Public Health Nurse

Title : Registered Nurse Public Health

Employee Working Location : In-person (Across Canada)

Employment status : Casual

Salary band : $24.48 - $52.02 / hour

The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) one of the most inspirational not-for-profit organizations on this planet and an awardee on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers 2024 - is seeking a Registered Nurse Public Health to join our Canadian Operations, Health in Emergencies, Health Human Resources Programming team.

We are guided by our Fundamental Principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

We help people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and support them in strengthening their resilience.

Starting with the hiring process, we are committed to having an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free work environment where everyone can reach their full potential.

We encourage all qualified persons who share our values and want to contribute to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace to apply.

The incumbent will be reporting to Site Manager / Clinical Lead / Local Health Partner / Health Roster Managers, and under the clinical leadership of the Health in Emergencies, the Public Health Nurse (PHN) will deploy to different clinical settings in their province or territory and / or across Canada to support local health authorities or communities.

The role will include providing direct clinical care to beneficiaries and may require the ability to practice independently in low resources settings and may be located in communities without an onsite Physician or diagnostics team.

Virtual support would be provided in this case. There may be opportunities to be assigned to a different role based on clinical experience.

The PHN role focuses primarily on maternal / child health, school health, communicable disease, and immunization programs to improve the health of the population and assist the partner in meeting their public health needs

In this role, you will :

• Complete the appropriate CRC Learning Pathway required for deployment
• Complete Site-Specific Training as outlined / required by the partner
• Obtain licensure for the province / territory where being deployed to
• Ensure all certifications / licensures / resume are current
• Ensure professional indemnity coverage through CNPS current
• Adhere to any prerequisite medical requirements

The Public Health Nurse provides health promotion, disease prevention, education, assessment, counseling, and consultation services to individuals, groups, and communities within the framework provided by the health partner including but not limited to the following :

Assessments and interventions across the life span, including clinical assessment during perinatal, postpartum and newborn visits.

Services may be offered in communities, homes, schools, and various outreach locations.

• Provide infant feeding support and education.
• Perform infant, child, youth, and family care through consultation, education, and service coordination including early identification and intervention of developmental concerns through directing appropriate referrals.
• Planning, delivering, and evaluating childhood and school-age immunization programs as well as adult and elder booster programs
• Provide health education on various topics such as immunization, chronic disease prevention, safety, healthy lifestyle, reproductive health for adolescents and adults, and more.
• Ongoing testing, diagnosis, treatment, and contact tracing for communicable disease processes.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary team members, community care partners, and patient families to develop plans of care and address the needs of the patient and / or community.
• Ability to consult MDs over the phone and provide SBAR reports to ensure full clinical picture and appropriate intervention.
• Demonstrate awareness of culture and traditions and incorporate this knowledge into practice, to provide culturally safe care at all times.
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-cultural setting, ensuring that CRC Fundamental Principles are acknowledged and maintained during patient and employee interactions

Public Health Emergency

• Provides communicable disease surveillance and intervention through epidemiological principles including outbreak management and identifying reportable diseases.
• Provide community guidance on outbreak management in collaboration with Health team.
• Provide TB programming appropriate for the TB epidemiology and protocol within community of placement.
• These duties complement the key tasks and responsibilities of each staff member and are in addition to the specific mandate of the operation :
• Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross / Red Crescent Principles :
• Abide by and work in accordance with the CRC Policies, Protocols and Procedures
• Contribute to a positive team environment and service excellence to meet the needs of beneficiaries
• Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager
• During Health and Human Resource deployment - Review and understand polices and protocols set out by Government partner and practice within scope.
• Practice in accordance with the care standards of professional practice as outlined by your relevant provincial college of nursing regulatory body
• Provide clinical support to the health response in accordance with the clinical setting deployed to
• Perform ongoing public health and / or clinical care duties, with the support of the multi-disciplinary team, to clients with a variety of illnesses / diseases
• Follow processes and regulations as per local health authority guidance including, but not limited to, informed consent, infection control and correct documentation

What we are looking for :

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or Bachelor of Nursing (BN), or BNI (DEC-BAC)
• Current Health Care Provider CPR or BLS
• Minimum 2 years of experience in a Public Health Nurse role, or a certificate in Public Health Nursing, or equivalent within the last 3 years
• Experience living / working in Indigenous communities in Canada is an asset.
• Fluency in English and in Quebec fluency in French is required. Bilingual is preferred.
• Experience working in TB programs and DOT
• Mental Health First Aid / ASIST
• Experience living or working in a cultural context other than their own and / or in remote and isolated communities in Canada is an asset
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Skills Online courses, Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and Canadian Health
• Able to travel to destinations province-wide or nation-wide and to provide a 2-4 weeks minimum / year of deployment availability;

there is a preference for those able to commit to longer periods and / or multiple deployments

• Ability to coordinate with authorities and foster effective working relationships with health stakeholders at various levels
• Strong analytical, organizational and time management skills
• Resilience and adaptability to changing circumstances and an evolving environment
• Commitment to gender equality and social inclusion

Working Conditions :

• Difficult and demanding both physically and psychologically working conditions are expected, including the following :
• Due to dynamic nature of an emergency and proximity to epidemic / pandemic affected area, issues with access and mobility and strict protocols and procedures.
• Long hours of work in demanding context with limited resources
• Potential for exposure to communicable disease (TB, Covid, etc.), bodily fluid, and hazardous materials that can result in potential health risks to the incumbent.
• Living conditions vary by deployment. When deployed to remote, northern nursing stations, the following can be expected : very basic living conditions including group living and shared accommodations ,potential for placement in community with non-potable water, potential for placement in community with water shortages and / or frozen plumbing for days at a time.
• Exposure to extreme weather
• If requested by CRC clinical support team, must complete any pre or post deployment screening ( ie. TB screening, Covid testing)
• Must ensure all prescription medications are up to date and supply will be sufficient for duration of deployment.
• A valid provincial driver’s licence is required.
• Eligibility to work in Canada : At this time, we welcome applications from candidates eligible to work in Canada. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, we encourage you to carefully review your visa to find out whether you are eligible to work in the job you are considering applying for.

Refer to our FAQ for more information.

• If you are selected for this role, you will be required to complete a successful pre-employment screening process which includes a satisfactory Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC).
• As a health care provider, you may be required to provide a health attestation regarding vaccination history depending on deployment / partner requests.

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible - those who apply after the selection process has started may be held for a second review if needed OR reviewed for alternative roles.

We appreciate the time and effort it takes to apply and thank you in advance.