Public Health Nursing: Home and School Nursing
Home health nursing involves the provision of various holistic services within the patient’s place of residence and other noninstitutional settings. The core focus of home health nursing revolves around assessment, evaluation, planning, and intervention (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). An example of primary prevention measures in home health nursing is the administration of seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). Secondary prevention may involve monitoring patients for possible medication side effects (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). Tertiary prevention may involve educating new diabetic clients about dietary modifications and insulin injections (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). Home nurses promote healthy lifestyles for patients, their families, and caregivers. Consequently, for home nurses, it is essential to establish solid trust with the client and family while not overstepping the boundary as the guest in someone’s home.
On the other hand, the job of a school nurse requires the ability to delegate care in a community, supervise others and practice independently. They provide care to students and faculty as direct caregivers and educators, case managers, counselors, and consultants. Their role is essential, and evidence-based practice suggests that it has a significant impact on children’s behavior. The study of Pbert et al. evaluated the feasibility of decreasing obesity issues through school nursing intervention (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). The results suggested that students started to pay more attention to breakfast and decreased sugar intake (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020). School nurses provide immediate nursing care to injured or ill students and faculty. In Massachusetts, during COVID-19 school nurses acted as a contact tracing monitors of infected patients (Flaherty, 2020). Their comprehension of public health and a compatible skill set allowed to easily transition to the role of public health nurses (Flaherty, 2020). In addition, school nurses may educate children about puberty, teach health education classes and provide necessary information for proper school healthcare policy.
The school nurse is expected to address the physical and mental, emotional, and social health needs of students. They support the students’ learning process and achievements by providing healthcare for all children. It is also necessary to establish a relationship based on trust with the students and their guardians to effectively perform or receive consent for healthcare interventions. This aspect of school nursing is similar to home nursing, where the needs of the patient include safety and quality care. Home nurses ensure patients avoid institutionalization and restore their physical and mental functioning. Also, it is necessary to address the medication management of the patient through proper documentation and review on each encounter. The patient and their family should be properly instructed and informed about the intervention or preventive measures administered by nurses’.
References
Flaherty, E. A. (2020). School nursing and public health: The case for school nurse investigators and contact tracing monitors of COVID-19 patients in Massachusetts. NASN School Nurse, 35(6), 327-331. Web.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community. Elsevier.