N 492 AU Community Health Nursing a Critical Practice Discussion
Reply to this classmate with 200 words in length.
Community health nursing is a field of nursing that many overlook but is very important for the health and wellbeing of the members within a community. These nurses determine which populations or communities have health needs, assesses the communities, and promote change to assist the community. Other objectives for a community health nurse are to help promote a healthy lifestyle, prevent disease and health problems, put into place health and wellness programs and screenings, conduct research, evaluate trends. Some of the biggest health problems within communities include STDs, obesity, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and poor nutrition. The determinants of health can make a big impact on a community, from social, cultural, economic, or political factors. If the majority in a certain community are poor and not well educated, they may not understand the importance of eating healthy, exercise or have the means to pay for gyms, healthy food, insurance, or pay for doctor bills. The community health nurse needs to develop strategies to help deliver care by assessing the needs of the community, what health issues are occurring, and collaborate with other agencies to address these social and environmental issues. “Nonprofit organizations and social service agencies offer a wide variety of services to people such as English language learning, education, housing assistance, job training and food and nutrition services through a combination of paid and volunteer staff with varying experience levels. Each agency can have very diverse staffing needs and workloads that a nurse can potentially contribute to as a volunteer” Birkey, 2017.
This course has helped tap into different community issues, such as STDs, common illnesses, pregnancy and prevention, social determinants of health, and different communities such as LGBTQ. The course allowed for us as nurses to take a step into community health nursing and preview a different aspect of nursing most probably did not know much about. When there are blood pressure screenings in the area, a nurse may have assessed the need for people in that community. If your hospital has a disaster plan in place, it may have come from a community health nurse that has seen disasters hit and knows what to expect, how to prepare, and educates others to help them become prepared to avoid substantial damage or injuries. The community health nurses have played a huge role during the COVID-19 pandemic, working with health departments to ensure people are educated about the vaccine, quarantining, signs and symptoms, and case-contacting. In conclusion, community health nurses are ‘unsung heroes’ that promote the health and wellness of the people in their community.
