What is the Scope of Community Health Nursing?

Community health nurses provide nursing services by examining patients’ health. They also serve patient caseload and participate in public health clinics to perform various related duties. But what is the scope of community health nursing? If you have the same question, you are on the right page. You will find all the details of the same below. Here you can also get answers to all your questions and queries about Community Health Nursing.

Scope of Community Health Nursing

They are distinguished from other nurses based on their roles and responsibilities. They work with individuals and families in a setting that interacts with various health care providers, community organizations, and County departments. Their duties involve the full scope of community health nursing activists. They do not require a Public Health Nurse Certification. Patients have minimal to no knowledge about health principles, nutrition, disease process, appropriate care, and available resources.

 

Officials (Community Health Nurses) work as a part of the community that conducts home visits as well as special clinics and health education activities. They are very different from the upper level of public health nurses, as Public health nurses are assigned duty in specific clinics and programs. This makes it mandatory for them to have a Public Health Nurse certificate. This is a federal and state mandate. The scope of community health nurses has been explained below.

Where do community health nurses work?

These nurses work in various locations with different groups of people. Depending on where they choose to work, they may have less or more direct contact with other individuals in the community. The scope of community health nursing is explained below. These are a few common spaces where these nurses work.

1. Community health centers

This is a setting where the community health nurses work with the members of the community to discuss their medical needs. They also run campaigns and develop resources around important topics like family planning, sexual health, and other preventative care. They are in contact with members of the community only. Community health nurses may also work outside the community health center to have contact with a wider cross-section of the community.

2. Correctional facilities

This is a setup where many people are held in proximity. Community health nurses work to limit the spread of various communicable diseases. They also run programs for the staff and inmates and implement various disease control protocols. They work very closely with the state and local health departments.

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3. Schools

The scope of Community health nursing expands at the school level as it can help children lead healthier lives and manage their problems better. Community health nurses provide education on good health and illness prevention to students in schools. They also help students overcome any health issues they might be facing. In case any student is experiencing abuse or neglect, these nurses help them address such issues as well.

4. Aid organizations

Organizations such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders have many community health nurses working for them. These nurses work with disaster relief, access to clean drinking water, and how to counter contagious diseases, along with other needs similar to the work at any community health center.

5. Government agencies

Community health nurses working in a government agency setup have minimal direct contact with the members of the community. They work on the development of policies and their implementation. They aim to create a change on a large scale for different groups.

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Responsibilities of a community health nurse

The scope of community health nursing is vast. It is not limited to certain workspaces and responsibilities. Below, we have tried to cover the major responsibilities of a community health worker.

• Plan, implement, and evaluate prevention activities and programs
• Quick response in case of epidemic outbreaks
• Counsel patients and conduct health screening
• Provide health education at the school level and develop educational plans for individuals
• Enhance the ability of individuals to seek mental health treatment and address social needs
• Demonstrate nursing techniques for home care of the ill and injured
• Observe patient-family interaction at home
• Assess various physical, social, and health statuses of individuals and families
• Provide health care in line with other health professionals to improve patient health
• Refer patients to appropriate clinics when medical intervention is required
• Identify the outbreak of health issues in the community
• Work with various cultural patterns and identify the health outcomes of the same
• Record patient data, complete the state form, and the daily nursing report
• Coordinate health-related services in allotted programs

This was the scope of community health nursing. Though it is not limited to just these responsibilities.

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Eligibility criteria for community health nursing

A community health nurse requires certain training and educational experience. You need to have a strong background in nursing and also understand social science and public policy.

Aspirants need to have an Associate’s Degree in Nursing(ADN) minimum to become community health nurses. You must also clear the NCLEX – RN exam. Some employers may also require you to have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). You may also consider earning a Master’s Degree in Public Health or any other related field.

Community health nurses must be able to exercise their plans independently. You need to plan, organize, and carry out community health nursing activities. Working in certain posts requires specialization in the target population, programs, or bilingual skills. Aspirants must be willing to work in an environment that is prone to the risk of communicable diseases. You should also comply with all the sections of the act which talk about child abuse, elder abuse, dependent abuse, and physical violence abuse reporting.

Community health nurses do everything in their capacity to improve the health of the public and reduce all social and environmental determinants of illness. This model of healthcare is mostly reactive. It is working towards becoming a proactive system. The officials are trying to find the root causes of diseases and other disabilities, and also ways to eradicate them from the roots. With constant efforts and dedication, we are sure a lot of illnesses will be removed from the population.

Conclusion

This is the scope of community health nursing. If you are looking to build a career as a community health nurse, you can bookmark this article. It will help you find all the details easily. You can even share it with other aspirants. With more community health nurses, the world would be a much healthier and safer place.

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