Aranui Nursing Project: Community Development

¶ … Aranui Nursing Project:

Community Development and the Nurse

Nursing projects are often needed to strengthen the community. The Aranui Nursing Project, which was launched in 2003, was launched as a clinical nursing service development, as the study presented states. This project, was "based within an existing general practice setting in an area of high health need." These few words presented in the study show another important aspect of the community nurse: the need of the people for care. The analysis below will take these elements into account and thus focus on both community development and the nurse's role within it, to better illustrate the case study and its scope.

Community Development:

Meaning and Process

The project presented below was modest in its scope, which was simply to provide health access for the populations' need and promote community development. Community development means that various individuals do everything in their power to improve the community in any way possible and of course, nurses are some of the important individuals who do this kind of development. This process can include many things, some of which are described below as well as in the following list: planning services, servicing self-help groups, running support and social action groups, building community networks, participating in inter-agency meetings, undertaking needs assessment, increasing people's skills, resourcing the community to meet needs, improving quality of life, defining priorities, working towards social justice, and empowering individuals and communities. [1: "Community Development Definition." (2011). SIL International. Retrieved June 15, 2011, http://www.sil.org/anthro/communitywork.htm.] [2: Bullen, P. (2011). "Community Development." Management Resources. Retrieved June 15, 2011, http://www.mapl.com.au/comdev.htm.]

The population in need was further identified from national health statistics. In this case, the community development undertaken was badly needed, due to the lack of health resources. The meaning and process of the original plan was basically to provide the community with needed resources through a few steps. First, it was to provide three clinics each week with various appointments and access to drop-in appointments, according to the case study. Community development also includes a certain process, which begins with the community health assessment, the community health analysis, and continues with planning community health programme, implementing community health programme, and ends with evaluating community health programme. This study therefore undertook all these various steps in order to fully develop the program.

Current Nurse's Role:

The Steps

As aforementioned, the role of the nurse is also vital in the development of the program. This began by assessing community health needs and identifying health needs, then analyzing needs to promote the network, formulating a plan of action, and then working in partnership with community to put plan in place, which included such things as: providing information, providing support, advice and training, or help with funding and resources, and finally help with evaluation. These steps are vital, especially the last step which is the evaluation, and often these are included in the forefront of the various journal articles on nursing practices. Helping the community is always vital, as is finding out what one's role has been within it to better improve it for later people and instances.

In the study referenced, one can clearly see the cooperation and collaboration between various officials in many instances, for example, there is a clear collaboration between the principal of the local secondary school and the nurses. Also, it is noted that,

"Consideration of the new nursing role scope involved discussing clinical case management with an advanced rural nurse colleague […] and attending a pharmacology workshop to update skills […] activities [which] affirmed an adequate existing knowledge and skill base for safe practice."

Such considerations and courses to update oneself and necessary, and every nurse ought to do this in addition to the steps. It is, of course, very hard sometimes, as workload pressures add up, but it is necessary as well.

Conclusion

The case study referenced throughout this paper, as well as the sources utilized, all of which are referenced below, thus helped provide a clear picture of how community development should work, with a nurse within it, and how this could impact a community positively -- if the framework of this development is to be followed as afore-stated. The real outcomes of this case study, such as the fact that a nursing network has been established, sharing of information and providing mutual support was established are two of the long-term impacts that this program has had, which will contribute not only to expanding the community and helping it, but will also enable increase clinical expertise.