Community nurses are required to fulfill a variety of different functions during their occupation in order to ensure the well-being of community members. As such, given that the overall goal of community health nursing is to protect public health, community nurses might be asked to conduct practice in various settings that correspond with the community’s current needs (National Association of School Nurses [NASN], 2016). While the majority of community nurses usually work in hospitals and community centers, they could also be transferred to schools or local clinics according to the current health environment in a given location (NASN, 2016). Therefore, it is essential for community nurses to have a comprehensive understanding of their roles in particular settings.
A common health practice environment for a community nurse is a community clinic, an organization that offers primary care to the population in a certain area. Typically, such clinics are focused on serving individuals that are unable to cover health insurance costs or do not have other options for obtaining primary care. In this setting, a community nurse would be required to perform urgent treatment, chronic conditions management, and other primary care operations (Nissanholtz-Gannot et al., 2017). In addition, the nurse would also be expected to adhere to the patient’s particular needs given the community’s present environment (Nissanholtz-Gannot et al., 2017). For instance, with a high number of elderly residents, it would be essential to focus on age-specific practices or educational programs.
Another potential health care setting for community nurses is a local school. Community nurses often provide services for the students, fulfilling their responsibilities by promoting the children’s health and preventing illness. However, in contrast with the community clinic, the role of the community nurse would be different in this scenario, given the specifics of the young generations and the likelihood of disease emergence (NASN, 2016). The most prominent treatment methods in schools usually include urgent care and detection of health complications (NASN, 2016). Furthermore, another significant distinction is the necessity to consistently educate the students on the hazards following unhealthy behavior, as well as observe manifestations of severe disorders that require certain treatment.
References
National Association of School Nurses. Framework for 21st century school nursing practice. (2016). NASN School Nurse, 31(1), 45–53. Web.
Nissanholtz-Gannot, R., Rosen, B., Hirschfeld, M., Arad, L., Bloomenthal, S., Goldman, D., Haron, Y., Hirschfeld, M., Kaye, C., Kauffman, G., Kogan, I., Nissanholtz-Ganot, R., Rosen, B., Sherman, B., Stoyer, H., Nigel, Y., Weiss, D., & the Community Nursing Study Group. (2017). The changing roles of community nurses: The case of health plan nurses in Israel. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 6(1). Web.