[Promotion of and reflections on the professional image of community health nurses].

Deteriorating global economic conditions, contractions in medical service budgets, and the excessive medicalization of community service systems have marginalized the role of the community health nurse. As such, community health nursing experts have a responsibility to do their best to reconstruct a positive and active image for community health nursing. This article provides four recommended actions to promote the image of community health nurses. These include: (1) Enhance community nursing practice level and scope; (2) Promote autonomous and independent practice; (3) Facilitate cultural competence and (4) Advance education and in-service training. It is hoped that information in this article may serve as a reference for nursing researchers in making relevant plans and encourage the development of a more specialized role for community health nursing. The ultimate goal of such should be successful promotion of the professional image of community nurses and of community nursing.