The family is the nucleus of civilization.

–Ariel and Will Durant: Wisdomquotes.com

The family is the smallest unit of the society and the natural fundamental core of the community and
consequently, it is considered as the primordial recipient of the nursing effort, which is contributory to
the development, and progress of the community through active involvement and self – responsibilities
of each constituent. It is composed of persons, male and female, being molded to be as one, working
hand in hand to maintain a good atmosphere among the family members.

A nucleus controls the functions of the entire cell and can be thought as the “command center” of the
cell. The nucleus as well has different components which are all needed in order for it and the cell to
function well, same as with the “commander” or the head of the family and the members who has
different functions within the family.

The impression or status of each family will always affect the status of the community as a whole.
Community health nursing is a response to the health needs of the people. It does not focus on a
particular class or family. It is comprehensive and general in approach. Community health service is not
episodic as it requires continuous observation and monitoring of the community as a whole. Promotion
and preservation of the health of its different clients (individual, family, group or community) is the
primary goal of community health nursing.

The community is a group of people sharing geographic boundaries and/or values and interests.
(Maglaya, 2004) No two communities are alike. A nurse exposed in the community learns how to
interact and adapt to different kinds of people. The family is considered as the basic unit of care in the
community health nursing. It is in the family where a member develops his health values, beliefs and
practices. The family is a major influence in the health behaviors of an individual. With this, it is
important that families in a community are aware of the things and practices pertaining to their health.

It is apt to say that community health nursing has a big role in the nursing education. It is in the
community where the student nurse learns nursing apart from the hospital setting as she was exposed
to different level of orientation. It is in the community where the saying “nursing is an art” can be
applied as a student nurse tries to give quality service using the available resources in the health center.

`Conducting a family case study is a means by which student nurse reaches and feels the community
through its basic structure – the family. It is a tool in determining the health status of a family through
assessment and critical inspection. Through this, health related problems are identified, thus giving the
student nurse a hint on where to act and how to intervene. It is also a means towards improving the
health of the community people, making them more productive. To come up with a family case study
gives a sense of fulfillment to a student nurse as she was given the opportunity to share their skills,
knowledge and time to alleviate and uplift the living condition of a family. The family that was chosen by
the student nurse is a picture of the majority of the family here in our country: a family living in a poor
environmental condition without enough resources and lacks knowledge on vital health information and
experiences other socio-economic related problems. Though tiring as it is, reaching out to this family
and mingling with them makes the student nurse feel the sense of fulfillment as she share her
knowledge, skill and time to aid in uplifting the condition of the family