Occupational health nursing: Nursing

Occupational health is an area of nursing specializing in promoting health and safety of individual employees and groups of workers in employment settings.

As the occupational health nurse, or OHN, you’ll identify occupational hazards, prevent illness and injury, and promote health by advocating for a safe and healthy work environment.

Okay, so, occupational health nurses operate in various workplace environments. These include manufacturing companies, corporations, construction sites, utilities, and healthcare facilities.

In many settings, occupational health nurses serve as the sole on-site healthcare professional. In other settings, like some larger companies, the occupational health nurse may work alongside other professionals like occupational physicians, compliance officers, toxicologists, and even ergonomists.

The occupational health nurse will collaborate with these team members in addition to the workers, managers, and administrators to meet the needs of organizations as well as individuals and groups of employees.

Now, in the United States, workplace regulations are guided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, which is a government agency responsible for protecting the health and safety of all workers.

Occupational health nurses will also work closely with OSHA to enforce standards and provide the education and training necessary to ensure safe working conditions.

As an occupational health nurse, your goals include identifying occupational hazards, preventing illness and injury, and promoting health by advocating for a safe and healthy work environment.

Now, in order to identify potential hazards, you’ll assess the health and safety of individual workers and the workplace as a whole.

On an individual level, start by gathering information about previous employment, past exposure to workplace hazards, and medical symptoms or ailments related to previous workplace illness or injuries.

Next, ask about present work conditions including specific responsibilities or tasks and current exposure to work-related hazards. These can include biological hazards, like a healthcare worker who is exposed to bloodborne pathogens that could lead to infections like hepatitis B and C; chemical hazards, like when a construction worker is exposed to toxic welding fumes; or physical hazards like heavy equipment operators who are exposed to vibrations, which over time can result in chronic musculoskeletal pain or even peripheral vascular and sensorineural problems.

There are also enviro-mechanical hazards, where repetitive motions can cause musculoskeletal injuries, like an office worker at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive hand and wrist movements that occur from typing and using a mouse.