What Is a Community Health Nurse and How to Become One
Table of Contents
What Is a Community Health Nurse?
A community health nurse is a registered nurse who works directly with the public to advocate for health care interventions and increased public health education. Your job duties include performing outreach, administering preventative medicine, planning public programming, and developing policies that will increase public health awareness. You may also work with other medical practitioners to study and analyze data.
How to Become a Community Health Nurse
To become a community health nurse, you must get an associate degree in public health and spend several years working in community health to gain experience. To become a fully practicing community health nurse, you must get a bachelor’s degree in nursing and become registered to practice. Important skills needed for the career include a desire to promote public health services, strong verbal and written communication, and the ability to manage several projects at once.
Where Do Community Health Nurses Work?
Community health nurses work in a variety of settings, from large cities to small towns to a rural areas. As a community health nurse, you may work in a hospital or large medical facility where you perform traditional nursing functions in addition to doing community outreach. Another option is to work directly in your community as part of a municipal, state, or federal health department or agency. There are also many community health nurses who work with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the military. You should be prepared to travel as a part of your job.
