Student Interview

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Sep 6, 2015

We get these requests all the time. There is no way to verify if we are really a nurse. Why don't you try going to a doctor's office, hospital, public health office, etc & speaking to a nurse. Bringing food may offer the responses you wish.

randik87 · Sep 6, 2015

I understand and have been turned away several times since it is difficult to go into a place of business and ask that they take time away from their work to answer my questions, especially with places are already so short staffed. I'm feeling very discouraged after being treated like a vacuum salesman! Maybe enticing them with food will help.

katiefox21 · Sep 12, 2015

I understand and have been turned away several times since it is difficult to go into a place of business and ask that they take time away from their work to answer my questions, especially with places are already so short staffed. I'm feeling very discouraged after being treated like a vacuum salesman! Maybe enticing them with food will help.

It makes me sad that nobody will answer your questions, so here you go!

I have only been a PHN for just over 1 year (RN/BSN), but I will try my best to answer your questions.

What made you choose public or community health nursing? I have always been particularly passionate about women's health and health promotion for women and babies, and I saw public health as an area to make a big impact in prenatal and postpartum care. I also wanted to have an impact on the community in general before they ever make it to the hospital.

What area, in specific, of public/community nursing do you work in?

I work for a local health department as a PHN. My job includes immunization clinics, carrying an active caseload of home visitation clients through several different programs for pregnant ladies, moms and babies, elderly, etc. We also have a library nurse program where nurses go to libraries and do blood pressure checks, screenings, health education about various topics, and help people find health services. I go to health fairs and other community outreach events as well.

Describe your typical work day. There is honestly no typical day. Some days (like around back to school time) I will be in immunization clinics all day. Other days I will be driving around doing home visits, going to community events, etc like I talked about above.

What activities do you perform that address priority health issues? I'm not sure I understand this question. Could you clarify what you mean by priority health issues?

Can you describe your work in educating people about ways to stay healthy? I provide a lot of health education to my home visit clients every time we meet, and I also provide education in the libraries, community outreach events, and in the clinic. Along with immunizations, health education is one of the most important public health interventions that I do on a daily basis.

What services or providers are useful to the people you work with? I work with primarily low income populations, so WIC, food stamps, Medicaid, etc are the services that are most used.

[COLOR=#000000]What is being done to meet the health needs of clients from diverse cultural backgrounds? The community where I work has a high refugee population, so there are many programs in place to help them. We use a translator phone when talking to them in the clinic or on home visits to make sure they understand everything we are trying to teach them. We also have a very high Spanish speaking population, so being bilingual helps me address their health needs. We also have frequent trainings on the subject.[/COLOR]

How have you improved the health of your community? Immunization rates continue to rise, better outcomes for high risk pregnancies through home visitation programs, etc.

What are some challenges you experience at work? My office is very short-staffed, which makes it difficult at times to juggle so many different roles.

What aspect of your job are you most proud of? I was new to this city when I started working at this job, and working in public health has made me feel very close to the community in a short period of time. I am really proud of the hard work we do to help the people in the community who are suffering and need it most.