I'm loving Community Health nursing

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Throughout the entirety of nursing school, I found myself feeling frustration at the heavy focus on hospital/bedside nursing. From the first day of clinicals to the last and during my time as a patient care tech in the hospital, I genuinely found no enjoyment in med-surg. I toyed with the concept of psych nursing, I found a brief interest in L&D, but none of them felt like they would be a good fit.

I am a very new nurse (as in, I graduated with my ASN this spring/passed the NCLEX a month after). I moved states a few months after graduating and went through the process of transferring my brand-new license here.

Recently, I started working for a community health center (FQHC, not-for-profit) that provides services to the uninsured and lower SES populations, along with a significant portion of Latino and French individuals. There is a dental and prenatal component alongside the family practice aspect (which is what I primarily work within). We give a lot of kids immunizations, do a lot of depo and some STI treatment, and work with providers, pharmacies, and insurance providers. It's a lot of paperwork, a lot of prior auths, and a lot of phone calls.

However: this is the most fulfilled I've felt since beginning nursing school several years ago. I look forward to my job each day. The ability to work on health promotion/maintenance, screening, immunizations, etc. is right up my alley. After a multitude of doubts about becoming a nurse (most of which were influenced by the heavy-handed push towards hospital nursing), I am thrilled to have found something that fits me so well.

I'm not sure what my purpose in posting this is... I guess just wanting to share my thoughts/feelings as a new nurse in an area that doesn't tend to get as much attention. Are there many other community health nurses on this site?

Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
Congrats again on finding an area of nursing and a job that you love!

I was under the impression that Community Health Nursing is covered

under a BSN program but not as part of an ASN program, typically. I know

that we did not touch on community health even once during my ASN.

I am now working with a nurse who is in a RN to BSN program and is

doing work on Community Health.

My mother in law worked in Public Health as a coder, and thus I've

always had some interest in breaking into that field, but never have.

Maybe someday.

NurseCard, I think the OP just happened upon a community nursing position after obtaining a license here. I don't see where the OP took the course unless I misread the post. I know we didn't have that course in my ASN program, either; and it certainly did not exist in my LPN program back during the dark ages.

However, if not before, I foresee a motivation here to pursue the BSN soon.;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community and Public Health, Addictions Nursing.

I switched over to public and community health nursing after a couple years of hospital work, and I absolutely love it! So much, that I even got my Masters degree in Public Health, not nursing. The work can be really tough sometimes- when you're on a client's turf, like their home or community health center, you really need to bring your A game if you want to make a connection and form a good working relationship. But when it does happen, it's so rewarding to see the ways that a person's health can be improved.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

this post made me smile. congrats on finding the department that works for you. Some people go years not liking the unit they are on. being in the area that you like will make you an even better nurse

Up Vote Up Vote ×

That's awesome to read! I'm really looking forward to my community health clinicals!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Congrats on finding a path you enjoy. This post resonates with me, as I am also a newly licensed nurse and also disinclined to seek a career in hospital nursing. I am leaning towards community health as well. There are a couple of FQHCs in my area, but they are not currently seeking nurses. Wondering if anyone has advice on where else to look for these kinds of opportunities?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community Health.
That community health nursing course is like Folger's coffee: it wakes you up. (Or is that Maxwell House? Oh well, I'm not a coffee drinker, anyway. LOL). It was the community health course, during my BSN program, that gave me my second wind in nursing. I loved every minute of that course; it is what sent me looking for new avenues and led me to become a nurse surveyor.

Sometimes being in acute care, we lose sight of the fact that there are actually some wonderful people living out in the community. And yes, so are some of the royal pains that we cared for in the hospital.

Surprisingly, my school cut the Community Health course/clinical for the RNs (they kept it for the LPNs, though). I never had the ability to see community health nurses work, so this is all new to me! I just figured that it sounded like something I would like, and I applied. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community Health.

Al Kalosis, it's always worth giving them a call and seeing if they're interested in hiring an RN - the place that I'm now employed at didn't have any job openings listed; I just emailed them and asked about the potential of applying for employment. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello! Senior nursing student here. I feel the same exact way about hospital nursing. My dream is becoming a public health nurse practitioner. I am constantly discouraged from starting outside of a hospital, and also told that they do not hire new graduates in public health. Did they have any concerns hiring you as a new graduate?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community Health.
Hello! Senior nursing student here. I feel the same exact way about hospital nursing. My dream is becoming a public health nurse practitioner. I am constantly discouraged from starting outside of a hospital, and also told that they do not hire new graduates in public health. Did they have any concerns hiring you as a new graduate?

I am actually the second new grad hired this year at our location - the other one was hired this spring right after graduation, and she is already in school pursuing her doctorate to become an NP! I think it mainly depends upon what the clinic in particular is looking at; it may vary at different places.

I was worried about not being able to find a clinic job as a brand-new nurse, but this was the first job I applied to, and I was offered the position within a couple of days. If you know for a fact that this is what you want to pursue, I think it's doable. A large percent of the providers at our clinic are actually NPs, and they are great to work with! I don't deny that working in the hospital would help a nurse gain an understanding of acute care, and how to handle emergencies, but I've already learned so much about healthcare (and prevention, and screening, and maintenance, and insurance, and loads of other things) since starting a couple of weeks ago. :)

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

I didn't actually do community nursing per se, but I did what I would call community mental health nursing (ACT team). What you do sounds much more interesting than what I did, and I'm glad you've found your niche!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Clinical Research/Community Health/Health Equity.

Hey all, I am also a current senior BSN student in Chicago who will be graduating in May (super pumped and nervous)! I was lucky to have an amazing experience during my community health rotation and out of all of my clinicals I have loved it the most. Through this, I got to conduct a small pilot research study focusing on community health as well. The downside is that I am not happy at all in my rotations at the hospital, I feel so anxious. For community, I felt comfortable and that I was able to properly apply my knowledge during clinical. I'm really wanting to start in the community and eventually work in public health but I am lost at where to start. A lot of the jobs I am seeing are requiring 1-2 years of experience. Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate a job hunt for a new grad in community health?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics w/rehab, LTC, hospice patient.

Congratulations! I also enjoyed my community health clinicals. I would actually enjoy a nursing job in this capacity, but the opportunity has not yet presented itself. Thank you for a positive post about your job and your chosen profession.

There's a lot of venting on this site, so it's a breath of fresh air to read about someone who enjoys what they're doing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment