Literature Review On Community Nursing: Roles, Work Environment, Demand, And Professional Pathways Essay.

Literature Review: Community Nursing Definition

Discuss about the Literature Review On Community Nursing.

Community nursing has been a key professional player both at the national level and at the international level. Community nursing is described as health activities other than acute hospital activities. Community nursing is necessary due to the poor health conditions that are witnessed in most communities living in Australia.  Community nursing is currently in high demand due to increasing demand for community nursing services. Safety of the community hangs on a number of factors that include geographical area, physical health conditions, organizational framework and strategies applied to tackle challenges within the community nursing environment. The following literature review explores community nursing as a profession with a major focus on the role, professional pathways, and work environment, professional organizations that support community nursing and high demand.

Goodman, Bunnell, and Posner (2014) define community nursing broadly as nursing care provided outside the acute hospital setting. This definition includes those nursing care that is provided within community hospitals, home cares, and schools or police stations. This definition does not contradict similar definition by Srivastava, Singh, Montagu and Bhattacharyya (2017), who indicates that community nursing care extends its operation to children’s home and families within their homes. Community nursing as indicated by World Health Organization (2017) comprises of activities of community health or public health. This implies that community nursing also includes public health are they both work at the community level. Community health currently majorly plays a critical role in enduring healthy leaving conditions among various communities.   

According to David and Laoingco (2017), community nursing has various roles it plays in the community settings. One of this role includes assessing the community health status based on the available community health data. This according to Mohsen (2013) includes assessing the implementing community health data to better the community healthcare. Secondly, as explained by Dee and Bridget (2015), community nursing practitioner plays an important role in forming a communication link between various stakeholders with the community healthcare fraternity. This is similar to another communication role elaborated by MOHFW Indian Public Health Standards (2012) that indicate that community nursing practitioner communicates with families on the available health problem in an effort to arrive at a lasting solution. Thirdly, National Rural Health Mission et al (2011) indicates that community nursing play role in developing public health team that works with community healthcare department for better community health. This does not contradict similar idea advanced by Putra, Petpichetchian, and Maneewat (2011), who indicated that community nursing practitioner exhibit the leadership skills in leading community health team.  Fourthly, community nursing plays another role of using health research particularly about the community they work in to study epidemiology affecting the community. As cited by MCHIP India's Reproductive et al (2014), community nursing plays an important role in utilizing research findings to monitor disease epidemiology within the community setting.

Roles of Community Nursing

Community nursing working environment entails many challenges and safety issues that affect the operation of community nursing. Firstly, according to World Health Organization (2017), community nursing working environment is characterized by the larger geographical distance between clients. Community nursing environment is influenced by a distance that limits the operation of some nursing practitioners. Secondly, as explained by Kumar et al (2011), community nursing environment is also influenced by physical environmental factors such as poor health conditions and clients poor living conditions within homes. This is similar to those conditions explained by Briton (2017) that also indicate the physical environment effect on the nursing community. The author indicates that poor living conditions coupled with poor clients lifestyle affect the nursing environment. Thirdly, community nursing environment is characterized by institutional or organizational setting that includes organizations such as community hospital setting or police station. According to ABS (2014), community nursing operates in an environment that includes various institution and organizations that sometimes require authorization before the operation. In addition, as explained by Rosenbaum, Shin, Jones, and Tolbert (2010), community nursing environment sometimes requires personal assistance to some clients in difficult organizations such as police stations.

Community nursing work environment requires compassion, especially where there is a need to assist the poor client. As indicated by Mohsen (2013), community nursing work environment requires the nursing practitioner to develop a strategy on how to assist the patient to improve on their poor health conditions. Moreover, as cited by Dee and Bridget (2015), community health sometimes encounters hostility within the community and this requires a proper way of handling clients within these environments. This does not contradict a similar study by Goodman, Bunnell, and Posner (2014) that indicate the need to cope up with hostility within the community nursing environment. To add to this environment, Srivastava, Singh, Montagu and Bhattacharyya (2017) also show the hostility as a form of the cultural environment that forms part of the community nursing working environment. One of the strategies used within the community nursing work environment includes negotiating working environments with clients mostly on the reduction of poor health conditions.   

There is high demand for community nursing practitioners as indicated by Chokshi et al (2016) when exploring the need for nursing practitioners. Studies indicate that there is high demand for community health within Australia and throughout the world. According to World Health Organization (2010), there are many factors that are driving the increasing demand for community nursing specialty. One of these factors, as explained by the author, include increasing nursing workloads make the community nursing overwhelmed with community health needs. MCHIP India's Reproductive et al (2014) explain the scenarios in the community nursing that drives such as high demand for community nurse and increasing demand for the services drives the need for more community nursing practitioners. A study conducted by World Health Organization (2017) show interplay of factors that are drivers for high-end demand for more community nursing practitioners. Moreover, the Capable theory explains the complexity of needs that are driving the demand for more community nursing practitioners. According to this theory, good community nursing practice is grounded on an evidence-based practice that helps improve the quality of nursing practice reducing nursing workloads.

