Community Nursing and Teen Pregnancy - Assignment Example

Community Nursing and Teen Pregnancy Introduction When saddler made the ment that community nurses are the pillar of the communities, he was right. Community nurses ensure that there is comprehensive nursing given to all ranges of health requirements needed by clients anywhere in the communities from the primary health clinics to the community health centers, local councils, public health units, clients’ homes to universities and schools. Community nurses help families in preventing diseases, treating existing health issues and maintain their health. Out of the service that they give whole heartedly, they support, maintain and promote the independence, healthy lifestyle and safety of the patients. Community nurses usually work across diverse areas as they provide the primary health care needed throughout people’s lifespan. Particularly, one area that I would like to diversify in is community nursing and teenage pregnancy. Research indicated that 50% of United States teenagers aged between 14 years and 19 years are sexually active and more than 1.24 million unintended or unwanted pregnancy incidences occur annually (CDC, 2004). The prevalence of teenage pregnancy is a cause of alarm to all health practitioners. More to this, there are additional reasons as to why teenage pregnancy should be given substantial attention. The abortion law has failed to deter teen pregnancy as more teenagers can perform abortion without putting into consideration the adverse health effects that are associated with the act. With this and more reasons outlined below, I believe that I have an exemplary role to play in mitigating teenage pregnancy and if I meet the needed educational requirements, I will be able to take my course and help teenagers reduce and cope with teenage pregnancy. Reasons for my Interest in Community Nursing, Teen Pregnancy The Need to Mitigate Negative Teenage Pregnancy Children given birth to by teen mothers are physically and socially disadvantaged. The young, low-income and unmarried parents are likely to offer inadequate pre-natal care and children are likely to be born with complications such as low birth weight or infant death. Teenage mothers are unable to keep up with their academic performance and exhibit poor performance in standardized tests hence limiting their chances of graduating and having fulfilling careers. As a result, they lack a regular source of revenue because most jobs demand skills which they lack because of inadequate educational qualifications. Research also shows that most teenage mothers risk repeated pregnancy and teen fathers often involve themselves in risky behavior. Furthermore teenage mothers are mostly low income earners compared to their male counterparts. These make the teen parents more susceptible to stress and other mental health problems as they have few economic resources. It is estimated that even though the young teenagers might be interested in marriage when the baby is being born, 80% barely keep romantic connections and hence, their relationships die. Nevertheless, most young teenagers have less or no emotional and financial support from the infants’ fathers and raise their children in poverty and without their parents. As a result, children grow in unfriendly environment thus limiting their chances of developing well and living a healthy life. This is a call for alarm and I believe that as a community nurse, I will be able to help teenage mothers and help prevent many from becoming teenage mothers (Nock, 2005). Sensitivity of Teenage Pregnancy Sex issues are emotionally charged and therefore present ethical decisions and dilemmas that make tackling sensitive topics like negotiating safe sex, abstaining, having a child and abortion difficult for most community nurses to talk about. As a community nurse specializing in the area, one is required to deliver non-judgmentally and respond to the client’s sensitive needs. One should therefore have respect for autonomy such as allowing the teenagers to make and share decisions concerning their lives, make sure that what one does is for the benefit of the teenager and will not harm them, and ensure that teenagers are treated well and offered the services needed irrespective of their race and economic status. I believe that for one to address such sensitive issues, one must examine one’s beliefs in regard to teenager sexuality. In this case, I believe in saying no to sex before marriage but at the same time, I am inclined to the notion that if one decides to have it, necessary precautions such as use of protection should be taken. I believe that abortion is not right but I am also inclined to the notion that if a person decides to carry out an abortion, she should do it in the safest way possible that will lessen the health risks involved as suggested by NCPP (2002). I therefore believe that my stand on teenage pregnancy will go a long way into making teenagers who are pregnant in making decisions. I will be able to explain the options such mothers have and the risks that may face them in life for them to make informed decisions. If a teenager wants to perform an abortion and has already made up her mind, it is important to inform her of the