Curious about public health nursing

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Specializes in Med surg, cardiac, case management.

I've heard a little bit about it and am intrigued, but I don't yet have enough details to make a decision.

To give you a little background, I'm presently 6 months into my first job in med-surg. Don't plan on being at my present place more than a year (too few resources, too much stress), hoping to find an easier floor at a better hospital.

Long-term though, I'm looking for something that involves more reading, more teaching, more planning, and more creativity than floor nursing. I've considered a bunch of possibilities...instructor, PhD, staff development...and have been thinking more about the public health role.

In school we worked with a local community organization to find out what the needs of their mostly poor, mostly immigrant population were. I really enjoyed talking with the people and researching and designing the informational booklet that we ultimately produced. I hope that this is representative of public health nursing.

In school I also worked with the MAs at a local clinic, doing vitals and giving vaccinations. It was busy and hectic, like the floor. I hope that this isn't representative of public health nursing.

So, which of these experiences better represents the role of a public health nurse?

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