Community Nursing Work Environment

Community nursing pathways require various professional qualifications that include educational background. According to Ball (2017), community nursing professional pathways normally requires completion of four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing. This is similar to another professional framework set that requires completion of community health degree program. Farsi, Dehghan-Nayeri, Negarandeh, and Broomand (2010) explains that party also include personal volunteer for community health service while still study community nursing. Tradition community setting is good for community nursing and this together with the college assist students find placement once academic completion of the degree. As indicated by Benner theory community nursing requires skill development to be effective in the health community. According to this theory, community nursing entails developing knowledge and skills in the practical aspect of community health (Briton, 2017).  

Further studies of community nursing include many different nursing options and public health options. Community nursing pathways climax by some nursing practitioners studying masters’ degree in community health with a specialty in public health. Another pathways option also includes study master of public health with health promotion option. As cited by National Rural Health Mission et al (2011), high demand for community nursing or health professional, in general, is also driving the need to further study in community nursing. To this effect, there are many different scholarships available for community nursing practitioners to peruse further education. Some of these scholarships include AACN Nursing Scholarship Fund, The Gates Millennium Scholars Program and Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards.

Considering practicing as a registered nurse requires various steps to follow as outlined by MOHFW Indian Public Health Standards (2012). According to World Health Organization (2017), passing NCLEX-RN examination allow the nursing practitioner start practicing nursing within the community. Boards of nursing (BONs) and regulatory bodies (RBs) sets the requirement for practicing nurse to obtain a license and become register nurse. Conclusively, Srivastava, Singh, Montagu and Bhattacharyya (2017) explain that community nursing courses obtain accreditation from Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Upon completion of NCLEX-RN, the nursing board evaluates and approves the result of the examination to ascertain qualifications.

There are many different professional bodies that support community nursing in Australia. Professional bodies that support community nursing can be categorized into the national and international level. Some of the national level nursing professional bodies include Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and Nursing Practitioners NPs. Firstly, Wilson et al., (2012) explain the nature and role of the nursing council in Australia. Australia Nursing Council is a professional body that draws its membership from nurses and nursing education. The organization was formed under Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Act of 1947 to include both practicing nurses in public and private sector of Australia.  The nursing council is divided based on various states and operate at the state level. Secondly, Australian Nurses Association (ANA) is another professional body formed registered nurses of Australia. The organization is formed by a registered nurse and those practicing at the community nursing level. As listed by Briton (2017), Australia Nurses Association (ANA) play a significant role in organizing various nurse strikes across Australia to push for various agenda.

Demand for Community Nursing

At the international nursing level, professional bodies include International Nursing Council is another professional nursing body that includes those working with national nursing professional bodies to foster community nursing. The body was instituted in 1899 with a focus to connect all nursing professionals throughout the world. The main objective of the nursing body is to reduce discriminations among the nursing professionals. Secondly, according to World Health Organization (2014), Red Cross Society is another important nursing professional body task to assist community nursing practitioners in the course of work. Thirdly, the World Health Organization is another professional body that also supports community nursing to carry out community healthcare. World Health Organization was formed in 1948 with the main focus on high community health for all people internationally and at the national level.

Conclusion

 In conclusion, community nursing plays an important role in community health and requires professional qualifications. Community nursing as a profession ensures that community health is up-to-date information on all the necessary health practices. Moreover, community nursing has experienced high nursing workloads increasing the demand for more nursing practitioners to help improve the quality of health in the community. Community nursing as a professional requires study of bachelors’ degree in nursing, public health and community health that is approved. Community nursing requires an individual nurse practitioner to be registered in Australia. There are many different professional organizations that support community nursing at the national level and at the international level.      

In light for all the literature findings, there are some recommendations that need to be used to improve community nursing profession. Firstly, there is need to increase enroll more nursing professionals into community nursing due to the high demand for community nurses. The community nursing as a profession has few practitioners that are overwhelm with high nursing workloads and this need more practitioners. Secondly, professional bodies need to create awareness for importance of community nursing as a way to improve the community nursing environment. More health promotion with focus of on the importance community nursing will help attract more health practitioners into the community nursing career pathways hence reducing the nursing workloads. Community health awareness campaigns also serves to create a more conducive environment for practitioners coupled with high dignity for community nursing practitioners within the community.

References

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