LPN as OHN

Hi,

I saw one position posted in the Southern Jersey area. It was posted for quite a while. I am surmising that there are few jobs for LPN's in Occupational Health since many companies now prefer Certified Occupational Health Nurses (COHN's). To be certified, one must be an associate, baccaulaureat, or masters degree nurse to sit for the examination.

Hope this helps!

Takecarehealth.com a subsidiary of Walgreens that has contracts with 370 plants nantionwide have openings for LPN's.

In the state of NH there is a "bridge program" to move from LPN to RN in two semesters. There is likely plenty of funding to help also. You might want to look into this as an option.

But if you don't, sure you can do Occ Med work as LPN but some of your abilities might be limited. I don't think that you can do vaccinations, for instance. I also do not think (but I'm not sure--perhaps someone else can answer this) that you can do post-hire physicals which is often intergal to most jobs. But you can do certain forms of drug testing (unless State rules apply) you can become COHC and do hearing tests, and respirator fit testing.

I'd suggest that you look for a place that has a large employee base and which has a couple of RN's, then you could learn skills as you need to and there wold still be plenty of work that you can do.

Good luck.

Not true..I am an LPN. Have been one for over 20 years. I've worked for several large corporations most of which were by myself. I had the same basic nursing classes that an RN's have. I treated emergencies, gave vaccines, taught CPR and Wellness programs, took care of Workers Comp and OSHA, and did case management with and without the doctors. There is no written rule or guideline stating that you have to be an RN. The botton line is..there are nurses who know what they are doing and nurses who don't. And we all know plenty of both!

Not true..I am an LPN. Have been one for over 20 years. I've worked for several large corporations most of which were by myself. I had the same basic nursing classes that an RN's have. I treated emergencies, gave vaccines, taught CPR and Wellness programs, took care of Workers Comp and OSHA, and did case management with and without the doctors. There is no written rule or guideline stating that you have to be an RN. The botton line is..there are nurses who know what they are doing and nurses who don't. And we all know plenty of both!

This is great news for LPN's in the field of Occupational Health. Every state has different nurse practice acts that define the scope of practice. Perhaps some states are more loosely defined than others? I would check out AAOHN's website for any info on an LPN's scope of practice, and of course, your state's Nurse Practice Acts.

www.aaohn.org

I also have worked for a major company as a occ health nurse. We basically did the day to day running of the office. I performed physicals both dot and non-dot,drug screens,emergency care, and to much more to write here.

I recently was hired as a OHN, in Louisville, KY. I am a LPN. My concern is understanding the laws/regulations. From what I gather after reading the OSHA, NCSBN, & KBN guidelines, I cannot, as a LPN in the state of KY work independently with my license. Regardless of what job I take I must be under the supervision/direction of either a RN or physician. I truely hope that I am wrong. However, if it is strictly first aid, and I take on a title of Occupational Health Professional, I should be within my scope. I plan on calling the KBN for a clearer understanding once the weekend is over. In the mean time, does anyone have any light to shed on this subject.?

Does your company have a Medical Director? If so, then you are probably considered under the supervision of that person.

Absolutely LPN 's are qualified, of course depending on your BON and companies policies and procedures. I believe you would see more LPN 's working in Occupational Health Clinics rather than actually working as the sole Nurse directly in a company; and more so due to nursing diagnosis and the minor differences within the scope of practice of an LPN vs RN. Again, it is very likely to have an LPN in an OH than working alone for a company. I believe you could definitely assist an RN or Medical Director, but unfortunately not on your own.

You have to be under direction, but they don't have to be there in person. An MD (not an RN) will sign off on your protocols and as long as you don't stray from them you will be covered under his malpractice insurance. Rule of thumb, don't **** off your medical director. If he doesn't trust you under his license you will be stuck putting band aids on all day. If your director trusts you, he will slowly start allowing you to get more invasive, within the state laws of course.

I entered Occ Health for the first time two years ago and I am an LPN. As our lead RN had mental/physical issues, I ended up taking all her responsibilities that were still in my scope of practice and did wonderfully with them. I have several occupational health related certifications (obviously not the COHN cert) and have done a wide variety of things including: travel medicine (I was backed and checked by an MD), resp fit testing, ran the hearing conservation program for a huge plant, ran the DOD/NON-DOD/DOT drug programs, Hep B program (again backed and checked by an MD), drug testing and breath alcohol technician. I also tracked employees with perm/temp restrictions, assisted employees with filling out worker's comp papers, triaged people under the supervision of the RN, minor trauma, helped employees fill out injury reports, and did the pre physical (blood work, urine, hearing, vision, etc) work for employees who worked with dangerous chemicals. I also worked directly with EHS, the company, and it's two unions on a regular basis. I did A LOT for it being my first occ health job. But this was because as i said the lead RN was often incapacitated and my own boss suffered from a heart issue so I had to take on a lot of roles since both were in and out of the office. I was always under the direction of an MD mostly because the RN's were always available. I am IV certified but since we took people in emergencies (We also operate as an urgent care for just the plant employees) I left the IV's up to the NP. We rarely had them order but when it was, it was usually in a emergent situation, and I am not highly proficient in IV's as i am in blood draws.