Public Health Nursing is a Great Career Choice!

PHN Testimonials

Evelyn Coley, RN, BSN, MSA
Wayne County

Emily Mayes, RN, BSN
Surry County

Sharon West, RN
Buncombe County

Patty Kempton, RN, BSN
Moore County

Sarah Lawson, RN, BSN
Cawtaba County

  Tammy Austin, RN
Onslow Country

What Nursing Students Say about Public Health Nursing

Queens College School of Nursing

Student 1: My preceptor demonstrated how the nurse can effectively work with an interdisciplinary team—she worked with each member of the team to ensure patient needs were met.  She took the time to educate the patient & staff—her aim was to reduce diseases and improve the health of her patients and our community.    This community is lucky to have this nurse and I was lucky to spend some time with her.

Student 2: Working in the community was never part of my plans—my preceptor helped me to see how short sighted I was—I will work in the community setting.  I hope I am as effective with my population as my preceptor was with hers.

ECU School of Nursing

At the beginning of my Public Health class/rotation in nursing school, I knew that public health was a field that sparked an interest and intrigued me, but I was unsure if I could truly make a career out of public health nursing. Not far into my clinical experience at a local HD, I found myself convinced that public health would be a wonderful career choice for me. It is not only the broad scope of practice that public health nursing encompasses but the compassion that public health nurses have about their patients and how the health of their patients affects the health of the community. I found myself having that same passion as I helped in the clinics and home health, as well as when giving H1N1 immunizations at a local soup kitchen. Public health is like one big family, where collaborating with community resources only scratches the surface. After my community health experience, I knew it was a family that I absolutely wanted to be a part of.