Public Health Nursing: Changing Lives and Communities

Summary

The video highlights the significant role of public health nurses in promoting community health by addressing inequities and providing care to diverse populations, including pregnant women, children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. It features personal stories of nurses who collaborate with educators and caregivers to ensure well-being, prevent disease, and offer support. The video emphasizes the passion, compassion, and dedication that public health nurses bring to their work, helping communities thrive and fostering a sense of safety and wellness for families and individuals alike.

Takeaways

• 💉 Public health nurses play a vital role in promoting community health, addressing health inequities, and serving vulnerable populations.
• 👶 They work with a wide range of groups including pregnant women, parents, newborns, school-age children, young adults, and seniors.
• 🏫 In schools, public health nurses collaborate with teachers, social workers, and psychologists to care for students and their families, fostering healthy development.
• 🌱 The goal is to help students grow into healthy adults, which contributes to healthier communities.
• 👩‍⚕️ Nurses experience a strong support system in their workplaces, often feeling like part of a family with their colleagues.
• 💼 Public health nursing offers a rewarding career with opportunities for work-life balance and community impact.
• 👵 Public health nurses in adult day care centers work with individuals with disabilities, providing care, activities, and support for both clients and caregivers.
• 🎶 The connection with patients in adult day care centers is especially rewarding, allowing nurses to learn about their personalities and bring joy to their lives.
• 👩‍👧 Nurses in maternal and child health provide essential wellness, disease prevention, and health education for both mothers and babies during and after pregnancy.
• ❤️ Many nurses are inspired by personal connections to the field, like family members, and have a passion for keeping communities healthy and thriving.

Q & A

What are some of the key roles of a public health nurse?

Public health nurses work with a variety of populations, including pregnant women, parents, newborns, school-age children, young adults, and seniors. Their primary goal is to promote healthy communities by addressing health inequities and serving those most in need.

How do public health nurses impact the communities they serve?

Public health nurses play a vital role in disease prevention, health promotion, and providing care coordination. They work to foster healthy students who grow into healthy adults, ultimately contributing to the health of entire communities.

What does a public health nurse do within the school system?

In schools, public health nurses provide care to both students and their families. They work closely with teachers, social workers, and school psychologists to address the various aspects of a student's life, ensuring their overall well-being.

How do public health nurses contribute to the long-term health of students?

By promoting healthy habits and addressing health concerns early on, public health nurses help students grow into healthy adults, which in turn leads to healthier communities in the long run.

What is unique about being a public health nurse in an adult day healthcare center?

Public health nurses in adult day healthcare centers work with adults who have cognitive or physical disabilities. They provide health oversight, early disease detection, and ensure that these individuals receive proper care in a safe and social environment.

How do public health nurses support caregivers of adults with disabilities?

Public health nurses provide support by offering a safe environment where adults with disabilities can socialize and receive care, giving caregivers a break and peace of mind knowing their loved ones are safe and happy.

What inspired the public health nurse in the script to pursue this career?

The nurse was inspired by her mother, who was also a registered nurse working in the Los Angeles Health Department. Her mother provided health teaching and prevention services, which laid the foundation for her daughter's interest in public health.

What is the role of the MCG nurses mentioned in the script?

MCG nurses focus on providing health teaching, wellness, and disease and injury prevention to support mothers and babies. They ensure that both mother and child are healthy during pregnancy and after birth.

How do public health nurses build trust with their patients?

Public health nurses build trust by creating a supportive and caring environment. For example, the nurse in the script mentions making patients feel comfortable enough to open up about their concerns, leading to better communication and care.

Why is the job of a public health nurse considered rewarding?

Public health nurses find their job rewarding because they can see the direct impact of their work on individuals and communities. Whether it's supporting families or preventing disease, they make a positive difference in people's lives every day.

Outlines

00:00

👩‍⚕️ The Impact and Role of Public Health Nurses

This paragraph highlights the rich history and significant contributions of public health nurses, emphasizing their crucial role in promoting health and well-being within communities. Despite many advancements, public health nurses continue to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. The speaker, Shawn, introduces her role as a public health nurse, working with diverse groups like pregnant women, children, and seniors. The ultimate goal is to promote healthy communities by addressing health disparities and serving vulnerable populations. Shawn underscores the commitment and passion of public health nurses in preventing disease and enhancing community health and safety.

