It’s not a surprise when many of you would ask, is occupational health nursing field really existing? It may not be familiar to a lot of people just like the other fields of nursing such as in hospitals or clinic where illnesses are being cured, but yes it’s really existing, and it’s a significant field where nurses can have a great impact to the health and safety of the working community.
Occupational health nursing is a field in nursing which focuses on promoting and maintaining the highest degree of physical, mental, and social well-being among employees or workers in different workplace settings.
Some of the roles they have includes the prevention of hazards in the workplace, managing employee health, responding to emergencies in the workplace, and promoting health and practices among the employees. OHNs are usually found in corporate workplaces, industrial, manufacturing, healthcare clinics and etc.
Below are important roles of occupational health nurses that are beneficial to the employees and the organization they work with:
- Employee health consultations – OHNs help employees to manage their health and wellness. The employees can easily reach out to an occupational health nurse if they feel unwell while at work. Just like in hospitals, nurses here also perform their traditional duties like assessing the patient, identifying the problem, planning and implementing appropriate nursing interventions.
- Assessing employee health – Implementing screening programs and evaluations such as the APE or annual physical exams to employees in identifying health risks that may affect their performances at work. It also helps both the management and the employee to arrange tasks that is appropriate to the health of the employee.
- Providing education and training programs – Facilitate in teaching the employees with regard to managing their health and staying safe while at work. This is dependent on the job description set by the management, some companies or organization have a separate department that focuses on this.
- Ensuring workplace safety – Implementing and monitoring safety programs to prevent the occurrence of injuries and illnesses. OHNs see to it that the working environment of employees are free from hazards that can affect their health and wellness.
- Promote overall health – Creating programs that aim to improve employee health and well-being, such as managing stress, nutrition, and physical activities.
- Regulatory compliance – making sure that workplace practices are in line with the legal and regulatory health and safety standards. It also maintains that business especially medium to large business should have their own occupational health management.
- Dealing with return-to-work programs of employees – Assist injured workers in their recovery stage and helping them return to work after they regain their health. It is a must that after the employee was sent home due to health issues, he she needs to submit a fit to work clearance which indicates that he/she is already able to perform work again.
Occupational health nurses work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to bring optimum employee health. The goal is to help both the employee and the organization in creating a work environment which enhances productivity and minimize health related costs.
