Nurse practitioners are capable of bringing change since they work directly in the community in hospitals, homes, schools and even mobile clinics. It is, therefore, easy for nurses to provide health care to everyone in need where they are. Nurses use their expertise to identify risks associated with acute illness and can prevent the illness by providing health care and changes (Buresh, 2006).
Further when a person is ill, the nurses can provide medical care immediately resulting to a healthy and productive community. Also, nurses provide social and spiritual support for chronically sick and injured persons to help them cope with depression and grief. Since community nurses work as professional caregivers, they can advise authorities in changing and prioritizing health policies hence bringing change in health standards for the less privileged. Community nurses have changed the trend of injured, and bedridden persons travelling to hospitals by providing health care at homes.
However, nurses also act as agents in the community. It is the role of a nurse to provide information as a witness in medical cases that involve compensation (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2000). Also, nurses work with insurance providers, workers compensation and are involved with the government vaccine programs. Additionally, nurses work closely with families and help them in giving health care to the sick and elderly. In fact, nurses play a major role in planning medical costs and services to the community.
Finally, nurses lobby for the provision of better and available medical facilities for severely ill patients for the whole community (Sullivan, 2004). To achieve this goal, nurses advocates for the increase in the number of caregivers and volunteers in the community. Nurses intend to involve political activities already involved in promoting community health and awareness of the chronically sick in future. The Nurse practitioners believe that political intervention would have an immediate effect on the expansion where none exists.
- Buresh, B., Gordon, S. (2006) From silence to voice: what nurses know and must communicate to the public, 2nd edition. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.
- Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2000). Community and public health nursing. St. Louis, Missouri ; Toronto: Mosby.
- Sullivan, E. J. (2004) Becoming influential: a guide for nurses. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
