Can new grads get jobs in public health or community health?

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Hi! I am a second year nursing student in the GTA area & I am very interested in public health nursing or community health nursing, such as working for sexual health clinics or community health care clinics with services for new mothers, those with diabetes, etc. A public health nurse who does the healthy babies healthy children program spoke to us as well about her job & it sounded very interesting to me.

I am currently doing my med-surge clinical placement right now & I don't find it as enjoyable. I found maternity to be enjoyable as well, however, I think public health is something I gravitate towards more...

I was wondering if careers like this would be open to new grads? What would increase my chances to get a job in this field after graduation? If there are things I can start doing now or any tips, it would be greatly appreciated!

I also wonder what career advancements can come with public health nursing or community/clinic nursing? Could you do a masters degree & become a nurse practitioner? Or advanced practice public health nursing?

I saw that you need direct clinical hours for some NP programs, would public health/clinic/community count? :)

Thanks in advance! :D

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Specializes in Little of this... little of that....

So doing Public Health right out of school is not unheard of, but not typical. One way to get a foot in the door would be to do your final preceptorship in PH and wow them with your skills. Otherwise, you may have to put in your time as a floor nurse elsewhere. PH positions are in high demand due to their M-F, 9-5 type hours.

As far as doing an NP - I think you could do that, I've seen NPs in sexual health settings, less so in Public health unit settings (like imms clinics). You could do a Masters of Public Health that will direct you towards government work (think more like policy development as opposed to frontline care).

Anyway, hope that answers your questions. Good luck wherever you end out.

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Some things to consider also include demonstrating outreach or knowledge of a department in public health. This can be done through volunteering or taking certification/courses in the specific area of interest such as infectious diseases, chronic diseases, maternity/newborn, mental health, etc.

To add to what was written, you need approximately 2 years worth of full-time experience to be eligible to get into a nurse practitioner program. You can either do a masters in nursing and then do a certification for nurse practitioner OR do a primary health nurse practitioner program.

Good luck! Feel free to message or comment if you have any more questions.

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Specializes in Indigenous Health, Virtual Care & Medicine.

Hello nami16,

It's definitely possible. I graduated last year with a BScN and am currently a community health nurse and home care nursing supervisor on an Indigenous reserve in northern BC. M-F 830 to 430 full time. I love my hours and weekends / stat holidays off. Negotiated a decent contract.

In my final year nursing internship, I chose to do my school's global health ambassador program. I decided to go to China, which really opened my eyes to the public health system in the country. In addition, just before that internship, I had my rotation with the infection prevention and control department at my school's affiliated hospital.

I would encourage you to open your options to rural or remote areas in Ontario because they definitely need community health nurses.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

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Yes, it's doable, and please don't anyone convince you that you "need to do bedside to be a real nurse" first. I can't tell you how many times I heard that. Acute care skills are definitely a must to have when you graduate, but if you don't feel fulfilled with bedside nursing, 2 years of doing it is not going to make your life better and it will make you miserable. There's soooo much that nurses can do outside of a hospital.

That said, the reality is that it's definitely harder to get your foot in the door than it is with bedside. So you have to do everything you can while in nursing school to make your resume work for public health or community health.

When I was in nursing school, I realized early on that I LOVED community/public health/primary care nursing and that I wouldn't enjoy a career in bedside nursing. So while in nursing school, I asked for community placements where I could, and I did my consolidation at a nursing station in one of the Territories. My first job out of nursing school as a new grad was as an occupational health nurse, and I have never once regretted my decision never to do bedside nursing.

I would suggest that you start, right now, reaching out to community health and public health nurses, asking for placements in those fields. Connect with nurses in those fields, find a mentor. And as a previous poster said, think about remote and rural areas. You learn some serious skills out there and it really helps with your maturity as a nurse.

I also highly recommend the book "201 careers in nursing." I read it before deciding to go to nursing school; it really opens your eyes to career possibilities.

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Deleted due to double post

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Hello nami16,

It's definitely possible. I graduated last year with a BScN and am currently a community health nurse and home care nursing supervisor on an Indigenous reserve in northern BC. M-F 830 to 430 full time. I love my hours and weekends / stat holidays off. Negotiated a decent contract.

In my final year nursing internship, I chose to do my school's global health ambassador program. I decided to go to China, which really opened my eyes to the public health system in the country. In addition, just before that internship, I had my rotation with the infection prevention and control department at my school's affiliated hospital.

I would encourage you to open your options to rural or remote areas in Ontario because they definitely need community health nurses.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Question: do you think the demand for community health nurses (or nurses in general) in rural or remote areas in Ontario will continue to be high within 5 years? I am very interested in working on an Indigenous reserve but won't become an RN for another few years.

Sorry for the double post. I'm new.

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Specializes in Indigenous Health, Virtual Care & Medicine.

@semicharmed

I'm not too sure what Ontario is like, since I've been educated in Montreal, QC and worked in BC. But I know that Health Canada is always looking for CHNs to fill the roles in rural and remote regions. Despite their higher pay, places where these communities are located are highly remote. The township I am in only has 3,500 people. No McDonalds, No Starbucks, No Walmart... it really took some time for a city girl like me to adjust to the Northern life. So I can imagine that many like me from larger cities would probably not prefer leaving the comfort of the city life where accessibility is not an issue.

Overall I would say, YES, it'll continue to grow. People in rural areas are in need of healthcare and in the community I work at, many of them would return to their community after they reach a certain age. I deal with a lot of aging and chronic diseases.

Hope this helps!

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Hello,

I just graduated from nursing school at Ryerson and I am currently working in community health/home care. I am really enjoying my time so far as I was hired through HFO and I am having 3 months of orientation with my final month of orientation working alongside the community mental health nurse. Community mental health is my passion and I was fortunate enough to have had my consolidation placement in community mental health. I am very excited to start working autonomously and seeing where life takes me as a new graduate nurse. Feel free to PM me with questions!

Best of luck!!

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I completed my preceptorship in Community/Public Health and am trying to get into this field as a new graduate but I'm not holding out hope for a callback. It's definitely hard without any work experience as a nurse but it's not unheard of - I know someone who got their foot in the door as a new grad when there was some kind of outbreak. My plan is to keep an eye out for rural or northern positions (including Maternity) while saving up a bit of money just in case I get lucky and have to move.

Best of luck to you!

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