Occupational Health Nursing

Roles and Responsibilities of occupational health nursing

The occupational health nurse observes and cares for the community group,
business, or organization as a whole (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012). The occupational
health nurse is in place to monitor the potential hazards within the workplace
including physical, chemical and other workplace hazards. Preventative measures
are completed at the occupational health level to keep the workforce healthy. The
clients focused within this specialty are the employees of different corporations.

Educational Programs
Thompson and Wachs (2012) explains that occupational health nurses can
assist employers in controlling healthcare costs and maintaining business health by
developing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion and disease and injury
prevention programs and services for specific workers. The programs initiated can
focus on weight loss and other disease screenings. There may be other programs
within the community that can be used to help these efforts.

Credentials, certifications, and requirements

Occupational health nurses are typically registered nurses and then continue
their education further. An estimated 2,464 occupational health nurses have
advanced practice certifications and almost half of the occupational health
population hold national nursing certificates. The American Association of
Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) has identified 11 professional practice
standards that describe a competent level of performance with regard to the
nursing process and professional roles of the occupational and environmental
health nurse (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012).

Most interesting
The most interesting thing I discovered about occupational health is how
involved some programs can be with their associates. The occupational health
department at my organization isn’t very large or involved but I have also worked at
Dow Corning and this occupational health program was very large in involved with
the associates.

References

Harkness, G. A., & DeMarco, R. F. (2016). Community and Public Health Nursing (2nd
ed., pp. 364-370). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Thompson, M., & Wachs, J. (2012, March). Occupational Health Nursing in the United
States [Electronic version]. Workplace Health and Safety, 60(3), 127-133.