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Course Reflection: NUR-4430 Public Health Nursing
Delia Johnson
Thomas Edison State University
Professor: Barbara Headly
NUR-4430
June 25th, 2025
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Course Reflection: NUR-4430 Public Health Nursing
Being a melanated woman in 2025 America, I believe that this course in public health
nursing has been both an intellectual and personal experience that will go down in history in how
I perceive the healthcare system in America, particularly in the case of marginalized individuals.
Living in a community like Newark, NJ where health disparity is not merely a figure, it is reality;
one that people that reside here do not even realize there is better or different, there is more.
Living in my community has sensitized me to the importance and much-needed nature of
culturally competent and community-focused health programs. Through this course, I have
learned and acquired the practical knowledge and theoretical armory to actively engage in
tearing down health inequities existing in the American system of public health.
The other important thing that I have learned in this course is to incorporate evidencebased practice when dealing with different populations. With the lessons learnt regarding
community and public health nursing that DeMarco and Healey-Walsh (2019) presented, I
obtained a deeper insight into the aspects of community and public health nursing that must be
guided by concrete evidence that respects the lived experiences of the people that nursing strives
to attend to. They addressed issues regarding the importance of thoroughly evaluating the social
factors of health and ensuring that the interventions are customized to the needs of every
neighborhood and culture instead of being generalized and one-size-fits- all, creating a bridge so
I can see the me inside of you.
I found the concepts of transcultural nursing particularly relevant to me. Working to
become a nurse, I am aware of my people’s perspective, how they see themselves as not heard,
not seen, and not understood in medical institutions. This course also emphasized that culturally
appropriate care is not an option but an imperative. DeMarco and Healey-Walsh (2019)
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challenged me to reflect on the relations between race, culture, historical trauma, and health
outcomes. I am now devoted to the creation of interventions to keep cultural identities in mind,
and I am also becoming a healthcare advocate who is not willing to see the needs of Black health
being neglected.
Another forceful part of my studying was the experience of the community assessment
and practice hours. Administering evaluations in actual communities made me understand that
public health is not only data-driven but also focused on listening to a story and respecting the
experience of the citizens. I could interact face-to-face with people of my background and
culture as well as many others. It hits very close to home to see how strong these marginalized
neighborhoods are, at the same time realizing the implications of the system they face and are
rarely addressed.
The principles of ethical practice and unbiased reporting developed by the American
Psychological Association (2020) also informed me to conduct community research and
engagement. Trust occurs by involving the community and designing interventions through
accurate and respectful documentation of their health requirements. This enforced the need to do
the community-based work humbly and ethically.
This course has been beneficial in sharpening my skills in public health nursing as it has
reaffirmed my substantial core value of becoming a nurse who will not only aid but will also
unapologetically advocate and seek health equity for marginalized people. I am now empowered
to read, interpret, and criticize epidemiological statistics, engage in advocacy work to achieve
structural change, and lobby community-based schemes that empower needy groups, such as the
group I am proud to belong to.
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I am parting this course with essential professional knowledge and a greater
determination to fight tooth and nail to ensure that my community has the right to access quality,
accessible, and culturally competent healthcare.
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References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.).
DeMarco, R., & Healey-Walsh, J. (2019). Community and public health nursing: Evidence for
practice (3rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
I did use Microsoft word and word hippo in writing this paper, and it may contain corrections
that inadvertently use AI.