Nursing

Community Nursing: Roles and Impact

Written by: University of Tulsa • Sep 23, 2024

A school nurse smiles at a young patient.

Community Nursing: Roles and Impact

Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and strokes are among the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, in many cases, early medical intervention can prevent these conditions from becoming fatal or even developing in the first place.

However, not everyone has easy access to medical care, and those who do have access don’t always receive the ongoing support they need to make informed decisions about their health. These barriers do not just affect individuals — communities may face inequitable care and access fueled by prejudice, socioeconomic inequality, and the social determinants of health (SDOH).

The field of community nursing tackles these issues on medical and social levels. A career in this socially conscious sector of health care often requires the right education and skills , but there are many rewarding community nursing roles for nurses who want to use their talents to uplift entire populations.

What Is Community Nursing? Common Duties and Job Requirements

Also referred to as community health nursing, community nursing focuses on the health needs of entire communities and populations. The professionals who work in this specialty are often referred to as community health nurses .

Typical responsibilities of community health nurses include:

Assessing the health needs of the populations they serve
Teaching community health education classes with a focus on disease prevention
Identifying, screening for, and providing care for health problems their communities commonly face
Advocating for legal and policy reforms that benefit their communities
Acting as liaisons between the people they serve and health care providers, especially when there are language or cultural barriers
Coordinating with other leaders in their communities to create and run health programs

Instead of carrying out these duties in hospitals and other traditional health care settings, community health nurses often work in schools, pharmacies, workplaces, and community clinics. Members of a community can often seek help from a community health nurse at little to no cost.

Basic Requirements for Becoming a Community Health Nurse

Community health nurses are usually registered nurses (RNs). Becoming an RN involves earning an associate degree in nursing or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), passing the NCLEX-RN exam, and earning a state-issued nursing license. However, some entry-level roles may be open to licensed professional nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs).

Because working within a community can require creative problem-solving, research, education, and clinical skills, community health nurses often gain experience in traditional health care settings before getting into the field. Later in their careers, many community health nurses earn professional certifications and advanced degrees such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). These advanced training opportunities can prepare nurses to work with high-needs populations and fill high-level administrative positions.

Community Nursing Roles: Duties, Salaries, and Other Career Information

While many professionals work under the title of community health nurse, there are many other career opportunities for nurses interested in this specialty. Each community nursing role comes with its own unique responsibilities and career opportunities. Some require extra training and education beyond a BSN and RN licensure.

Public Health Nurse

Public health nurses typically work for local, state, and federal government agencies such as public health departments or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their duties often align with more general community health nurse duties, but in many cases, their efforts are heavily focused on disease prevention and health education.

A public health nurse’s duties typically include:

Analyzing public health data to identify issues such as increased mortality, hospitalization, or overdose rates
Providing immunizations, primary care treatment, and other disease prevention services
Educating people about health resources in their communities
Teaching health classes through local partners such as hospitals, community clinics, and schools
Helping public health officials monitor environmental risk factors such as pollution

Because public health nurses often work for government agencies, they typically perform these duties for people located in an agency’s jurisdiction, such as a city or county. However, they’re also instrumental in providing health care services to houseless communities and individuals, older adults, and other underserved groups.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

To become public health nurses, many experienced RNs earn certifications from professional organizations such as the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), part of the American Nurses Association (ANA), both of which offer training programs specifically for public health nurses. To prepare for high-level administrative positions, professionals also pursue degrees like an MSN with a specialty in public health.

The median salary for public health nurses was about $73,040 as of August 2024 according to Payscale. The highest-paid professionals can make more than $112,000.

Occupational Health Nurse

Occupational health nurses focus on the health care needs of workers. While they can work directly for private corporations in every industry, occupational health nurses also work for health and safety consulting services that serve multiple companies.

