Public health vs community health nursing

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I'm a nursing student this semester and I've come across a confusing topic! Can someone please help me understand the relationship between public health nursing and community health nursing? My book explains that they are interchangable but my professors tell me that they are different! I'm so confussed what's the difference if they are two separate types of nursing not one!:crying2:

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I did Community Health Nursing in the third year of my nursing program. From what I learnt, Community health Nursing comprises of Public Health Nursing and Home Health Nursing. In summary, Community health Nursing is like an umbrella. Nurses can choose to be a Public Health Nurse or a Home Health Nurse.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, End of Life, Pain.

I think your instructor has it backwards. I am an MSN student doing a public health course. A public health nurse is a recognised specialty - either general (BSN) or specialized (MSN). A public HEALTH NURSE looks at the total effects of a specific disease/illness on the public at large. The community health nurse is focused first on her own aggregate community (individual, family) and seconly on her immediate community, and then more globally. The PHN seeks global care while the CHN seeks local care, (Aitchison, 2008).

That would be me,

Catherine Aitchison, RN, BSN:yeah:

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Why not get your teacher to explain so you will totally understand her thinking (and get the right answer on the test, too)? And check under the Specialty tab above to see other threads about this?

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