Community/public health nursing: Is there a future for the specialty?

A proposed conceptual model of nursing and population health

“…The CMNPH emphasis on the intersection of nursing and population health may resolve the more than a century-old debate about distinctions between public health nursing and community health nursing and concerns about the continued survival of both specialties (Canales & Drevdahl, 2014).…”

Creating the Future of Public Health Nursing: A Call to Action

“…Canales and Drevdahl () recently questioned whether there is a future for the specialty of community/public health nursing (C/PHN). Their article in Nursing Outlook is an overview of 100 years of education and practice where they identify both internal and external factors, which they believe have contributed to the decline of the specialty.…”

The Dialogue Continues: The Future of Public Health Nursing

“…An editorial by Swider, Levin, and Kulbok () was published in Public Health Nursing earlier this year that provided a thoughtful response to an article by Canales and Drevdahl () published in Nursing Outlook , and provocatively titled “Community/public health nursing: Is there a future for the specialty?”. In this article, Canales and Drevdahl describe very bleak prospects for the specialty, and in a valiant attempt at saving what can be saved, they recommend two actions.…”

“…Canales and Drevdahl () argue that long‐standing confusion over identity, declining opportunities for graduate education, and poor definition of core, guiding concepts are three factors that put the specialty's future at risk. These factors are within the power of the nursing profession to address through collaborative action between public health nursing practitioners and educators to improve the accessibility of graduate education to currently practicing public health nurses which would in turn increase opportunities for clarifying identities and concepts.…”

“…In their editorial reply, Swider et al. () took opposition to Canales and Drevdahl's () recommendation that all graduate nurses be taught to practice at the population level, and suggest that public health nursing “…requires a significant paradigm shift, as well as skill development, from individual‐focused nursing practice” (p. 92), to presumably population focused nursing practice, though they do not specify exactly what public health nursing requires a shift to . They then go on to offer hope to public health nurses by stating, “It is likely that health departments will continue to decrease their role in individual‐level care, but the PHN role will be maintained in models such as the Nurse Family Partnership and in home health care…” (p. 91).…”