Occupational Health Nurse Jobs - An Information Guide

Occupational health nurses are nurses that are present for healthcare in a workplace environment. These nurses are sometimes retained in the workplace itself, and their responsibility is to tend to medical problems arising due to job hazards. The responsibility of an occupational health nurse is not only to tend to worker's health, but they also have to identify health risk situations in the workplace and notify the management to rectify those conditions.

To be an occupation health nurse, one has to be a registered nurse. They have to undergo specialized training to recognize non-conducive factors in a working environment and also how to redress those situations. For this, they have to undergo training in hazard abatement. Almost all kinds of workplaces - those pertaining to packing, manufacturing, synthesis, construction, etc - need and retain occupational health nurses in their establishments. Since the management is responsible for the health of the worker in the place of work, it becomes mandatory for them to hire occupational health nurses for safeguarding the health of their employees.

These are the work responsibilities of people in occupational health nurse jobs:

  • They have to conduct medicals for the employees before they are hired to identify their health conditions.
  • They have to tend to employees who become sick or get injured when they are at the place of work.
  • They have to conduct a risk assessment survey of the workplace from time to time.
  • They have to notify the management of potential risk factors and also suggest steps to eliminate those risks.
  • They have to train the employees in first aid methods that might be required in cases of emergency at the workplace.
  • They have to provide medical counseling and support to the workers.
  • They have to take charge in cases of emergencies at the workplace and issue orders pertaining to employee safety and life protection.

You will find vacancies for occupational health nurse jobs in places such as retail chain stores, factories, airlines and hospitals. Some private firms may not keep an in-house occupational health nurse, but could have one on the payroll for visiting the facility from time to time and giving general health advice to the workers.

An occupational health nurse job is full of responsibility and the hours too are fairly longer than other nurse jobs. An occupational health nurse would have to work close to 40 hours a week, but the pay is commensurate with the responsibility and the long working hours. Also, big institutions would keep a shift pattern of employing their occupational health nurses, which means, their hours of work would differ from one week to another. Occupational health nurses must also be ready to work weekends and holidays if their shift falls on those particular days.

For occupational health nurse jobs, you would require several skill-sets which are not needed with other nursing jobs.

Here is a list of required qualities:

  • Ability to think clearly in emergency situations
  • Ability to take command and issue life-saving instructions
  • Ability to communicate with a large number of people
  • Ability to work long hours without buckling under pressure
  • Ability to maintain health of people in a large establishment.

Taking up an occupational health nurse job is a huge responsibility. It is better to start out with small organizations with less pay before trying for the big plunge. Generally, reputed organizations would prefer their occupational health nurse jobs to be filled by registered nurses who have at least two years of working experience.