Occupational health nurses’ responsibilities include:

Tending to workers who have been injured on the job
Responding to health-related emergencies before emergency service personnel arrive
Educating workers about common chronic health issues in their industry and providing guidance on preventive care
Referring workers to specialists
Helping employers identify common health and safety hazards and devising strategies to minimize risks
Teaching health and safety courses as well as emphasizing the importance of safety protocols
Running on-site health clinics for workers and their families

Occupational health nurses’ specific duties vary depending on their industries. For example, those who serve manufacturing companies might educate employees about environmental hazards such as fine particles and chemicals. Those in office-oriented industries might screen employees for issues associated with sedentary lifestyles, such as heart disease.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

Because occupational health nursing is often a private-sector community nursing role, there are multiple paths to becoming one. However, most positions require RN licensure and some nursing experience. Some nurses gain experience in acute care settings where they deal with injuries that might be common in some industries. Skills learned in other clinical settings can be equally valuable.

Additionally, occupational health nurses may need to be familiar with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and workers’ compensation policies. Some employers offer on-the-job training in these subjects. Occupational health nurses can hone their skills and seek more advanced, potentially higher-paying, positions by earning certifications through organizations such as the American Board for Occupational Health Nurses.

Occupational health nurses made a median salary of about $80,470 per year as of April 2024 according to Payscale. The most experienced nurses made around $101,000. However, it’s important to remember that an occupational health nurse’s salary can vary widely based on their industry.

School Nurse

In addition to caring for sick or injured students, school nurses can help students manage their daily medications and cope with chronic illnesses. They can also serve their communities in a number of other meaningful ways.

School nurses’ responsibilities typically include:

Designing and overseeing student health education and safety campaigns
Running immunization programs
Assisting visiting specialists while screening students for physical and developmental issues
Connecting parents to health care and education resources, especially in schools in underserved communities
Assisting with and reporting cases of suspected abuse and neglect
Educating teachers about meeting their students’ health and psychosocial needs

Because school nurses work closely with teachers, children, parents, and others who may not have much medical knowledge, the ability to communicate clearly with diverse groups is a key skill.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

School nurses can be LPNs, LVNs, or RNs, though the level of licensure a school nurse needs is determined by state regulations. Depending on the state where they work, nurses may also have to seek approval from a local government agency to work in schools.

Future school nurses often gain initial experience by working in pediatrics. Many seek certification and further training through the National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN). School nurses made a median yearly salary of about $51,530 as of July 2023, Payscale reports, with the highest earning making about $72,000.

Health Education Specialist

Health education specialists teach communities about health-related topics. This can include informing the general public about current health issues, patients about managing chronic illnesses, and community health professionals about helping the people they serve. Hospitals, nonprofits, and government health agencies often employ health education specialists to teach community-oriented classes and educate individual patients.

Education specialists’ responsibilities can also include:

Helping public officials identify a community’s health needs
Designing and evaluating education programs
Connecting underserved communities to health care resources
Advocating for improved public health policies
Helping run health screening programs

Though health education specialists aren’t always nurses, their medical knowledge and patient care skills can make them great candidates for health education roles.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

Health education specialists typically need at least a bachelor’s degree. Nurses who want to pivot into this community nursing role often earn BSNs and work as RNs in patient care positions that require some amount of patient education. Some pursue health education certifications from organizations such as the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) or pursue MSNs through programs that offer health education concentrations.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), health education specialists made a median yearly salary of about $62,860 as of May 2023. The highest-paid 10% of professionals made more than $107,920.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse

Psychiatric and mental health RNs assess patients, monitor their progress, and help their colleagues develop and carry out long-term treatment plans. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who specialize in psychiatric care can even prescribe medications and provide therapy. They can work in in-patient and out-patient settings and for community mental health centers.

