Role of community nurse - Assignment Example

Roles of Community Nurses Roles of Community Nurses Introduction Community nurses play critical roles in the promotion of health and well-being in the society. Unlike other nurses, community nurses work directly with communities, families, and individuals. They are more conversant with the health needs of communities and are in a better position to design intervention strategies. Over the years, the scope of community nursing is only widening. Without doubt, community nurses have emerging roles that they should play in empowering communities to make better decisions concerning their health.

Community nursing has left a positive impact on many societies because families and individuals feel more comfortable when interacting with community nurses. This paper will discuss the roles of community nurses. Communities have unique health needs and require nurses who can disseminate relevant health information to different target groups in the community. Community nurses have been playing this role by interacting with different target populations in a community and providing them with relevant information and knowledge concerning different health issues, through the interactions with community members, community nurses assess and evaluate the health needs of the community members.

Therefore, they are in a better position to offer the relevant advice and design intervention strategies in an effort to promote the health of the community. Community nurses engage in an active process of assessing health risks in a community and designing empowerment programs that can help communities address the health risks. Community nurses ensure that all the community members receive the healthcare they deserve in conformity to their needs (Hitchcock, Schubert, & Thomas, 2003). Most importantly, community nurses have the opportunity to offer holistic care to the community because they interact with different individuals within their homes.

Some specific activities carried out by the community nurses include the provision of support for patients with different conditions at home. Community nurses help patients take care of themselves and empower their carers as well. They help patients with practical guidelines on diet, lifestyle, and different types of medication. They help patients manage terminal illnesses without the admission into a hospital. Many people with terminal illnesses require emotional support and constant healthcare, especially in the last days of their lives.

Community nurses help such patients by providing the reassurance they need to face each day. In other cases, community nurses provide support for discharged patients after leaving the hospital so that they can settle back to their homes. Community nurses also identify vulnerable individuals in a community and ensure that they receive quality healthcare. For example, community nurses promote immunization programs for children and infants. They also ensure that the elderly group receives the relevant care (Hunt, 2009).

The young people in a society have unique health needs that require the intervention of community nurses.ConclusionEvidently, community nurses play diverse roles in the modern society. As their scope of responsibilities widens, they have to identify a community’s health needs and intervene appropriately. Most importantly, community nurses seek to empower community members so that they can make better decisions and adopt lifestyles that promote health and wellbeing. Community nurses assess the efficiency of healthcare intervention programs carried out in a community.

They work closely with other professionals such as social workers and non-governmental organizations in the promotion of health of communities.ReferencesHitchcock, J. E., Schubert, P. E., & Thomas, S. A. (2003). Community health nursing: Caring in action. Australia: Thomson/Delmar Learning.Hunt, R. (2009). Introduction to community-based nursing. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.