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Learn More about the Public Health Nurse Specialty
A new recruitment brochure detailing the public health nurse specialty will be available on www.discovernursing.com soon. The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future brochure will feature real public health nurses who are making a difference in the health of their communities. Information on how to enter the field of public health nursing will also be included. |
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Public Health Nurse Authors Hand Hygiene Book for Kids
Amy Lovern, RN, BSN, MSN, public health nurse, wife and mother of two boys, recently authored a children’s book on handwashing. The book entitled, “The Germies: Hand Hygiene,” is aimed at the elementary-age child. Lovern’s goal for the book is to help children and their parents get excited about handwashing and preventing the spread of disease. |
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U.S. Air Force Nurses Conduct Iraqi Nurse Training Program
The United States Air Force’s 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group recently conducted a nursing partnership program with Iraqi nurses. The Medical Group is made up of more than 350 professional and support staff from all four armed services. They work alongside civilians and contractors to provide state-of-the-art medical care to U.S. forces in Iraq. In December, 17 Iraqi nurses and nursing students attended the nurse training program, which aims to teach modern medical techniques to Iraqis.
The students begin each once-a-month class with a lecture covering the day's primary topic and then complete a hands-on portion, where they put those teachings into practice. Some of these hands-on learning stations include handwashing, donning gowns and gloves, measuring vital signs, giving injections, dressing burn wounds and performing intravenous therapy.
For the full story, visit www.af.mil. |
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Mark Your Calendars for National Public Health Week
Mark your calendars for National Public Health Week coming up April 5 to 11. During the week, the American Public Health Association (APHA) enlists everyone to promote good health in their communities.
For more information on National Public Health Week, visit www.nphw.org. |
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Public Health Nurses Are Breaking Ground in Environmental Health
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| Public health nurses institute many programs, including those on nutrition and environmental health, in their communities. |
The concept of public health began in the United States when the federal government initiated programs to ensure maternal and child health in the early 20th century. These programs initially focused on the importance of good health and nutrition. Today, however, public health has evolved to include all government programs associated with the health and wellness of the community as a whole. Public health nurses are at the forefront of many of these programs.
The Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) is committed to advancing the specialty of public health nursing. The Section focuses on the development of public health nursing practice and research and provides mechanisms for nurses to collaborate across disciplines on public health policy and program endeavors. Their four strategic objectives are to ensure social justice and eliminate health disparities; strengthen the public health work force; actively engage students; and promote environmental health.
As part of their objective to promote environmental health, the Section has partnered with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE). Because the public is concerned with all things “green”, the ANHE is focused on educating nurses about the relationship between the health of humans and the environments in which they live, learn, work and play.
“There is a lot of concern around potential exposure to toxic substances and pollution and the effects on the overall health of the community,” said Jeanne A. Matthews, PhD, RN, public health program specialist/nurse manager, Arlington County Department of Human Services. “The environment is just one of the social determinants of health, but it is one area that we haven’t had much focus. The Public Health Nursing Section is partnering with other nursing organizations and the APHA’s Environmental Section to make environmental health a priority.”
In order to affect change at the local level, public health nurses must build relationships with community stakeholders. Matthews expressed that nurses who collaborate with local business owners, educators, faith-based organizations and public safety officers can have a larger impact than if they try to reach one person at a time.
“Our role is to engage the community so they actively participate in community health initiatives,” said Matthews. “Examples of successful public health programs include those targeted toward illegal alcohol use and childhood obesity, and I think we’ll see successful environmental health programs in the near future.”
The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments will hold a conference at the University of Maryland in June. Nurses from across the country can attend to learn more about the impact of the environment on health and how public health nursing can help improve the environment.
For more information on the Public Health Nursing Section of the APHA, visit www.apha.org.
For more information on the ANHE, visit www.e-commons.org.
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Through education, public health nurses improve health and safety in the communities they serve.
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Public Health Nurses Care for a Community
When most nurses are focused on caring for a handful of individual patients, public health nurses are caring for an entire community. Through education, these nurses improve health and safety and increase access to care in the communities they serve.
Public health nurses often work for government agencies, non-profit groups, community health centers and other organizations that aim to improve health at a community level. The day-to-day tasks can vary, depending on the agency for which a nurse works. Some nurses travel to various communities all over the globe to help improve the health of individuals who have poor access to healthcare, while others work in their own community at the local health center.
“The key to being a successful public health nurse is being able to synthesize all available resources – including people as resources – when working within a community,” said Rita Lourie, RN, MSN, MPH, consultant, Department of Nursing at Temple University and faculty member, Thomas Edison State College.
Public health nurses follow similar educational requirements for other nurse specialties. They must earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing and become a registered nurse by passing the national NCLEX-RN exam. Certain management positions may require a graduate degree as well.
Those interested in the specialty can get practice by volunteering with a community group, home health provider or hospice organization. For those more interested in the policy side of the specialty, working with a health advocacy group is a good way to learn about public health issues.
“The pace tends to be much slower day to day compared to working in a hospital setting,” said Lourie. “Mable Morris, a now deceased public health nurse, put it well when she said, 'change in a critical care unit of a hospital takes seconds, but change in a community takes a decade!'”
For more insight into the different avenues available in public health nursing, visit Lourie’s public health nursing channel on YouTube. The channel contains more than 50 videos revealing the unique and inspiring faces of public health nursing.
For more information on a career in public health nursing, visit www.discovernursing.com.
 Beth F. Lamanna, RN, WHNP, MPH, clinical assistant professor, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill School of Nursing, chair, Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association
Q: When did you decide to pursue nursing as a career and why?
A. When I was 16 years old, I attended Case Western Reserve University to pursue a five-year nursing program. After a semester, I switched my major and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Still having the heart to pursue nursing, I returned to Cornell University School of Nursing to earn a Bachelor of Science in nursing. I believe my interest in public health benefited from my liberal arts education.
Q: What inspired you to become a public health nurse and how have you influenced or educated your community?
A. My strength lies in my ability to understand the social determinants of health and health’s impact on a community. Both of my parents were social anthropologists, so I understand the importance of individuals helping shape and define public health. After earning a master’s degree in public health nursing, I wanted to raise awareness of environmental health injustice with a concentration in lead testing.
Q: What advice would you offer to nurses interested in becoming a public health nurse?
A. Experience in community organizations and an appreciation for the dynamics of communities. A public health nurse can be a community leader if they focus on health concerns pertinent to the community. Since the nursing profession is very respected and trusted, public health nurses need to advocate on behalf of their communities for system and policy change.
Q. How has nursing impacted your life?
A. Public health nursing allows me to enlighten future nurses as an undergraduate faculty member, and be a health leader for my community. As a public health nurse, I have been given the opportunity to serve as the health policy fellow for the North Carolina Center for Nursing and chair of the Public Health Nursing Section of the APHA. Those positions have permitted me to promote system and policy change.
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