Nurse practitioners

Number 1 post: CF

Nurse practitioners (NPs) look beyond routine screenings to anticipate a patient’s health needs in the future. By providing relevant educational information and encouraging regular follow-up visits to assess progress and alter wellness plans, NPs can not only assist patients in managing their existing problems, but also to avoid future conditions (Edelman & Kudzma, 2018).

Based on their educational level, NPs have the skills and knowledge to communicate effectively, plan individualized care with team members, and use shared decision making to determine treatment which is very important in health promotion and prevention in the community (Georgiev et al., 2019). APNs can provide lifestyle modification, treatment regimens, care coordination, tailored patient care, and health promotion, among other things to promote health in the community. (Edelman & Kudzma, 2018). Community nursing is very important to help promote good health and prevention of disease. It is important for the APN to discuss topics that is relevant to the individual patient and create individual goals. Health promotion and prevention in the community includes promoting vaccines, healthy diet and lifestyles as well as important health screenings such as prostate exams, colonoscopies, mammograms, PAP smears, screening for diabetes, etc. A lot of diseases are preventable and/or can be reversed with proper health promotion and lifestyle changes. As diseases are a burden on our healthcare and financial system. Nurses have a unique role in building trust and rapport with patients to help achieve individual goals, quality of life for the individual as well as the community.

Number 2 post: MS

Community nursing is not just health teaching or preventative medicine in a place other than an office setting, but has been developed from a social model of health generated from community models of practice (St John & Keleher, 2020). These services include epidemiology, public health, social science, health promotion, and general nursing knowledge. Community nursing does not necessarily mean caring for someone in their home, but rather caring for the community as a whole and exploring what obstacles, barriers, and needs of the community are and helping to address those needs. A nurse practitioner can help to establish initiatives, respond to the community’s needs, and create an environment that addresses local health issues (Mathieson, Grande, & Luker, 2019). These services include preventative care and education as well as interventional care. Nurse practitioners working in a community health role also advocate for the community and research policy developments that can help to eliminate healthcare disparities. Examples of community health nursing include addressing poverty and hunger, promote primary education, reduce child mortality, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development (Anderson & McFarlane, 2020).

Earlier in this class we learned about health disparities and how certain populations are more susceptible to sub-par care and higher disease rates, such as in the LGBT community. When implementing community-based programs, it is important to be informed on the culture you are working with to ensure culturally appropriate and culturally sensitive care. Rather than focusing on disease-specific problems, we should develop new programs with the goal of primary prevention. People in communities “deserve comprehensive nursing care aimed at improvement of health for all” (Anderson & McFarlane, 2020). The community as well as the nurse practitioner should have common goals in healthcare with accessibility and services available to all.