Assignment Instructions
Describe the different roles of a community health nurse, public health and home health nurse?
Sample Answer
Community health, public health, and home health nurses all execute different functions. They educate the members of the community on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. Community health nurses provide support services to individuals and families when they need them. They screen for common diseases among members of the communities such as high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, and the risk factors for chronic diseases in the community such as cardiovascular diseases (EveryNurse Staff, 2023). It is the duty of the community health nurses to provide counseling to individuals who are at risk of injuries and illnesses provide education on how insurance works and participate in community outreach.
Public health nurses are health planners as they create plans of care when community nurses are not available. They support the healthcare teams by executing the health programs by interpreting and implementing the nursing plans. These nurses are patient coordinators as they direct the patients to the specialists who can give them the most appropriate care. Public health nurses educate the general public on important healthcare issues and advise on modes of disease prevention (1Nurse, 2022). Additionally, public health nurses act as research scholars and statisticians charged with the responsibility of conducting surveys on public health issues.
Home health nurses provide care to bedridden and immobile patients in the comfort of their homes. In doing so, they perform the necessary medical tests, monitor vital signs, provide injuries and wound care, assess healing, and administer different types of treatment. Nurses document changes in the eating habits, behavior progression, and mood of the patients depending on the specific situation. Home health nurses administer treatment as prescribed by the physicians and they also work in collaboration with social workers, chaplains, counselors, psychologists, palliative care specialists, and hospice specialists (O'Brien, 2021). They also supervise home health aides and Certified Nursing Assistants.
References
EveryNurse Staff. (2023). Community health nurse. EveryNurse.org. https://everynurse.org/careers/community-health-nurse/
O'Brien, E. (2021). The Role of the Home Health Nurse. healthecareers.com. https://www.healthecareers.com/career-resources/industry-news/the-role-of-the-home-health-nurse
1Nurse. (2022, November 14). Key roles and responsibilities of public health nurses in the community. 1Nursepage. https://www.1nurse.com/blog/story/2022/11/14/key-roles-and-responsibilities-public-health-nurses-community/?