Community Health Nursing, Lecture notes of Community Health

Download Community Health Nursing and more Lecture notes Community Health in PDF only on Docsity! Roles, Functions and Responsibilities of the Cm mA Teg Roles of Community Health Nurses Researcher Leadership Advocate Collaborator Manager Roles of Community Health Nurse 3. Manager: As a manager the nurse exercises administrative direction towards the accomplishment of specified goals by assessing clients’ needs, planning and organizing to meet those needs, directing and controlling and evaluating the progress to assure that goals are met. Nurses serve as managers when they oversee client care, supervise ancillary staff, do case management, manage caseloads, run clinics or conduct community health needs assessment projects Roles of Community Health Nurse 4. Collaborator: - Community health nurses seldom practice in isolation. They must work with many people including clients, other nurses, physicians, social workers and community leaders, therapists, nutritionists, occupational therapists, psychologists, epidemiologists, biostaticians, legislators, etc. as a member of the health team (Fairly 1993, Williams, 1986). The community health nurse assumes the role of collaborator, which means to work jointly in a common endeavor, to co-operate as partners. Roles of Community Health Nurse 5. Leader: - Community health nurses are becoming increasingly active in the leader role. As a leader, the nurse directs, influences, or persuades others to effect change that will positively affect people's health. The leadership role primary function is to effect change; thus, the community health nurse becomes an agent of change. They also seek to influence people to think and behave differently about their health and the factors contributing to it. Roles of Community Health Nurse cont..Researcher: - The community health nurse identifies a problem or question, investigates by collecting and analyzing data, suggests and evaluates possible solutions and selects and or rejects all solutions and starts the investigative process over again. In one sense, the nurse in gathering data for health planning, investigates health problems in order to design wellness — promoting and disease prevention for the community Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 1. Care Provider - Provides a continuous and comprehensive care to the individual, family, group of people and community at large. - Emphasizes more on promotive and preventive care - Approaches individuals and families and persuades them to implement promotive and preventive measures Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse cont..Care Provider - Care during illness is beneficial gaining acceptance, trust and confidence. - Provide care during illness for which usually the family members come forward to seek help - As care is given the nurse educate and helps family members to develop their responsibilities and overcome their health and nursing needs, promote their health and prevent illness Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 3. Counselor: - The CHNurse helps individual, families, and the community at large to recognize and understand their problems to be solved, find solutions to be solved, find solutions with-in resources and implement feasible and acceptable solutions. Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 4. Resource Person: - The CHNurse explores community resources in terms of money, manpower, material, agencies etc. - Makes use of these resources in helping individual, family groups and community to meet their health and nursing needs. Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 5. Observer: - The CHNurse makes observation of any untoward change in health behaviour and health status of the community, people, their sorroundings unusual occurance of disease and take action accordingly. E.g. providing information, health education to people to improve their behavior and health authority about communicable disease. Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 8.Care Manager: - The CHNurse implements the care which is planned for the family and community. Directly provides the care with the active participation of the family and community members. Makes use of the family and community resources Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse cont...Care Manager: - Guides the family and community and refers when required. Maintains a record of the care given to families and the community - Evaluates the effectiveness of care given in terms in change in health status, health behaviour, reduction in illness, improvement in clinic attendance-immunization and rate of utilization of the community health service. Functions of aCommunity Health Nurse 9. Medical Assistant: - CHNurse assists the physician and co-ordinates with the other team members in the community health care team in rendering community health services - Obtains orders from the physician and explains it clearly to the clients, families, helps and guides them to carry on medical treatment at home.