Before I entered into the DNP-FNP program, I never gave much thought to preventative, population, or community health. I spent my years as a nurse working in the ED and ICU, so I was always focused on returning patients to health, not prevention of disease. It wasn’t until we began discussing the differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention that I realized how great a span of healthcare that my career as an FNP would cover. I thought as an FNP that I would spend my days analyzing patient symptoms and handing out cures. It was during the course Population Health and Epidemiology in Advanced Practice that I realized how important my role would be in population health. This would mean evaluating each of my patients and determining what preventative health measures would apply best to them. I have found during my clinical practice that handouts are a quick way to provide education and that a 1-2 page handout not only improves adherence to treatment regimens, but it also prompts them to share their new knowledge with friends and family. I have therefore provided two handouts I created: one on Vitamin D and the other on Osteoporosis.

A very important aspect covered in two different classes was the reiteration that my role as a primary care provider in the military health system can have far-reaching effects. For both classes, we were required to complete group projects related to health in other countries. For Care of the Military Member, each member of the class performed medical threat assessments of an assigned country that would cover all health hazards that might be encountered by members of our military should they be deployed there for any reason. For this assessment, we were to analyze the health infrastructure, the prevalence of any community health problems, and environmental threats. We then created presentations and briefed a military general on the threat assessments of those specific regions. This was not just an academic exercise, but rather a very real example of something I might be called to do at any time in the future. For that project, I have provided my individual paper, “Medical Threat Analysis of Fiji”, and the group project, “Medical Threat Analysis of the South Pacific.”

For Population Health and Epidemiology, we completed a similar task as a group, but this time we were to look at how the military would respond for a humanitarian relief effort to a country devastated by a natural disaster. We first crafted a paper to present to a team that would be part of a Humanitarian Health International Team to Cuba by analyzing the population, health care infrastructure, and endemic health concerns, in addition to what potential government and non-government partners they might be working alongside. Then, we created the presentation “U.S. Response to a Cholera Outbreak in Cuba” to be given to military members outlining what their response might be to an earthquake in Cuba, specifically after there had been an outbreak of cholera. This object was to educate responding teams what to watch for, how to protect themselves, and what part they would play in quelling the outbreak and restoring clean drinking water. Finally, we created a handout on cholera to be placed throughout the living quarters and medical facilities of military members to remind them how to protect themselves and patients from cholera.