Nurs 340 week 1 Replies

Week 1 340 replies

· APA

· References

· Due date 09/11/2020

Complete your Week 1 required discussion prompt.

· Analyze the roots of public health nursing and its influence on practice today. What significant changes or historical events have made public health what it is today?

Reply 1 Jeremy

Public health nursing was first publicly recognized in the late 1800’s in New York City as Lillian Wald, founder of the Henry Street Settlement focused on the health and well-being of the city’s lower income population.

Today, I can’t help but  relate the public health crisis currently happening with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis with daily briefings by our state’s Health and Human Services leaders.  These briefings to the state helps the community understand the goals that this health agency wants to meet in order to prevent or mitigate the transmission of this respiratory virus.

Having this public health agency provide communication and up to date knowledge about this virus gives the community a tremendous resource in moving forward in dealing with this pandemic.

Reply 2 Jennifer

The community is the foundation for Public Health Nursing, and it is rooted in serving others in order to better the community. Public Health Nursing Practice is the synthesis of nursing theory and public health theory applied to promoting and preserving health of populations. The focus of practice is the community as a whole and the effect of the community’s health status (resources) on the health of individuals, families, and groups. Care is provided within the context of preventing disease and disability and promoting and protecting the health of the community as a whole. Public Health Nursing is population focused, which means that the population is the center of interest for the public health nurse, (Lancaster, 2016, pg. i).

I must say that after reading about PHN, what I knew was only scratching the surface. I know we have been able to go further into the communities as the needs have been identified and resources secured over the years. This COVID pandemic has identified several areas that we were not prepared for and how many areas had holes in them. The inability to get out to our elderly population during this to make sure they have food and necessities has been the biggest eye-opener of how unprepared we truly are.