Why do Nurse-Family Partnership nurse home visitors have to be nurses?
Pregnant women have many questions and concerns about their health and the baby’s health, and highly value the expertise that nurses can bring to them during this critical life transition. This helps attract families to the program, and retain their involvement. The educational background, preferably baccalaureate, of nurses make them ideally prepared to conduct the strengths-focused assessment and teaching that is part of much of the program, and to exercise good judgment in tailoring the program to keep it relevant to each family’s interests. Research on client perceptions of different professionals has revealed that nurses are the most trusted profession. Since participation in the program is voluntary, and relies heavily on developing a relationship with each family that is trusted and highly valued by the family, NFP chose a profession perceived by the target audience as trustworthy and knowledgeable. Working in families requires skill, professionalism and sensitivity, and well-tr
