Essay on Community Health Nursing Roles and Core Competencies for Quality Services

Introduction

Community health is an organized effort by a society that aims to keep people healthy, prevent illness and injury as well as premature death (BryantLukosius, DiCenso, Browne & Pinelli, 2004). In delivering quality services, health professionals must possess core competencies to achieve the needs of the health care system. The following study discusses community health nursing practice roles which contribute to core functions of public health and the critical competencies that health professionals need in handling man-made or natural disaster management.

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Community Health Nursing Practice Roles

Health nurses use advanced decision-making strategies to function in their roles and often familiarize themselves with contemporary health issues and emerging technology. Community health nurses practice several roles which include health promotion, disease, and injury prevention, and a role in health protection (BryantLukosius, DiCenso, Browne & Pinelli, 2004). These roles meet QESN standards: patient-centered care and safety. In health promotion, nurses encourage the adoption of health behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs, which facilitates overall population health. They support public policy, which advocates for changing risky environments, assist the society in taking responsibility for their health and initiates and participates in activities that promote health (Murdaugh, Parsons & Pender, 2018). These activities meet the patient-based care in that the health nurse share responsibility with patients, they are in constant and open communication, and they take into account preferences, values, and patients life issues. Again they meet the safety standard in that the community nurses apply population-based strategies in identifying and reducing risk factors.

The role of disease and injury prevention meets the safety standard in that it aims at reducing the risks of an outbreak of an infectious disease through identification at an early stage, investigation, tracing contact and developing preventive measures. This role meets the patient-centered care standard since it helps individuals in society to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles, which reduce the chance of injury, disability, or disease.

Health protection role includes activities such as working with families and individuals in creating and maintaining healthy and safe environments. This indicates patient-centered care in that there is the identification of the needs the society; having a healthy life. Safety as a standard is met through health protection in that activity such as acting in partnership with public agencies and government ensures safe air, food, and water, controls infectious diseases and protects the community from environmental threats. After all, Murdaugh et al. (2018) assert that safety as a standard aims to ensure that risk is minimized through individual performance and system effectiveness.

Critical Competencies in Dealing with Disaster Emergencies

In disaster emergencies, community health nurses are expected to use their professional expertise, which guarantees the reduction of risks caused by disasters (Gebbie & Qureshi, 2002). The identified core competencies for community health practitioners are patient-centered care, teamwork, and collaboration, safety, and evidence-based practice. The rationale for selecting the above named man-made and natural disaster management is that in times of disaster management the community health practitioners are interested in saving the lives of the people other than saving any properties in the areas of disaster. The needs of the people during a disaster are to secure their lives other than rescuing the properties (Gebbie & Qureshi, 2002). After all, properties can be recovered other than properties. Again in disaster response, the security of the community health workers must be ensured as well as the security of the rescued persons. The rescued should be placed in an area free of the disaster reoccurring.

In term of teamwork and collaboration, this competency is selected in the rationale that in any disaster response, there will always be a different chain of command in the response team. Well-Orchestrated teamwork constitutes members who know their line of duty and communication in disaster management (Seyedin, Dolatabadi & Rajabifard, 2015).

Another critical competence in dealing with disaster management is evidenced-based practice. Community-based health practitioners must be well acquainted with the disease infection or injuries that may occur during a man-made or natural disaster and well know the kind of response and treatment to undertake (Seyedin, Dolatabadi & Rajabifard, 2015). As such in case of any man-made or natural disaster management the three competencies were selected since the patient based care ensure that the nurses recognize the need for the patients, teamwork, and collaboration to ensure that the different units if command do not conflict and cause more damage than good and the evidence-based practice ensure that the nurses respond to treatment based on their scientific knowledge of the injuries and disease that may occur during different disasters such as chemical caused disasters.

References

BryantLukosius, D., DiCenso, A., Browne, G., & Pinelli, J. (2004). Advanced practice nursing roles: development, implementation and evaluation. Journal of advanced nursing, 48(5), 519-529.

Gebbie, K. M., & Qureshi, K. (2002). Emergency and Disaster Preparedness: Core Competencies for Nurses: What every nurse should but may not know. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 102(1), 46-51.

Murdaugh, C. L., Parsons, M. A., & Pender, N. J. (2018). Health promotion in nursing practice. Pearson Education Canada.

Seyedin, H., Dolatabadi, Z. A., & Rajabifard, F. (2015). Emergency nurses' requirements for disaster preparedness. Trauma monthly, 20(4).