Profession

 

The Profession of Public Health Nurses

A public health nurse is an expert in nursing care that specializes in the fields of public health nursing, health promotion, and public health work throughout the various stages of people’s lives. Public health nurses have a unique key position in primary health care as experts of preventive health care. Public health nurses meet people at every stage of their lives.

Public health nursing focuses on preventing illnesses while promoting and maintaining health by working with individuals, families, communities, occupational groups, and the population at large. It aims to strengthen individuals’ own resources and improve self-care.

The profession of public health nurses has a long tradition in Finland and their work is valued highly by the public. The work performed by public health nurses is very independent, although multidisciplinary cooperation with professionals from other industries is very essential. Public health nurses are tasked with people-centered overall promotion of health. The aim is to provide people of all ages and families with individual support at an early stage.

The impact of the preventive health care services provided by public health nurses at child health clinics and schools, for example, is supported by on-going care relationships and the confidentiality based on these, which are important to the overall promotion of health. Determining the complete picture of a person’s situation and the early identification of need for support as well as the possibility of providing the person with the individual support they need is easier in a long-term care relationship. Furthermore, preventive health care is cost-efficient as it helps to avoid the higher costs associated with corrective health care.