Primary Health Care Nurse Definition
Primary health care nurses play a vital role in the health care environment by providing education and information to individuals, families and large populations. They use their skills and training to teach positive lifestyle skills by focusing on preventive medicine. They are employed by doctors, health care facilities and community organizations.
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Function
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Primary health care nurses provide care that includes teaching people about health care solutions, preventive health strategies, lifestyle education and general health care. They provide education and services for men, women and children, and are typically considered the first point of contact in many community or health care settings. They also provide general health care for illness and injury.
Features
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Primary health care nurses support community education programs which teach large groups of people to live healthier lifestyles and take better care of themselves. One of their primary goals is to improve overall health outcomes for the community.
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Potential
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Primary health care nurses have an opportunity to impact the health and safety of a broad spectrum of individuals by educating the entire community. They can positively influence health care by encouraging people to stay healthy and avoid the costly expenses of treatment and disease management.
Considerations
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Nurse practitioners often enter into the field of primary health care nursing to promote healthier populations. Nurse practitioners obtain advanced degrees which allow them to diagnose, manage and treat illnesses. Nurse practitioners make good primary health care nurse professionals because they can also teach, counsel and support individuals, families and large groups of people.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Krankenschwester image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com