Public health nurses work in public, private and non-profit entities delivering essential health care services to the public. For the public health nurse, the focus tends to be on community rather than individual clients, and there is a strong emphasis on disease prevention and wellness promotion. Public health nurses may provide care in patients’ homes, schools, community centers, and other sites, and play an essential role in many communities, especially rural and underserved areas.
Description
Public health nurses responsibilities may include:
- Deliver essential health care services to members of a community
- Arrange for and administer immunizations to children and adults
- Investigate a communicable disease outbreak
- Educate the public about preventive care and nutrition in the community or at a clinic
- Work with community members to develop disease prevention programs targeted at high-risk populations
- Participate in disaster preparedness and response
Personal qualifications
- Excellent judgment, dependability, conscientious performance
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- High ethical standards, integrity
- Dependability
- Ability to work cooperatively with others
- Leadership skills
- A desire to contribute to the welfare of society
Licensing
In all states and the District of Columbia, students must graduate from an approved nursing program and pass a national licensing examination, known as the NCLEX-RN, in order to obtain a nursing license. Nurses may be licensed in more than one state, either by examination or by the endorsement of a license issued by another state.
Employment opportunities
- There is a strong, unmet demand for nurses in public health, particularly in rural areas and areas with underserved populations
- Employment of public health nurses is expected to grow much faster than average increase 27 percent or more) through the year 2014
- Nurses who have graduated from a BSN program have wider choices than RNs who have not earned a baccalaureate degree
Salary
Median annual earnings of nurses in general medical settings: $53,450 (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, May 2005)
Progression
For public health nurses with experience and good performance, opportunities for advancement include supervisory and management roles.
Nurses who have graduated from a BSN program have broader advancement opportunities than RNs who have not earned a baccalaureate degree. A bachelor’s degree often is necessary for administrative positions and is a prerequisite for admission to graduate nursing programs in research, consulting, and teaching, and all four advanced practice nursing specialties—clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners.
Getting there: Your degree programs at MCPHS
- BS Nursing - 32-month Accelerated Program (Boston): full-time, accelerated 32-month program for incoming freshmen or transfer students who do not have a prior baccalaureate degree who wish to become registered nurses
- BS Nursing - 16-month Postbaccalaureate Program (Worcester and Manchester): full-time, accelerated 16-month program for applicants who have met all preprofessional course requirements and who hold a previously earned bachelor’s degree and wish to become registered nurses (Manchester campus program launch: 2007)