Qualities and functions of a public health nurse

Qualities and functions of a public health nurse:

Nursing differs from other professions its humanitarian aspects. The nurse first has interest in people, and in understanding human behaviour , has concern over human and ability to empathize are basic qualities required of a nurse.

A good nurse has a friendly disposition, earnest, charitable, resourceful, operative and takes responsibility with native. Minimum essential skills of a nurse are observation, communication, leaving besides supportive and essential skills. She must have abilities to like interpretations, make judgments and take decisions.

Nursing calls for a pleasure of self-discipline not only of lotions but of other aspects of behaviour and action. The community nurse must be prepared to play a much wider role than is offered by her work in hospitals. There is much greater element of decision-making. Management skills, administration of programmes, teaching and acting as a team leader, as well as a member of the health team are all important.

Perhaps the most crucial requirement is that the nurse must be prepared to learn from the people, and share leadership with them when it is necessary and to plan with them.

Function of a community health nurse:

The functions of a community health nurse have been classified broadly under the following heads:

Administration

Communication

Nursing

Teaching

Research

A Administration:

The nurse is responsible for the day-to-day assignment of the nursing staff and supervision of these personnel. She provides direction and leadership to those whom she supervises. She is responsible for planning, implementation and evaluation of a practical plan of nursing administration within the primary health centre and its associated subcentres.

B Communication:

This involves ability to maintain good working relationship with members of the health team, related agencies and the community. She is a link between the patient, the family and the doctor. She participates in the staff and community meetings.

C Nursing:

She provides comprehensive nursing care to individuals and families. This includes family care of the pregnant women, before, at the time of and after delivery, care of the newborn, the premature, the infant, toddler, the school child, nutrition and family planning.

D Teaching:

Teaching comprises

            Knowledge and skills of methods of individual

            group teaching

            preparation and use of simple teaching aids

            training of dais and health workers;

            participation in student training programmes.

E. Research:

There is probably far more research relevant to nursing than nurses realise. A good deal of knowledge derived from sociology and psychology is relevant to public health nursing, viz. infant feeding and weaning, mother and child relationship, nursing needs and practices in the community, utilization of the existing nursing services, job analysis of nursing personnel in the team, etc.