Public Health Nursing and Its Importance 

• Public health nurses serve entire communities and play an important role in disease prevention
• Public health nurses work in various settings, including government agencies and schools.
• Public health nurses enjoy much job satisfaction, but also deal with stressful job situations.

Public health nurses comprise one of the largest professional segments in the public health arena and are involved in the prevention, education, advocacy, activism, assessment, and evaluation of public health. They hold a vital role in the prevention of disease and help to promote community health and safety.  

  Public health nursing offers various opportunities to make significant changes in public health.  While most nurses care for one patient at a time, the uniqueness of a public health nurse is that they care for entire populations.  Working with whole communities allows public health nurses to help educate the community about health issues that can improve their health and safety and facilitate access to care.   

Responsibilities of a Public Health Nurse

The ultimate goal of a public health nurse is to promote wellness, reduce specific health risks among certain populations, and prevent diseases and illnesses.  The role of a public health nurse may focus on a few certain tasks or multiple tasks within the community.   

Here are the most common responsibilities of a public health nurse:  

• Assessing the health trends in an effort to identify health risk factors among communities 
• Examining and prioritizing health-related interventions that offer the most benefits  
• Designing and implementing health education programs and activities for disease prevention 
• Advocating with local, state, and federal authorities in assisting the underprivileged communities to have greater access to heathcare  
• Improving access to care regarding local health programs  
• Providing direct health care services for those in at-risk populations 
• Analyzing and recording medical data 
• Developing therapeutic relationships with patients and providing follow-up care  
• Referring patients to other needed services 
• Delivering medical care when needed 
• Assisting and managing the budget of varying health programs in the community 
  

Employment Opportunities for a Public Health Nurse

Public health nurses can be employed in various settings and most are employed in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, community health centers, and other organizations that improve health at a community level.  Public health nurses may work alone or with multidisciplinary teams, and they often supervise other health care and lay personnel.  

 In addition to working with communities, they often work behind the scenes planning activities, managing budgets, and evaluating the effectiveness of public health programs.   

Here are a few of the settings in which public health nurses may work: 

• Outpatient and community clinics  
• Government organizations  
• School systems 
• Nonprofit organizations 

Skills & Education Needed for a Public Health Nurse

Public health nurses are individuals who are highly dedicated to working to improve their community’s health and access to care in order to promote health.  The nurses that work in public health must be able to work well with large groups of people and need to be sensitive to cultural differences that will be experienced.  

Communication and critical thinking are also crucial in this role as a public health nurse, as is the ability to balance multiple tasks at once.  The nurses that seem to do well in public nursing generally have a sincere passion for positively influencing others’ lives and promoting positive change among these individuals.  Public health nurses are typically problem-solvers who like to affect change for all populations.   

Those who wish to enter the field of public health nursing will need to have at least an associate degree in Nursing (ADN) to get started, but a bachelor’s degree (BSN) is preferred.  

However, to work as a nurse in public health, a master’s degree in Nursing (MSN) or a master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) is strongly advised.  Public health nurses pursuing an MPH also may choose to pursue a specialization in public health, such as epidemiology, biostatistics, or environmental health.  

Pros and Cons of a Public Health Nurse 

There are definitely pros and cons of any career and occupation, and the same is true for public health nurses.  While there are cons of any given position, it is important to evaluate if the pros outweigh the cons and what is important and unique to each individual pursuing a career as a public health nurse.   

Pros: 

Job Satisfaction 

Typically, when individuals help others, it makes one happy and content.  As a public health nurse that is involved with one’s community, there are many opportunities that can offer meaning and joy into one’s life.   

The People 

If an individual is a “people person”, the role as a public health nurse will put one on the path of a diverse group of individuals and will offer a broad understanding and a great empathy for humanity. 

The Pay 

While certainly not the highest paying position in public health, public health nurses do have decent salaries and are likely to have substantial benefit packages as well. 

Cons: 

It Requires a Lot of Patience 

When one is working to remove barriers to good health, sometimes a situation can seem hopeless.  Public policy can also be very slow to change.  Succeeding as a public health nurse requires patience to see things through to the finish line.    

Bad Health Habits 

No matter where someone is working as a public health nurse, they will encounter people with some serious health issues, some of which are preventable.  The public health nurse may feel particularly helpless when it comes to convincing those with poor health on how to improve their lives, which can sometimes lead to criticism and negativity.   

Limited Resources  

Many times, impoverished urban and rural communities will have scarce resources to work with which can make it extremely difficult.  The budget may be minimal, and it can be challenging to stretch the budget in order to do one’s role effectively.  The public health nurse may often be short on space, supplies, time, and assistance which can lead to frustration and burnout.  

The Bottom Line

As one can see, the position of a public health nurse is a unique, important, busy, challenging, but very rewarding position.  It takes true dedication and concern for people in all different types of living environments and situations and differing cultural aspects must be considered.  

The position of a public health nurse is necessary in many different areas and work settings, and they are a huge asset to the local community.   

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