05:06

🏫 Public Health Nursing in Schools: Supporting Students and Families

This section focuses on the role of public health nurses in school settings. The nurse speaks about providing holistic care to students and their families, working closely with teachers, social workers, and psychologists to address all aspects of a student's life. The aim is to promote healthy students who grow into healthy adults, contributing to strong communities. The nurse also shares her positive experiences working with a supportive team of nurses, describing the role as rewarding and essential for fostering community well-being, with the added benefit of a good work-life balance.

🏥 Adult Day Health Care: A Safe and Joyful Space

This paragraph discusses the role of public health nurses in adult day health care centers, which cater to individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities. The nurse explains how these centers provide socialization, activities, and health oversight in a safe and enjoyable environment. Daily interactions with the participants allow nurses to form meaningful connections, making their work deeply rewarding. The centers not only support the participants but also offer caregivers much-needed respite. The sense of safety and joy experienced by both the participants and their caregivers is highlighted, making the work fulfilling for the staff.

👶 Community-Based Nursing: Supporting Families and Children

This section shifts focus to community-based public health nursing, particularly working with mothers and babies. The nurse shares her personal inspiration from her mother, who was also a public health nurse, and describes how early experiences shaped her desire to work with families. Her role involves providing health education, wellness guidance, and disease prevention to ensure the health of both mother and child during and after pregnancy. The emotional bond formed between the nurse and the families is evident, with one client describing the nurse as a trusted and supportive figure.

Keywords

💡Public Health Nurse

A public health nurse is a registered nurse who focuses on promoting community health by addressing health inequities and providing care to diverse populations, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly. In the video, public health nurses are shown working in various settings, including schools and adult day care centers, with the goal of improving community health and preventing disease.

💡Health Inequities

Health inequities refer to the unfair and avoidable differences in health status between different population groups. Public health nurses in the video aim to reduce these inequities by serving those most in need, ensuring that everyone has access to quality healthcare, regardless of their social or economic background.

💡Community Health

Community health involves the health status and wellbeing of a group of individuals in a specific geographic area or community. Public health nurses work to improve the overall health of communities by promoting healthy behaviors, preventing illness, and ensuring access to healthcare services for all individuals.

💡Disease Prevention

Disease prevention is the proactive approach of preventing illness or injury through measures such as education, vaccination, and early detection. The video highlights how public health nurses focus on preventing diseases in various populations, from school children to elderly individuals in adult day care centers.

💡Health Promotion

Health promotion refers to efforts to improve individuals' and communities' overall health and well-being through education, prevention, and healthy lifestyle choices. Public health nurses promote health by educating families, caregivers, and communities on practices that support physical and mental health.

💡Care Coordination

Care coordination involves organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all participants concerned with a patient's care to achieve safer and more effective care. In the video, public health nurses coordinate care between various professionals, such as teachers, social workers, and psychologists, to ensure the holistic well-being of their patients.

💡Caregiver Support

Caregiver support refers to the resources and services provided to individuals who care for others, such as family members or friends. In the video, public health nurses are shown supporting caregivers by providing a safe environment for their loved ones, such as in adult day care centers, which gives caregivers a much-needed break.

💡Healthy Communities

A healthy community is one in which individuals have access to quality healthcare, healthy food, safe environments, and education, all contributing to physical, mental, and social well-being. Public health nurses work to build healthy communities by addressing health disparities and promoting wellness across different age groups and settings.

💡Family Health

Family health focuses on the health and well-being of the entire family unit. In the video, public health nurses provide care to families by working with pregnant women, parents, and children, ensuring that the needs of both individuals and families are met during and after pregnancy.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance refers to the ability to maintain a healthy balance between professional responsibilities and personal life. The video mentions how being a public health nurse offers the opportunity for work-life balance, making it an appealing career for those looking to serve the community while maintaining personal well-being.

Highlights

The history of public health nursing is filled with stories of healing, hardships, heroism, ingenuity, and compassion.

Public health nurses make a substantial impact on the health of individuals, families, and communities where they live, work, and play.

Public health nurses work with a variety of populations, including pregnant women, parents and newborns, school-age children, young adults, and seniors.

The ultimate goal of public health nursing is to promote healthy communities by addressing health inequities and serving those most in need.

Public health nurses play a vital role in the prevention of disease and promotion of community health and safety.

Public health nursing in schools involves collaboration with teachers, social workers, and school psychologists to address all aspects of a student's life.

The aim is to promote healthy students who grow up to become healthy adults, contributing to healthier communities.

