Public health nursing

Public health nursing

Public health nursing is one of the most significant professional segments in the public health workplace. Public health nursing is believed to have started by Lillian Wald in 1893 in New York City, Henry Street Settlement. She established that public health nursing was aimed at emphasizing taking care of the community, especially the poor or minority groups, which were vulnerable to disease attacks. Since then, the field of public health nursing has gained popularity, and today it is one of the popular departments of nursing.

Public health nursing is essential in society. The duties of public health nurses include prevention, advocacy, education, activism, and evaluation of public health. They play a crucial role in the prevention of diseases in the community through education and creating awareness on a specific condition that is vulnerable to members of society. They also educate the community on healthy living and how they can avoid diseases. Also, public health nurses advocate with federal, state, and local governments towards improving the access of health services to the most vulnerable sub-communities. Lastly, but most importantly, the primary role of nurses is providing healthcare, and as a result, public health nurses provide direct services to the risky populations. A nurse must be a registered nurse (RN) with a bachelor’s degree in nursing to serve as a public health nurse. However, there are health programs that accept associate degrees.

Nurses are playing important roles during the cOvid 19 times. Nurses in hospitals are providing cOVID-19 patience with primary care. The disease needs intensive care as it highly involves breathing problems, and thus nurses are required to admit medicine to patients. The nurses are also ensuring patients stay in isolation to minimize contractions to negative patients. Public health nurses are creating awareness of how the virus spreads.