NSG 4074 Week 1 Discussion Topic 1: Community-Based Nursing

Community-based nursing entails serving people who have limited access to healthcare services. Nurses play an important role because they improve the health of individuals and communities. In this kind of nursing, nurses should identify trends in the community and demonstrate cultural competence while providing healthcare. They help people prevent illness by leading health-promotion lifestyles. Communities are different as they contain people with different cultural backgrounds, ages, and health issues. Nurses should provide patient education to promote health in the community. I interviewed a community-based nurse, and the following were her responses.

What are your job responsibilities?

 My responsibilities include all activities aimed at improving the health of the community. I educate and empower members of my community to manage their health. Preventive care is essential because it prevents serious health issues. Community members should know the importance of regular screening for cancers, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels (Donelan et al., 2019). Most people ignore preventive care and wait till their condition is acute to seek healthcare. This leads to most of them losing their lives to diseases that can be prevented. They also need to know how to manage diabetes through a proper diet and physical exercise (Donelan et al., 2019). This can only happen if I educate them about preventive care and driving chronic health conditions. I work with other healthcare professionals to address social determinants of health.

I also provide in-home treatment and support services to families in need. I monitor patients’ blood pressure, help them manage pain, and provide wound care. Additional responsibilities of community-based nurses include carrying out health evaluations to identify risk factors for chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, counselling people at risk of illnesses, and providing public health information in learning institutions and other community settings (Dickson et al., 2018).

Does a correlation exist between your job description and your practice?

There is a correlation because I promote health through disease prevention. My practice entails helping people achieve good health and live independently through healthcare and education. I am a nurse, and my responsibility does not change because of the setting. The only difference is that as a community-based nurse, I major in preventing diseases and helping patients in the home rather than treating them in healthcare facilities.