Public Health Nurse - Family & Child Health

Position Summary

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This is advanced professional public health nursing work with team leader components.

An employee in this class provides public health nursing services at the full performance level to individuals and their families by teaching and demonstrating principles and techniques of healthful living in clinics and homes. Work is done on a generalized public health nursing basis in an assigned service area or clinic and includes assisting with the guidance of new staff and nursing students. Work is performed independently with guidance and/or advice from a supervisor on unusual or complex problems, who observes work performed and reviews records and reports.

Overview:

Fringe Benefits

• Paid holidays, personal days, vacation and sick leave benefits, medical coverage and dental benefits, a retirement plan, life insurance and a deferred compensation plan after eligibility requirements have been met.

Perks Working for ACHD

• Professional growth through training opportunities (CPR, First AID, Public Health Preparedness, Dignity and Respect, Points of Dispensing, and more); ability to advance in county system; job security; meaningfulness in daily work derived from public service; eligible for federal loan forgiveness; organizational commitment to ACHD’s mission to protect, promote, and preserve the health and well-being of all Allegheny County residents, particularly the most vulnerable.

Duties:

• Teaches and demonstrates principles and techniques of disease prevention and health maintenance.
• Takes and evaluates a health history; attains and maintains specific skills in performing basic physical assessments.
• Recognizes health needs, stressing importance of prevention of illness, and giving anticipatory guidance in growth and development.
• Advocates continuing treatment and health supervision in chronic illness and assists patients in securing medical and related services.
• Assists patients in following prescribed health care, assessing family situation and making appropriate nursing care plan.
• Participates in communicable disease programs, doing epidemiologic studies, and assisting with patient care, and interpreting the transmission of disease.
• Coordinates health services in hospitals, agencies and the community.
• Works with community groups and organizations on public health nursing aspects of public health programs.
• Participates in planning and conducting educational programs for staff, students, observers, etc.
• Response to Public Health Emergency as requested.
• Performs related work as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Knowledge of:

• Knowledge of the basic principles, practices and techniques of professional nursing.
• Knowledge of the principles, practices and objectives of public health nursing, their application to specific diseases and their implications of social conditions.
• Knowledge of the resource available to persons in need of health services and ability to use them.
• Knowledge of the effects of illness on patients and family and on home environmental conditions.

Skill in:

• Nursing
• Case Management
• Interpersonal Communication
• Medical Education
• Consultation
• Nursing Documentation
• Community Engagement
• Data Entry
• Policy Analysis
• Team Building
• Microsoft Office

Ability to:

• Ability to teach basic principles of home nursing care and prevention of disease.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, patients and families.
• Ability to delegate tasks and provide guidance to other staff or students.
• Ability to orient inexperienced staff and other personnel to public health nursing practice.
• Ability to keep accurate records and prepare statistical reports.
• Ability to work with community groups and organizations.
• Ability to travel to and from work locations to carry out assigned responsibilities.
• Competent knowledge and use of Microsoft Office programs including Access, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel and other database programs.
• Competent knowledge and use of electronic medical record keeping.
• Ability to represent ideas effectively, concisely and accurately, both orally and in writing and present themselves in a professional manner.
• Must be able to work in a team environment.
• Ability to respond to emergencies.

Residency: Allegheny County within 1 year.
Veterans' Preference: Will be awarded to eligible candidates.