Introduction

A community health nursing student, Noah is interested in working in community and public health nursing upon graduation. He has had a wide variety of clinical experiences in the community. As a part of his program, he has experienced multiple community nursing settings, including a public school-based clinic, a maximum-security prison, and occupational health nursing at a large biotechnology firm. Noah recognizes that these practice settings focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and education. Noah tells his professor that in these roles, he sees the nurses making a difference in the lives of clients. In his next rotation at a local health department, Noah will help the nurse conduct a vaccine clinic and participate in emergency preparedness drills.

Community and population health nurses can work across a variety of practice settings caring for diverse clients and communities. This chapter will highlight common practice settings for community and population health nurses, such as occupational health, school health, correctional nursing, and public health departments.