Public Health Nurse

What is a public health nurse?

As a public health nurse at KFL&A Public Health, Nicole assesses the health needs of the community and works towards the development of programs and services to meet those needs. 

Along with her colleagues, Nicole has the passion to help prevent youth and young adults from starting smoking, to support people who want to quit smoking and help advocate for tobacco-free policies both locally and provincially. 

One on one counseling of a KFL&A area resident who was seeking help in his attempt to quit smoking. Putting a smoking cessation plan in place.

KFL&A area residents can call the Tobacco Information Line for information on quitting smoking, tobacco and the law, community resources, and other tobacco issues.

A typical day in the life as a public health nurse:

Nurses work on a variety of different teams at KFL&A Public Health. As a member of the chronic disease and injury prevention team, Nicole provides education about the effects of tobacco to youth and young adults in the elementary, secondary and post-secondary school settings. She answers the Tobacco Information Line to support people who want to quit smoking and find resources for them in the community. Workplaces can call KFL&A Public Health to help support staff to quit smoking and establish smoke-free policies for their employees. The outcome of smoke-free policies are huge on so many levels of health within our communities workplaces because if we can help to decrease the number of people who start smoking and support people who are smoking, illnesses and death caused by tobacco will also decrease. 

Since starting her public health career eight years ago, Nicole has learned a lot of different skills as a nurse to support her daily work using a comprehensive health approach, including: educating and supporting patients in different settings, project management, policy building and supporting comprehensive workplace health policies within organizations. 

The KFL&A Public Health Immunization Team provides thousands of publicly funded immunizations to the public through clinics and in the school setting.	Presentations are an important part of a public health nurse's job to facilitate discussion and inform the public about the health of our communities.