Hospital and Community Nurses

Hospital and Community Nurses

In health care laws and regulations, there are standard which are most important, although some differences are present in diverse work settings of health care providers. Nursing practices refer to the responsibilities and roles of nurses in the workplace. For example, in the case of a community and a health care nurse, there are characteristic differences and similarities, although they are professionals in the nursing practice (Nehls et al. 2016).

Similarities between Hospital and Community Nurses

A certified nurse who offers care to patients who have no access to health services or have inadequate resources necessary for health care is known as a community practitioner. On the other hand, a health care nurse refers to a certified health care provider who attends to patients in the hospital setting. Nehls et al., (2016) explain that both the health care and public nurses are certified and have the responsibility of taking care of patients by identifying the illnesses through diagnosis and coming up with effective treatment strategies. After the illness identification, the nurses administer the appropriate treatment of the patients.

Additionally, the health nurses ensure that in case of an infectious disease outbreak, the spread of the disease is controlled through the application of nursing techniques.

Consequently, control is achieved by introducing high levels of cleanliness, guidance, and counseling, and also maintaining hygiene in the workplace

Smolowitz et al.,2015 explain that during and after recovery, the nurses offer emotional support to patients through encouraging them to keenly observe and follow the guidelines that help in full recovery. Additionally, the nurses encourage patients on the prevention, management of different health conditions, and how to live a healthy and hygienic life. For example, the nurse might advise patients about the importance of exercising. Responding to emergency cases in the health care facility is common in both the community and emergency care nurses. In case of emergencies, the nurses attend to the patient first or, in other cases, inform the head nurse who later tells the health care physicians.

Additionally, in both cases, the nurses control the patients’ records that aides in the follow up of patients’ recovery. Maintaining the documents is essential in times when the head physician wishes to enquire more information about a specific patient. In cases where patients need to be transferred to different hospitals, nurses ensure that all documents, data, and information about the patient is available (Smolowitz et al.,2015).

Differences between Hospital and Community Nurses

Despite the numerous similarities, there is the various difference that community and health care nurses exhibit. The fact that community nurses offer freelance services; they are open to large groups of people and communities. (Elliott et al. 2015).

On the other hand, health care nurses are always in the hospital, and so are focused on a specific place and individuals. Consequently, the hospital nurse’s main aim is to treat patients who come to the hospital and making sure the patients recover. On the other hand, public nurses mainly educate the community about prevention, treatment, and recovery when various diseases strike. Patients are treated in the health care facility as a result of the diagnosis done by the nurse. On the other hand, public nurses may not rely on determination but use the nursing skills to identify a potential disease or treat an already existing illness in the community. These general nurses have the authority to make health decisions for the targeted area or population.

In case of a patient’s referral or emergency, health care nurses involve the head nurse or physician in the hospital to make decisions on behalf of the hospital management. Community health nurses, on the other hand, are entirely responsible for making health decisions about patients. At the same time, in case of work shifts, health care providers hand over the work to other nurses. This handover ensures that the nurses have time to relax and, as a result, offer efficient services (Olsen et al.,2015).

On the other, a community health worker is entirely responsible for the patients’ treatment and recovery without change of shifts. The public health provider leaves the patient after the surety of the patient’s safety. Health care nurses attend to patients who are seriously sick and require immediate treatment services in hospitals. Community workers, on the other hand, attend to the elderly and poor people in different areas. Therefore the health care nurses focused on a specific number of patients. In contrast, public health care providers might work on a significant amount of people because of the movement from one area to another (Elliott et al. 2015).

Additionally, due to the different personalities that attend various hospitals, health care nurses might not get the opportunities to enjoy a personal relationship with the patients, which is a different case with the public health care provider. This is because a community worker interacts with a specific area and people. Therefore, there is a possibility of trust between the nurse and the patients, which results in improved personal relationships.