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What Does a Community Health Nurse Do?

As a community health nurse, you typically work at community clinics or public health settings with traditionally under-served populations. This may include under- or uninsured, homeless, low-income, or otherwise marginalized communities. You may be the only health care provider that these patients see, so it is important to have a comprehensive visit with them when discussing their primary complaints and overall health.

Education & Training Required to Become a Community Health Nurse

In order to become a community health nurse, you must attend an accredited RN or BSN program, focusing your efforts and time on your community health clinical rotation. While there are no specific community health nursing degree programs at the bachelor's level, there are several online degree programs which emphasize the foundations of community health nursing. There are degree programs in community health nursing at the master's level, giving you an advanced practice degree and the potential ability (depending on which state you live in) to practice as the patient's primary care provider.

Typical Characteristics of a Community Health Nurse

Many community health nurses see a wide variety of patients from different backgrounds and varying walks of life. As a community health nurse, you should be able to demonstrate compassion and a sense of empathy for patients who have nowhere else to go. You might see patients who haven't showered in days or weeks,patients who have injected intravenous drugs and need advice on safety and harm-reduction for those practices, or HIV-positive patients who need their blood counts or education on safer sex practices.

High Demand for Community Health Nurses

As a community health nurse, you play an important role in community health awareness and education, assessing at-risk populations who might not otherwise get a chance to interact with a health care provider. Because most RNs go to work in the hospital setting, there is always a high demand for community health nurses. Salaries for community health nurses are comparable to that of hospital RNs. There are several opportunities for career advancement in community health nursing, including acting as the charge nurse or nurse supervisor for a public health clinic.