Career As A Public Health Nurse

Nurses work to promote health, prevent disease and help patients cope with illness. They are advocates and health educators for patients, families and communities. The public health nurse provides a generalized public health nursing service to communities, aggregates, groups, families and individuals throughout the life cycle for purpose of promotion of health and prevention of illness and injury.

Community and public health nurses work with individuals, families and groups, focusing on populations to improve the overall health of the public.

Nurses who have chosen careers in community and public health don’t just make a difference in individual patients’ lives. They impact entire communities, and this is what drives them forward to meet tough challenges. Occupational health nurses seek to prevent job-related injuries and illnesses, provide monitoring and emergency care services, and help employers implement health and safety standards. Nurse educators plan, develop, implement, and evaluate educational programs and curricula for the professional development of student nurses and RNs. Hospital nurses are the largest population of registered nurses.

Most hospital nurses are commonly assigned to one area of the hospital such as maternity, surgery, pediatrics, emergency room, intensive care, or others. Nurse practitioners work at the highest levels of the profession, providing health care for patients, diagnosing and arranging treatments for some illnesses and injuries, and prescribing medications.

Tags: Nursing, Nursing Career, Public Nursing