Psychiatric nurses can also perform community-oriented duties such as:

Facilitating support groups for patients and their loved ones
Teaching classes about mental health and self-care at schools, workplaces, and in the community
Teaching managers, teachers, and other professionals how to identify and help with mental health issues
Helping health care professionals integrate physical and mental health care programs
Working with government, law enforcement, and social service agencies to develop policies and programs to handle mental health crises

According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), 122 million Americans live in mental health professional shortage areas. RNs and APRNs who provide direct and community-focused mental health services are instrumental in building up the country’s mental health workforce and helping people find accessible support.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

Nurses can become psychiatric nurses by becoming RNs and finding employment in a mental health facility. To take on more advanced psychiatric community nursing roles, RNs often earn MSNs through programs that offer psychiatric nursing concentrations. After graduation, students typically have to pass a state APRN licensing exam. Many pursue the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC) through the ANCC.

As of August 2024, Payscale reports that RNs in the psychiatric specialty made a median yearly salary of about $75,580. The top 10% of earners made over $104,000.

Community Health Administrator or Coordinator

Organizations that offer community health services often need dedicated administrators to run them. These professionals can work for any number of private, nonprofit, and government health organizations.

While specific duties are often determined by the type of organization an administrator works for, common duties include:

Overseeing personnel
Managing budgets
Forming partnerships with other organizations
Researching gaps in community care
Implementing evidence-based education and community health care programs
Coordinating between multidisciplinary teams including doctors, counselors, and human services specialists
Seeking funding from government grants and private donors
Handling public relations matters such as speaking to the press and writing press releases

Some community health administrators are in charge of just a few of these duties. For example, one administrator might be in charge of financial matters, while another is in charge of clinical services such as ensuring staff follow evidence-based nursing processes . This may include creating training and staff assessment programs as well as helping local nursing schools coordinate practicum placements.

Education, Training, and Salary Potential

Like other nursing administrator positions, community nursing administrative positions often require an MSN and years of experience as a nurse. While many MSN programs offer leadership and administration concentrations, future community administrators may want to take courses in public health, nursing education, and informatics.

While not focused specifically on community nursing, the ANCC offers a Nurse Executive Certification credential. Administrators in multiple nursing specialties often earn this certification before pursuing high-level administration roles.

Nursing administrators made a median annual salary of about $96,540 as of May 2024 according to Payscale, with the highest earners making up to $144,000. However, these figures include all nursing administrators, not just those who oversee community services.

The BLS predicts that employment in the community health sector will grow by 14% between 2022 and 2032. This is equivalent to about 8,000 job openings per year. While not all of these jobs are nursing positions, this growth indicates that community health could be an excellent sector for health care professionals of all kinds to consider.

While the BLS doesn’t provide job outlook data specifically for community nursing roles, it does track many related positions. Between 2023 and 2033, the BLS expects employment for:

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses to grow by 3%
Registered nurses to grow by 6%
Health education specialists to grow by 7%
Medical and health services managers to grow by 28%

For context, the BLS expects employment in all sectors of the economy to grow by an average of 4% between 2023 to 2033.

Become an Advocate for Healthier Communities

Along with being direct care experts, community nurses in all specialties often take a holistic approach to their field. In addition to meeting their patients’ immediate medical needs, they must figure out how to support them in the long term through education, compassion, and advocacy. The University of Tulsa’s online RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) program is designed to help RNs develop those skills and apply them in communities of all kinds.

Built on the Roy Adaptation model , TU’s curriculum emphasizes collaboration and adaptability — two skills needed to enact impactful, long-lasting change. With classes on nutrition, applied research, and population health, students learn how to implement evidence-based interventions for community-wide issues. Learning these skills can help nurses become informed members of any community-based health care team and lay the foundation for future leadership roles.

To find out if TU’s flexible RN to BSN program is right for you, reach out to a member of our admissions counseling staff today.

Recommended Readings

How Global Health Nursing Supports Population Health

Strategies for Interdisciplinary Team Nursing

What Is an Occupational Health Nurse?

Sources:

American Nurses Credentialing Center, Nurse Executive Certification (NE-BC®)

American Nurses Credentialing Center, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC™)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Leading Causes of Death

Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Workforce Shortage Areas

National Association of State Boards of Education State Policy Database, School Nurse Qualifications

National Board for Certification of School Nurses, Certification