Summary
I feel that my perception of public health nursing has grown exponentially. Prior to this semester, I had not considered a career in this concentration of nursing. Through clinical experiences, I have practiced many nursing skills. At the Montclair Community Medical Clinical, I was able to administer Tdap (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) vaccines as well as help with preliminary check ups by obtaining vital signs. I have been able to administer Tuberculosis Skin Test (Mantoux Test) to preschool level children and adults. I have been exposed to home health visits by attending orientation at the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and by shadowing a public health nurse during a home health visit in Victorville, CA. I have also had the opportunity to do teaching and first aid at the third annual Montclair Country Jamboree.
In addition, I have gain insight into the community through observation and research in the past weeks. I have learned that a large portion of the population is
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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
The knowledge that I will obtain in the public health portion of the program will allow me to be better prepared to understand the social and environmental determinants of health that contribute to the development of diseases, and this will allow me to care for my patients more effectively. As these and other public health issues become more prominent, having a well-trained workforce that is equipped to address community-level health concerns is vital. As a profession, PAs are well educated as primary care clinicians and are able to handle a wide variety of common health care disorders. Adding a master’s degree in public health equips PAs with an expanded skill set which can be used to manage the health of entire communities, specifically those which are
Healthcare is a continuous emerging industry across the world. With our ever changing life styles and the increased levels of pollution across the world more and more people are suffering from various health issues. Nursing is an extremely diverse profession and among the highest educated with several levels ranging from a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to a registered nurse (RN) on up to a Doctorate in Nursing. Diane Viens (2003) states that ‘The NP is a critical member of the workforce to assume the leadership roles within practice, education, research, health systems, and health policy’.
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.
Nurses around the world collaborate with various providers and partners to address multiple challenges in the community. With emphasize on health promotion and disease prevention, nurses have an important role in delivering nursing services in the community and in the home. Challenges that impact the overall health of the community can arise from unequal access to health care or lack of insurance causing individuals do not receive healthcare. However, all nurses can help improve health outcomes and help to prevent and manage diseases. With the help of community health nurses, public health nurses, and home health nurses, the ability to provide safe and effective care for all sectors of health is possible.
It is my desire to increase my breadth of knowledge and to serve others in a larger capacity. Following graduation from the nurse practitioner program I would like to be working with a primary care clinic in a rural and underserved area. I have a heart for rural medicine and would love to serve and partner with a community that is in need of primary care providers. My goal would be to encourage patients to take ownership of their health by educating and informing them on healthy lifestyles, diseases, medications, etc. I would also like to help the community become more aware of preventative health. I believe the education of patients goes hand-in-hand with
My interest in nursing is fairly new; I had not explored the potential that a nursing career can offer. I became familiar with nursing professionally after becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant. While working with patients, side-by-side with nurses I became enamored with the potential of a nursing career. I now have a rewarding career working as a Medical-Surgical nurse on a Medical University Hospital floor that specializes in Transplant, Nephrology and Urology. Nursing encompasses the ideologies that fuel my passion, upon further research, and conversation with coworkers I realize my career goal of Family Nurse Practitioner; affording me the privilege to care for others by reaching out to various
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population centered health care in the community (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
“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.
I have chosen Public Health as my career path because I have a passion for making a difference in people’s lives and helping others achieve their goals. Also, I chose healthcare as a career because health does not only focus on the physical aspects of wellness, but it applies to all areas of wellness, such as, intellectual, social, spiritual, financial, occupational, environmental and emotional wellness. Moreover, Public Health is a challenging, diverse and dynamic field. My philosophy of health is very simple, to prevent, improve and educate the lives of individuals, families, communities and the population. Besides, there is no safer way to touch people’s lives than through public
...y of life for people by collaborative working with the population to create the conditions that ensure healthy lives (Public Health Nursing, 2013). The nursing process is applied to all levels of nursing practices every day. The public health nurses interventions are target on the whole population and guided by an assessment of the community health (Public Health Nursing, 2013). Although the PHN primarily aims at prevention, all levels of prevention is utilized to improve the wellbeing of the communities.
To begin with, we have to identify what exactly means for the words “public health”. In general, we usually divided into two different areas. Public health which refers to the health of the environment surrounding in public, such as public transport and public infrastructure. Another explanation of public health means to prevent disease produced by different channels and methods, which also is the most common meaning and what I will mainly working for this paper about public health. First of all, when people mentioned about public health, United States and Japan would be the first two countries to compare with. Because the United States and Japan are basically two of the countries that everybody thinks of the most robust public health system.
Public Health is the most important aspect of medicine. My studies in Public Health will go a very long way to help me grasp the proper concepts and tools needed to work with the government to bring sustainable solutions to health care problems faced by various communities today. Public Health issues touch almost every family in the USA today. I know that if the health sector was better funded, better equipped, and better managed, with clear and effective policies, this kind of suffering could been avoided. I want to go into public health because I believe strongly that I can contribute not only to my fellow Americans, but also to people all over the world. I anticipate that through proper planning, interventions and implementation of effective policies, one will be able to bring about much-needed change through my work with an NGO or non-profit affiliated with the UN.
’s volunteer in an enlightened health organization (non-profit) which is working in Houston to promote the public health through scientific research and spreading health awareness among the people through offering free screening for blood glucose, blood pressure, height, weight, BMI, free lab tests, offering health pamphlets and ensuring access to discounted physician visits to the uninsured people. Reading the curriculum of your epidemiology track made me more fascinated with your program. I will have the great honor and passion to pursue a master's degree in public health from such a prestigious and reputable school. My ultimate goal is to improve the practice and delivery of public health as a leader and teacher in the clinical setting. . I am excited to start my studies with the hope of making a meaningful contribution to this field and to the community.
From the literature I learned about the importance of driving the nursing profession towards the community health-care system. There is currently a need for revitalization of the primary health care system as stated in this document. There is a need to change some of the focus of education and training in new nurses in an effort to respond to the health care demands of today and the future, since many students are not going into this field. In addition, nurses already working in community health should begin focusing on current prevention and promotion aspects of health. I plan to apply these ideas in my own nursing practice to this rotation.
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health