Possibilities of Public Health Nursing

Public health nursing is performed by registered nurses that have an education in community health. These nurses can help with a wide spectrum of family issues including:
  • choosing affordable health care
  • helping families with extra needs during pregnancy and birth
  • identifying special needs for children
  • providing information about your child’s development.
 
Public health nurses are able to work closely with families and their personal issues. For example, families might ask public health nurses to evaluate their family’s healthcare plans.
 
Public health nursing also encompasses broader public issues, such as:
  • developing strategies to improve community health
  • discovering how the resident communities are affected by a disease
  • stopping the spread of communicable diseases
  • studying disease outbreaks particular to certain areas.

Education Requirements

To become a public health nurse, students will need to meet the following requirements:
  • a bachelor’s degree, associate's degree or a qualifying degree in Public Health Nursing Science (Some universities offer online public health nursing courses that will lead to a specialized nursing degree.)

  • at least one year of experience in the field of public health (This could be in the form of an internship or even volunteer work.)
  • passing the rigorous NCLEX–RN exam (This is the final step to becoming a registered nurse.)

Public Health Nursing Jobs

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2004, about 2.4 million jobs for registered nurses existed. Many of these jobs were in the public health nursing department. Full-time public health nurse positions earn an average net salary of around $53,000 to 61,000.

Public Health Nursing Duties

Public health nurses are often community leaders, who organize the health framework for the local population. Public health nursing jobs might require a nurse to examine patients and record information, such as:
  • blood pressure
  • hearing
  • height
  • vision
  • vital sign
  • weight.
Based on this information, the nurse can create health plans for their local community.
 
Data gathered by local public health nursing contributes to the research done by public health nurses that work with a larger scale of the population. These nurses use this research to track national health trends and help prevent the spread of disease.

APHA

The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a group dedicated to upholding public health. The mission of the APHA is to:
  • promote the awareness of political processes of public health nursing
  • provide an international forum for public health nursing information to be shared
  • serve as advocates to anyone in need of public health nursing.
Anyone that is currently a public health nurse (or those enrolled in public health nursing courses) are invited to become part of the APHA. Members receive notification of changes in public health laws and can gain access to the wealth of information on their forums.

Reasons for Becoming a Public Health Nurse

Public health nursing is a challenging but rewarding field. It allows nurses to get more deeply involved with their local communities and address health issues that would otherwise be overlooked.
 
Anyone interested in public health nursing and looking for a career change may want to consider enrolling in online programs, rather than in traditional nursing schools. Online programs allow students to continue working or attending to other obligations while earning their nursing degree.
 
Through hard work, public health nursing improves every aspect of community life.
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