Need to interview a community health nurse asap!

Hello,

My name is Hazel S and I am currently a practicing ICU RN in the DFW area. I am attending Grand Canyon University to earn my BSN in nursing and am enrolled in Community Health Nursing. I would appreciate it if any of your community health nurses can spare a interview with me this week as part of a group project on the nurse's role in the community. Please let me know if this is a possibility and thank you for your time. DFW area or Colorado please?


Hazel S
We get these requests a lot, so if there are any other students out there who might get this kind of assignment, listen up:Part of your faculty's reason for giving you this assignment is to get you to go out there and speak to an RN face to face. A big email blast is not a substitute for shoe leather. AN is not Google. See, in nursing, you have to learn to speak to a lot of people you would not otherwise encounter; you might find yourself out of your comfort zone. This is part of nursing, a huge part. An anonymous respondent online, well, you don't really know who we are, do you? We could be the truck driving guy living next door for all you know.So if all you do about learning new things is "Go to the keyboard and hit send," then you are limiting your chances of actual learning a valuable skill you will need all your working life. Also, your faculty will not be impressed by your citation of an anonymous nurse on the internet. That said: Where will you find a nurse? Think outside the (computer) box.Local hospital: go to the staff development/inservice education office and ask one of them. They value education and will be happy to chat or to hook you up with someone who is.Go to the public health department downtown. Ditto.Go to the local school and ask to speak to a school nurse. Ditto.Go to a local clinic / physician/NP office. Ditto. Go to the local jail and ask to speak to the nurse there. Ditto.Notice all of these say, "Go to..." and not "Email..." Remember that part about meeting new people face to face and comfort zone. Go!Now. Obviously, the content of this post (which is reposted very, very often) is meant mostly for undergraduate nursing students. If you are already an RN, then you should know where to find nurses in the community, or know how to search them out. I don't know if yours is an online-only program, but my advice is the same. There is no substitute for a face-to-face interview.

I have contacted 3 agencies and have not received any response. I also do not need a lecture at this point. My class is online; we can interview via Skype and phone per our assignment.

OK, I that case, the next time you post such a request on AN, you'll know to make that clear. You can't assume that we would know that. I can see you've only just arrived here, and you probably haven't had a chance to read the information students find useful when they use this forum. You may still not get the response you seek, though, as people here are generally very careful about trying to remain anonymous. You might, though. As to your nonresponders from the agencies you called, perhaps dropping by would be more fruitful? Getting there at 0800 before everyone goes out on calls for the day? There must be a VNA or such in your area.

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!I agree with GrnTea. Have you called the city Board of health or senior center? The Red Cross? Looked for any flu or B/P clinics? Gone to a free clinic? Planned Parenthood? Elder outreach?Free clinics DFWThese are all viable sources.

I'm not sure why I am so surprised that an online nurse, GrnTea, would be just as snarky as bedside nurses. You are not trying to be helpful to me, you are trying to be admonishing; I am an adult and it is not ok. You do not get to tell me what is ok to post, not to post in an online forum. If you do not approve, do not post. I will no longer need any further "assistance" from you. Esme12, thank you for your help. The community the group has decided to go with is in Colorado and I am in Texas, so face to face (the easiest option) is not an option. I thought posting on here would broaden my chances of contacting a community nurse, however I will figure this out on my own.I joined because I needed help and as a "mature" nurse, going back to school, especially online has been difficult for me. I am new to all this as I have not been a student for years and years. However, considering the snarky response, I feel this is a community where nurse bullying is probably a common occurrence and no longer will be a part of it. signed,The Truck Driving Guy Living Next Door

But this is an anonymous board. How can you be sure you are really talking to a nurse? Why not find a clinic close to you? Skype to them? There are many schools that do not think an anonymous board is a proper interview resource. Good Luck.

Not to belabor the obvious, but I did not tell you what to post or not to post. I noted that if you had clarified your original request, you likely would not have gotten the reply we routinely give "prenursing" and early students about getting out there to speak to real nurses and why, and I understood that since you were new here, you might not have had much time to look around and know a bit about the local culture. I do wish you well.OK, in (typo in original fixed here) that case, the next time you post such a request on AN, you'll know to make that clear. You can't assume that we would know that. I can see you've only just arrived here, and you probably haven't had a chance to read the information students find useful when they use this forum. You may still not get the response you seek, though, as people here are generally very careful about trying to remain anonymous. You might, though.