Can new grads get jobs in public health?

It's great that you know you are interested in public health already while you are still in school! It was the same way for me - I knew that I would never be happy working in a hospital. I live in the United States, so I can't really comment as to whether a public health department in Canada would hire a new graduate nurse, or your prospects for nurse practitioner school after having only public health nursing experience. I was hired in public health as a new grad, if that helps you to know at all. I hope you can get the information you are looking for here on this board, but since your questions pertain to Canada, it might also be beneficial to post them on the Canada forum as well: https://allnurses.com/nursing-in-canada/

Good luck!

I can't speak to how things are in Ontario, but having worked in B.C., the Yukon, Nunavut, and Alberta, I can say that the route to getting into the field of public health nursing seems to vary by jurisdiction. A friend of mine who graduated with her BSN in Alberta 2 years ago did her final two preceptorships in public health but was unable to secure a position there, so she is now working in a hospital. On the other hand, I was able to secure a job in public health (communicable disease control) in B.C. many years ago having had no formal public health training. However, I did have PHN experience from outpost nursing in remote communities, so perhaps that helped.

I think you could potentially increase your chance of getting into public health nursing by doing a few clinical placements in that area, and see if you can do your final preceptorship in public health. Additionally, you could get your name and face known by volunteering at your local public health office. Let them know that you will do anything and everything as a volunteer! That would also give you the chance to see if public health is *really* the place you want to work. A lot of people think it is, but once they get there, it doesn't meet their expectations.

In terms of doing your masters after working in public health, why not? If you have your BSN and meet the program requirements for doing a masters, then it doesn't really matter what your nursing background is. At least, that was how it seemed with my colleagues when I did my MN. I can't see a reason why doing public health nursing would preclude you from taking your NP in the future. In my cohort, which was the NP stream of the MN program, I know there was at least one former public health nurse. She seemed to do just fine in the program! My one caution to you is this: Get a few years of experience before taking your MN or NP. As a former NP, I preceptored more than one NP student who went straight through from their BSN to their MN-NP. Not one of them did well in the NP program. They hadn't ever had the chance to solidify their basic nursing skills as they had no work experience, so when it came time to perform advanced assessment skills, they justweren't ready. I'm sure there are exceptions to my experience with BSN-to-MN students. But honestly, take your time to get grounded in basic nursing skills first. Then, once your are competent and confident, pursue the advanced education! As you gain experience, you will know which path you should take!

Good luck!!! Nursing is a wonderful profession!

I am in Las Vegas and, here, you can go straight into psych public health. I was in the same boat as you are and knew I wanted to do PHN, but decided not to go into psych because I found it emotionally draining. Straight out of school, I went into home health/ community health nursing and I love my job. I'm out in the community every day, helping people heal in their home environment. I've found it to be a grossly underrated way of getting your foot in the door in public health nursing.