn, J. (2006). Nursing today: Transitions and trends (pp. 343-346). St. Louis, Missouri:
A nurse’s role in our society today is exceptionally significant. Nurses are somewhat idolized and looked to as our everyday “superman”. “The mission of nursing in society is to help individuals, families, and groups to determine and achieve physical, mental, and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work” (“The Role of a Nurse/Midwife”). Many Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services and health care education (Whelan). In our country, there is constantly someone in need of health care. There will always be a baby being born or a person dying, someone becoming ill or growing old. Some people due to their physical and/or mental state of health are completely dependent on a nurse and wouldn’t be able to get through the simple obstacles of every day, or achieve the necessary requirements of a simple day without their aid. Not only do nurses help, and assist you when you’re sick, but also act to promote good health to others. They end...
In Nursing, there will always be instances where the patient's nurse needs to advocate for their patient. There are numerous reasons why a nurse would advocate for their patient ranging from getting the doctor to change the patient’s orders, helping the patient’s treatment team understand what it is the patient is requiring for the day, to expressing the patient’s last wishes before death. In every situation, the nurse should do what is in the patient’s best interest. Tomajan (2012), “Advocacy skills are the ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another. Advocacy requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration”(p. 2). With those skills, the nursing staff will be able to work together to advocate for their patients. Along with those skills, nurses need to keep in mind the three core attributes that are: safeguarding patients’ autonomy; acting on behalf of patients; and championing social justice in the provision of health care. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006)
“A public health nurse is a nurse who works to promote and protect the health of an entire population” (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2010, p. 839) the public health nurse I chose to interview was Barbara, she currently works for the Health department and has been there for three years. During the interview Barbara discussed the requirements for a public health nurse. The individual must have the ability to exercise independent judgment, planning and able to administer safe effective public nursing care. In addition be able to work effectively with individuals and families to assist them in the satisfactory solution of health problems, by recognizing and respecting of different cultural, ethnic and difference on health care practices. The nurse is also required to know disease prevention such as, different techniques on teaching, counseling, interviewing and resources available. Barbara stated that the most important part of being a public health nurse is being able to care. Barbara acknowledged that there are numerous individuals that she assists everyday that just want someone to exhibit that they care and understand. The education a public health nurse should obtain is a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which Barbara posses. “Public health nurses working with specific populations or in administration position should hold a master’s degree” ( Allender et al., 2010, p.839). Barbara discussed that before becoming a public health nurse she worked at St. Francis Hospital as med-surge nurse for five years, after that it was imperative that she change working environment. Barbara confirmed that working as a nurse in the hospital was extremely diverse then working as public health nurse. “Comparing public health nurse and general nurse, public health nursing is population based, focuses on the greater good, health promotion and disease prevention, and utilizes community resources. The general nursing is individual based, focuses on individual good, restoration of health and function, and manage resources at hand” (Minnesota Department of Health, 2007). In the beginning Barbara thought that public health nursing would be a difficult job to gain knowledge of however, she established that it was exceptionally effortless and gratifying career to posses. Barbara stated that she did not realize how much assistance was out there for the public until; she worked as public health nurse. Barbara spends 95% of her day going from place to place by doing home visits, investigating different cases, assisting with screening programs and enormous amount of paper work.
Harkness, G. A. & Demarco, R. (2012). Community and public health nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
To answer to my questions I looked to my clinical instructor and other resources such as course literature. From the course book I was able to learn that public health nursing can be applied to lead collaborative efforts to attain optimal health for people locally and nationally. It also helps develop innovative programs to improve health of populations and lead health care reform efforts within and across health care systems. As far as working conditions, I have learned that most public health nurses work for government agencies, nonprofit groups, community health centers and other organizations that aim to improve health at the community level. In addition public health nurses can travel locally or distances to meet with community groups to bring health care services into underserved
Nursing entails self- directed and cooperative health care for the society at large in all contexts. It includes the promotion of appropriate practices to enhance health, prevention of diseases,