risks involved. As Saddler (2011) notes, when people are prevented from doing something bad, their thoughts incline them to take action and eventually do wrong. Once they are informed without being pressurized and after offering them alternatives to abortion, they are likely not to perform the abortion. With this, I believe that I will contribute a great deal in helping teenagers avoid pregnancy and cope with their various states. All Prevention Measures Lie With Community Nurses One of the main causes of teenage pregnancy in the United States is wrong use of contraceptives and lack of comprehensive sex education. Public schools concentrate on teaching teenagers about abstinence –only and forget to teach on safe sex behaviors and proper contraceptive use. As a result, teenagers start being sexual active with no knowledge on how to protect themselves from potential heath risks. Offering condoms and other contraceptives in schools is contested and in some states, teenagers are restricted from buying or acquiring birth control devises, pills and condoms without their parent’s consent. Some teenage pregnancies occur due to sexual assault and rape and most teenagers who succumb to their problems only to become silent in order to avoid shame and social stigmatization (Allen, 2010). As outlined through research by most health practitioners, the best solutions to the problem of teenage pregnancy include the provision of adequate medical care, teenager pregnancy education and access to contraception. Community nurses have a major role to play in giving teenagers comprehensive sex education and teaching them how to use contraceptives. As a community nurse in teenage pregnancy, I believe that sexual education will delay sexual activity because teenagers will have enough knowledge to enable them make healthy choices. A community nurse will also be able to communicate with parents in an honest and judgmental way in order to guide parents on how they can help their teens to prevent early pregnancy (Allen, 2010). Nursing Education Requirements To become a community nurse specializing in teenage pregnancy, I require to have a valid registered nurse (RN) license. To acquire the valid registered nurse license, I must have a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, also known as BSN or Associate Degree in Nursing, also known as AND. I must also ensure that I manage to pass the NCLEX-RN (NATIONAL Credentialing Licensing Exam for Registered Nurse. In most cases, a bachelor degree is preferred by employers and I would therefore wish to go for it. Afterwards, I will have to specialize in Public Health Nursing to meet the special educational requirements. I will have to study epidemiology which involves studying how diseases in a population are distributed and spread. These will encompass contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera and health issues such as heart disease, obesity, social violence, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy (Saddler, 2011). I will also study research and statistics, how I can identify the populations at risk such as girls in the case of teenage pregnancy, how I can intervene in populations in high risks such as how I can help girls who are at a risk of becoming pregnant, how I can apply the concepts of public health in order to care for the diverse group(s) and also how regulations pertaining public health nursing practice are oriented. This way, I will be able to work in different environments including a community centre, people’s homes and workplaces whereby I can access teenagers and their parents and educate them on how to prevent teenage pregnancy. Since teenage boys equally play a role in teenage pregnancy, my clients will include both teenage girls and boys. For boys, I will teach them how to use condoms, to respect girls and not to subject them to sexual assaults (Saddler, 2011). Conclusion I believe that after completion of my studies and graduating as a community health practitioner, I will be able to mitigate the negative effects of teenage pregnancy and devise more suitable ways of dealing with sensitivity in teenage pregnancy. I will be able to offer the needed solutions in preventing teenage pregnancy and I will make sure that I utilize all the preventative measures that lie within me in order to play a leading role in mitigating the occurrence of teenage pregnancy in the United States. References Allen, K. (2010). Teen Pregnancy Trends in Missouri. Retrieved on 15th January from: http://missourifamilies.org/features/adolescentsarticles/adolesfeature13.htm Center for Disease Control (2004). Preliminary births for 2004. National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved on 15th January from: www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelim_births/prelim_births04.htm  National Campaign to Prevent Pregnancy, (2002). Not just a single issue. Retrieved on 15th January from: http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/pdf/notjust.pdf   Nock, S. (2005). ‘Marriage and Child Wellbeing: The Future of Children’. Marriage as a public issue, 15, 13-32. Saddler, M.R.B. (2011).Community Health Nursing. Retrieved on 15th January from: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32005 Read More