Community nursing plays an essential role as these professionals promote the population’s health and well-being outside a hospital. The complexity of the scenario is that people from different age ranges need special care and support in regard to their health needs, social characteristics, and chosen lifestyles. Nurses are challenged by the contributions they could make to society as professionals. In addition to professional coordination of services and supporting self-care, community nurses encourage anticipatory care and multi-disciplinary team working.
A community nurse must recognize current Health and Social Care policies and utilize their knowledge and skills. In this case, community nurses promote high-quality care for Scott, a healthy three-year-old child, Mark and Jane, his smoking parents, and Jim, a 68-year-old grandfather with advanced prostate cancer.
To succeed in managing care in the family under analysis, community nurses have to divide their roles and responsibilities. Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy aims at making sure that children receive the right help at the right time from the right person. A nurse provides families with information about pediatric well-being factors and identifies the resources for parents to use to improve child care. As well as children have their rights to be protected, parents should not forget about their direct responsibilities and opportunities to work.
Nurses can investigate the employment field and recommend organizations that can hire Jane even being aware of her unplanned pregnancy. At the same time, the maternal and child health policy was developed by the Scottish Government and implemented by community nursing groups to offer free vitamins for all pregnant women and ensure a healthy pregnancy.
Both parents are regular smokers, and another task of a nurse is to deliver credible and convincing information about the harms of smoking, especially during pregnancy or when there is a child in the house. Being a part of Health and Social Care, a five-year action plan for tobacco control was implemented several years ago. The nurse can become a successful role model for the family who can stop smoking to protect a child and ensure a healthy lifestyle. In most cases, it is not an easy task for an experienced smoker to quit this habit. The nurse’s knowledge is specifically addressed to identify all the disadvantages and potential benefits of living a healthy life.
Finally, there is a grandparent who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). His hormone therapy was not effective, and now, the man receives palliative care. Jim demonstrates his desire to live alone in his house, but the COVID-19 restrictions make him spend all the time with his children. A community nurse may promote a home-based initiative to provide the necessary social and health care in the patient’s home. Communication with patients, assessing the patient’s satisfaction level, and pain relief are the main skills a nurse develops as a part of palliative care. Identifying Jim’s needs and family resources is necessary for a community nurse to continue this cooperation.
Community nurses have to complete certain goals and meet the needs of people, regardless of their age, gender, social status, or other factors. Their skills and knowledge usually define the quality of care and the type of intervention for a family. In the current complex scenario, each family member needs professional help and assistance in promoting a healthy lifestyle. A nurse should be acknowledged different Health and Social Care policies to take the necessary steps and support children, adults, and old patients.