Public health nurses experience a great support system and consider their colleagues as a family away from home.

One rewarding aspect of public health nursing is coordinating care and connecting families with resources, helping students grow from preschool to high school.

Public health nurses have the opportunity to reach communities where they can enact change daily, making the work very rewarding.

Adult day health care centers provide services for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities, offering a safe and supportive environment.

These centers provide activities, exercise, socialization, fun, and laughter, and have nurses on staff who oversee health and early detection of diseases.

The connection between public health nurses and their clients is very rewarding, as they get to know their clients' personalities and needs.

Public health nurses support not only their clients but also caregivers, providing them with a break and ensuring their loved ones are in a safe environment.

Public health nurses have a passion for keeping communities, families, and individuals healthy, strong, and thriving, often inspired by personal experiences or family role models in healthcare.

Transcripts

>> The history of public Health nurse and is filled with

stories of healing.

Hardships, heroism ingenuity and compassion,

although significant advancements have been made one

thing remains constant public health nurses make a

substantial impact on the health of individuals families

and communities where they live work and play.

Hello, my name is Shawn us of arrow as a public health nurse

we work with pregnant women, parents and newborns, school

age children young adults and seniors.

The ultimate goal is to promote healthy communities by

addressing health inequities and serving those most in need.

In a moment, you will meet public health nurses who are

dynamic, smart and passionate about the work. They do

our public health nurses play a vital role in the prevention of

disease and promotion of community health and safety.

>> Public health nurse and essentially to me means being

able to provide here to all so here within the school system

not only in my care for the students but care for their

families as well, I don't do it single-handedly in the school

work very closely with the teachers, so your education,

we work closely with the social workers to school psychologist

so we're looking at all realms and all aspects of the students

lives. I do think about the students as they tend to girl

can become adults typically when we're providing here,

we're providing it along the lines of trying to promote

healthy students who then tend to grow up to become healthy

adults thus providing us with help the communities in the and

I've never worked at a place where I've worked with such a

great support system of nurses. They're like my family away

from home in the U.S. the rewards I would definitely say

would be it looks all the care coronation aspect of my job and

commitment families to resources being able to see the

students grow up from the preschool level on up through

high school. I would dare to say come on and give public

health nurse and a try were able to reach communities where

change allies, each and every day is very rewarding and not

only that it has

the opportunity for work life balance.

>> Being a public health nurse at an adult day health care

center might be a little different than what most people

envision they're actually 4 centers here in Fairfax County.

And we work with the Donald to have disabilities with its

their cognitive disabilities for physical disabilities.

Our center provides

activities exercise, socialization

fun, and laughter and in a protected environment and we

also have nurses on staff who oversee health

and early detection of disease, ah, what is so nice about this

program is we see the people every day the connection is so

rewarding we get to know

who they are what they're like what tickles them that they get

a great laugh.

How much they love music.

How they come alive once they you know come to the center and

we help the caregivers to we help them by providing this,

you know the center providing the service.

>> When you can have some place that safe

and some place that they're enjoying and still give

caregivers a break it's just a win-win for everybody.

These are professionals they truly have a love I can even

say they love my mom.

>> It's a place where the caregivers tell me

you know I it's so good, I know they're safe here, you know

they're safe and even the mom can tell me, she's lost a lot

of her speech. She's happy when I picked her up she's happy.

>> I love my job and I've been doing this for very long time

it may be I don't want to see how long that many many years,

but I do love working and interacting with the families,

especially in the community. So my job is actually to go out

into the homes and visit them the mommies and babies, the

biggest inspiration for me, I'd have to say is my mom. My mom

is also a registered nurse from California and I remember she

was working at the Health Department in Los Angeles.

And she she provided

health teaching and Prevention to a variety of population

there. I think that was my very early.

>> Memories of the foundation not realizing that I was going

the direction of public Health, but it to set the foundation

where I wanted to work with families and children.

>> Our goal as the mcg nurses is to provide health teaching

wellness.

Disease injury prevention to support the mom and baby to

make sure that they're both healthy during the pregnancy

and also making sure that after the pregnancy they're doing

well take care of the children.

>> Is that she she came as like a family

who wanted to help me. Hitting Kim the ice and this she can

make it fun. I can open up to her

everything that I need I feel

likely lead to talk to head them my mind about that

because she was she was so amazing.

>> For me, I have a passion for keeping the community the

families healthy and strong and thriving and I think my rules

public health nurse provides me the opportunity to do that.