What does a public health nurse do?

A Public Health Nurse maintains the public's health through providing health services and information. They promote a healthy lifestyle, take part in health campaigns, and educate and inform the public about issues, such as preventing disease.
Public health nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public health nurse resumes:
- Participate in manage care activities to produce health change, specifically providing diabetes education and lifestyle counseling in chronic disease areas.
- Assist in application of traction devices.perform routine tests such as urine dip stick, vision and hearing tests.
- Dispense medications and provide education for TB patients.
- Provide basic CPR classes at the community level as well.
- Produce and conduct staff classes such as CPR, respiratory protection, infectious diseases, etc.
- Instruct family in the care and rehabilitation of patient, maintenance of health and prevention of disease for family members.
- Develop PowerPoint presentations per CDC leadership request and direction.
- Conduct contact investigations, identify and screen individuals expose to active TB.
- Maintain required documentation for vaccination and listing allergies as per state requirements.
- Assess, plan, implement and evaluate clients discharge from hospital or rehabilitation facilities.
- Provide specific CPPW data/information to CDC leadership for the development of large scale/final comprehensive reports.
- Assess immunization status and administer vaccines and immunizations as deemed appropriate by age, gender and other recommendations.
- Coordinate multidisciplinary care of patients with physicians, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapist; and social workers.
- Provide patient/family education on topics including basic nutrition, teen pregnancy, infectious and contagious disease, and immunization shots.
- Provide nurse case management and education for individuals with infectious diseases that may threaten the community including tuberculosis and hepatitis.
Public health nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Public Health Nurses are proficient in Community Health, Patients, and Health Education. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Public Health Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Community Health, 10%
Assessed individuals and conducted community health screenings and needs assessments that improved patient access to information and services.
- Patients, 9%
Coordinated multidisciplinary care of patients with physicians, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapist; and social workers.
- Health Education, 8%
Created and presented bimonthly health education seminars to further aid health education and motivation towards achieving a healthy and safe lifestyle.
- CPR, 6%
Produced and conducted staff classes such as CPR, respiratory protection, infectious diseases, etc.
- Communicable Diseases, 5%
Conducted research on Communicable Diseases and collaborated with senior management to implement programs and policies based on findings.
- Home Health, 3%
Managed daily operations and supervised home health agency staff.
Most public health nurses use their skills in "community health," "patients," and "health education" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential public health nurse responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a public health nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a public health nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "coordinated logistics and communication network for population-based immunization and screening services. "
Compassion. Many public health nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a public health nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways public health nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "established a compassionate environment by providing emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to patients. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of public health nurses is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday public health nurse duties, as "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "oriented, supervised, and completed performance evaluations for home health aides. "
Emotional stability. For certain public health nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "emotional stability." The day-to-day duties of a public health nurse rely on this skill, as "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what public health nurses do: "counselled and guided individuals and families towards self-help in recognition and solution of physical, emotional and environmental health problems. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in public health nurse job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what public health nurses do. Public health nurse responsibilities rely on this skill because "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." You can also see how public health nurse duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "provide episodic onsite occupational health nursing services in varied organizational settings. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to public health nurse responsibilities. Much of what a public health nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of public health nurses: "perform basic adult health physicals on women and men in the family planning and std clinics. "
The three companies that hire the most public health nurses are:
- Northwest Health16 public health nurses jobs
- Change Healthcare14 public health nurses jobs
- Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic12 public health nurses jobs
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Public health nurse vs. Nurse clinician
A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between public health nurses and nurse clinician. For instance, public health nurse responsibilities require skills such as "community health," "health education," "communicable diseases," and "community resources." Whereas a nurse clinician is skilled in "emergency situations," "patient outcomes," "educational programs," and "acls." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Nurse clinicians really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $73,633. Comparatively, public health nurses tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $63,393.On average, nurse clinicians reach similar levels of education than public health nurses. Nurse clinicians are 2.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Public health nurse vs. Clinical consultant
A Clinical Consultant ensures that proper patient care is delivered through performing work flow analysis of the services provided. They consult and work directly with clinical, non-clinical, and vendor support personnel.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, public health nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "community health," "health education," "cpr," and "communicable diseases." Meanwhile, a clinical consultant has duties that require skills in areas such as "patient care," "customer service," "critical care," and "patient outcomes." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Clinical consultants may earn a higher salary than public health nurses, but clinical consultants earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $85,773. On the other hand, public health nurses receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $63,393.In general, clinical consultants achieve higher levels of education than public health nurses. They're 13.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for public health nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Public health nurse vs. Contractor-registered nurse
A contractor-registered nurse is responsible for taking care of patients in a medical facility or a similar setting under a contractual arrangement. Their responsibilities are no different from regular registered nurses. They also administer medicines, assist patients and their families, manage schedules, monitor patient conditions, update charts, maintain accurate records, and work full-time. Furthermore, they must coordinate with physicians and other health experts in creating and executing care plans for patients, all while maintaining an active communication line.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from public health nurse resumes include skills like "community health," "cpr," "communicable diseases," and "community resources," whereas a contractor-registered nurse is more likely to list skills in "bls," "icu," "compassion," and "acls. "
Contractor-registered nurses earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $145,371. Public health nurses earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $63,393.Most contractor-registered nurses achieve a similar degree level compared to public health nurses. For example, they're 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public health nurse vs. Registered nurse supervisor
A Registered Nurse Supervisor oversees a team of registered nurses in a hospital or clinic, making sure that all operations are efficient and up to standard. Moreover, they are responsible for the daily management of nurses, such as when it comes to evaluation, development, and assigning schedules and patients. Aside from supervising and ensuring that everything is running smoothly in their field, they also have to communicate and coordinate with physicians and even families of patients. The responsibilities of a Nurse Supervisor is challenging; this is why they must be proactive and excellent at communication.
Types of public health nurse
Updated January 8, 2025











