Response for each one is 200 words.

1) 

At the start of this course, I did not think I would appreciate the community health nurse as much as I do now. When signing up for this course I really did not know what to expect, but by judging by the name I figured that it would consist of busy work rather than important education for the development of my career, and now that it is nearing the end, boy was I wrong! This course has been able to teach me so much important information, not just of my community, but the importance of community education, community risks, diseases that affect the community, and even made me realize of many things I experienced growing up in the community that happened, but was not aware of its importance. The community health course has been able to expand my knowledge and mentality of the healthcare process and those that are involved in it, outside of the healthcare setting. 

            Course goals and personal goals were attained during this course. The course goals specified in our syllabus included the nurse role in meeting emergent needs, exploring history, legality, social aspects, and nursing practice of the healthcare setting, predict, plan, analyze, implement public health surveillance, etc. These goals were met mostly because of the research the course would prompt us to explain. The prompted course work would set the foundation of the research, but the actual research part would open the doors of endless information on the subject and would lead up to different topics that were different, yet relatable to the information of the foundation. This method was able to help me build on top of information already known or learned and expand the knowledge previously acquired and was able to continue expanding my knowledge on the subject. The relevance of the topics with today’s modern concerns and realistic factors made it interesting to continue the research, making this course a breeze for me. 

            The information gained in this community health nursing course will be always an influence in the day to day living and career practice. I’m now able to evaluate my community and the people included in it, such as senior citizens, LGBT, and communicable diseases, and have an understanding of the amount of work, research, and planning that went behind some of the simplest situation. With a greater understanding of the community, I could impact those around me with basic facts and knowledge with the hopes of one day preventing a disease or reducing the risk of contracting a communicable disease in my community. 

2) The objectives for this course are:  1) to examine nursing roles to meet the health needs of individuals, families, communities, and populations.  I learned how to evaluate and anticipate the needs of people, families, and communities and to develop a plan of care to help meet their needs.  As it related to my current practice I am aware of the needs of patients and their families once they are discharged from the hospital post operatively.  2) To explore historical, legal, social, cultural, political, and economic forces that influence care.  I learned that it is sometimes out of the hands of patients and their families.  Patients and their families are sometimes forced to live lifestyles that leave them more prone to certain health risks.  During this course I was able to see certain lifestyles are at higher risk for healthcare issues than others and ways the community health nurse can assist in prevention and treatment.  3) Predict lifestyle trends that effect healthcare and future challenges of nurses.  Although it is still frustrating that some illnesses and lifestyles can be prevented easily and patients choose to continue to expose themselves to certain lifestyles it is not always the patient choice.  The public health nurse can provide education needed to those who are willing to change to promote a healthier living environment and lifestyle.  5) Plan, analyze, implement, and evaluate public health monitoring and outbreak investigation.  I learned the importance of the community health nurse and their role during infectious disease outbreaks and how their involvement can have a positive impact on those affected by the disease and disease prevention in others. 6) Develop strategies to deliver nursing care during disaster management.  I think this was my favorite assignment was the week we developed the plan for disaster management.  I do not know if it because of the time I spent working as an emergency room nurse or because my husband is involved in emergency management.  I guess deep down I am an adrenaline junky and being involved in the preparation triggered that.  I have enjoyed these last few weeks with everyone, good luck to you all on your future endeavors.  Best wishes!  Florence Nightingale was a consummate advocate for population health (Clark, 2015).  Which to me means community health nurses has been a part of nursing since the beginning.