- Help people: Nurse Practitioners play a vital role in helping people stay healthy. They work one-on-one with patients to diagnose and treat diseases, provide preventive care, and manage chronic health conditions. Nurse Practitioners contribute to improving health outcomes for groups of people and communities at large through collaboration and guidance with education, disease control, and identifying social determinants of health.
- Make a difference: Through direction given by Nurse Practitioners, clinical staff can use tools and resources to make a difference in community-based populations. With education and high-quality health care, providers assist with prevention and detection of diseases, responding to emerging infectious diseases, as well as prescribing necessary treatments for all of the above. Significant health outcomes are realized through the interventions and work of our providers as they touch individuals and communities the same.
- Variety of career options: Nurse Practitioners have a multitude of career opportunities including private practices, hospitals, specialty clinics such as pediatrics, internal medicine, and mental health. Other career opportunities include governmental agencies, such as local health departments, nonprofit organizations, and even insurance companies.
Here are some of the key educational requirements, scope of practice, and job duties of a public health nurse practitioner:
- Education: Nurse Practitioners must have a high school diploma and must first obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing before obtaining their master’s degree through a nursing practitioner program. Typically, this takes six years of education after high school.
- Scope of practice: Nurse practitioners are licensed, independent practitioners who practice in a wide variety of short and long-term care as primary and/or specialty care providers. The most common practice you see in public health departments are Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP’s) because they specialize in the primary and specialty care of patients of all ages.
- Job duties: Nurse practitioners in public health roles will treat a wide variety of conditions that require a broad and in-depth knowledge of the area of assignment, such as Women’s Health, Adult and Child primary care, or in a generalized area that requires the nurse practitioner to function in a wide variety of settings and work assignments. Nurse practitioners that work specifically in health departments will usually also serve as consultants to the medical staff, participate as in-service education leaders, and may serve as a student preceptor. Job duties may also include participating in the evaluation, development, and implementation of health department policies, procedures, goals, and objectives, and other administration functions.
- Opportunities for growth and advancement: Nurse Practitioners can move into leadership positions or specialties in their particular practice, such as pediatrics, midwifery, and primary care, Nurse Practitioners are usually the leading providers who have one-on-one interaction with clinical staff, as well as patients for most health department agencies.
- Work-life balance: The regular working hours of nurse practitioners that serve specifically in a health department setting, is from 8am to 5pm. With all health department positions, there are certain circumstances that will require staff to serve outside of these hours, such as vaccine clinics, and for emergency situations, however, these occasions are rare. The health department setting is a great way for nurse practitioners to maintain a harmonious work-life balance, compared to other work settings for this career field.
