What do community health/public health nurses do/where do they work?

I am a new RN, just interviewed for a fantastic position in a community health center......urgent care. Just wondering what is the difference in job description between a community and public health nurse????

I posted this in another thread but it seems like a good reply for this one. so here is the copy:

"I have just started working in the public health dept (less than a month) and although the pay is considerably less (salaried, so no OT or shift differential to beef up checks), I can already tell I made the right decision. I thought the hospital was where I wanted to be, but something did not feel right. The stress of critical care was too much and the long shifts (12.5 hours) was taking it's toll fast. Now I am Mon-Fri 8-5 with 1 hour for lunch. I live very close to work so I go home and unwind in MY environment. When I get fully trained (it is going to take a year or longer) I will be a functioning Public health nurse with the expanded role. We assess, diagnose and treat all sorts of conditions and do complete gynecoligical examinations (which includes breast exams and PAP smears). One minute I am doing a hearing and vision check on a school aged child, the next I am giving an immunization and doing a growth and development check on an infant, and the next treating a man/woman/teen for an STD. We even joint manage diabetics and HTN pts, as well as TB pts with local physicians. It really is a great job and I am thankful I was given the opportunity. We travel to several meetings and classes every month, so we are not holed up in the clinic every day. I have my own exam room/office which I am in the process of decorating with posters and pamphlets that I think are appropriate for my clients. I even pick out stickers for my kids, and I am becoming familiar with the TB/STD programs that eventually will be my responsibility to run for the county. It is a lot on my plate, but it is different than the daily grind of the hospital. I never thought about Public health and only applied because it was close to my house (the hospital was 25 miles away), I was put off by the pay at first, but realized that the starting pay was just that. I am due for a significant increase already in January and then again once i reach the expanded role status. I will actually be making more at the PH office next year than i would at the hospital (if i worked the same hours). To be fair, I am a recent grad ( one year ago) so new grad pay is what I am basing this off of. For those of you who have worked several years, you would be taking a significant cut). There are awesome benefits for state employees though. We get tons of days off and vacation/ sick time as well. It comes out to about 8.5 weeks off per year. For those of you sick of the hopsital, go to your state job site and search for public health nurse openings. It is worth a long look and I am so glad I did."

My BSN program makes me eligible to be certified as a PHN when we graduate. I have this fantasy of becoming a maternal-child PHN and doing postpartum visits, as well as other duties which are heavy in teaching, advocating, referrals. I also think it would be wonderful to do home health nursing with similar clients (how is this different? I haven't taken the community portion of our curriculum yet). But how would I prepare for this? I have a feeling that a year of med-surge might not be the prescription...

So if someone gets a Masters in Public health they can then sit for a public health nurse certification exam?

So if someone gets a Masters in Public health they can then sit for a public health nurse certification exam?

In my state, BSN programs automatically include a PHN component and grant PHN status to graduates. There wasn't any certification exam. It had to do with the instruction and clinical hours in a public health setting. I haven't heard of any independent PHN programs and don't know if someone can earn state certification as a PHN without attending a BSN program. That would be something to find out about.

A MPH, though, as far as I know, would NOT qualify one to be a state certified PHN.

I have my ADN and just got hired at our local public health department. I am currently enrolled at a nearby univerisity for the health assessment course that is offered at the BSN level. The job application stated that BSN and 2 years experience was preferred, but I applied anyway. I think being rural county helps....not enough applicants applying for the job. I know if i applied in a larger city dept, my application would never have made it past the secretary I am so thankful. I think that one of the main reasons they prefer BSN is because then they do not have to pay for the ADN nurse to go through the course at their expense (and time)....which I can totally see that rationale. Here in GA, a PH nurse cannot work without that class under their belt. It take a lot of time to fully train a nurse in Public health, if they can get someone with expereince and/or BSN they that takes a lot of burden off of the department.

i have been hired to work in the high risk maternity dept but i will also go to family planning, std or adult health, and immunizations. my main area is the ob part i will be doing a lot of nst's on hr pts.

lisa