Public Health Nursing –Article Review
The article, “An exploratory survey of public health nurses’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies,” is, in most ways, a typical prototype discussing Public Health Nurses’ (PHNs) expertise. In achieving this, the article explores the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and the use of the Quad Council Competencies of the PHNs. According to the report, 308 PHNS are sampled, and a descriptive design is utilized in testing the hypothesis (Harmon et al. 2020). The article presents its audience with the analysis of variance to measure disparities in the nurses’ expertise, based on years of working experience and level of education. Results reveal apparent differences in the attitudes, skills, knowledge, and use of the Quad potencies in these nurses. PHNs nurses with longer working experiences and higher education levels demonstrate a higher proficiency when compared to those with fewer working backgrounds and low levels of education. Thus, from the article, it can be argued that the proficiency of PHNs, increases with the number of years served in the profession.
The article includes specific recommendations for improving the productivity of the PHNs. It argues that while the disparities in expertise provide diverse approaches to health care, they could result in unintended consequences such as holding negative attitudes towards individual patients. Thus, the authors propose that PHNs should strive to fulfill the standardized levels of skills, knowledge, attitudes, and employment of Quad conventions as required by the American Nurses Association. Examples would include taking refresher courses and remaining sensitive to all cultures. With such, the article is highly recommended for individuals who seek to learn more about public health nursing because it breaks with the paradigm that public health nurses have varying proficiency.
References
Harmon, M., Joyce, B. L., Johnson, R. (G. H., Hicks, V., Brown‐Schott, N., Pilling, L., … Brownrigg, V. (2020). An exploratory survey of public health nurses’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies. Public Health Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12716