RN61

Hi All, Does anyone have any tips/tricks to be a great occupational health nurse? Are there any resources out there that I can read or save to my computer as a real time resource? Currently, I utilize UpToDate and CDC guidelines. Is there anything else? Background: I have been an ER nurse for the past 5 years (additional backgrounds are camp nursing and nurse coaching). Recently I have gotten a job as an occupational health RN at a university that is closely affiliated with a hospital. I absolutely love it. I work with a full time PA-C and another full time RN (and some part time doctors). I have gotten to the point where I have learned the basics of occupational health and our policies/protocols. I want to learn more and be the best that I can be. The main parts of my job are immunization review, TB screening, respiratory protection (N95, SCBA, etc. fittings), worker's comp appointment assistance, etc.).

Just wanted to let you all know that I finally made it. 5 years ER nursing and now I am an occupational health nurse and I love it! I work at a large university (that also has a hospital affiliation) as a university employee occupational health nurse.

Hi Dareese, I noticed that this post is almost 1 year old but just in time for Summer camp! I worked at a cub scout Summer camp (day and overnight camping) in college as a first aid provider/nursing student, as a nurse when I graduated, and now I volunteer there over the summers. I love it! Camp nursing is definitely not for everyone. The pay can be less than hospital nursing. You can be constantly outside (which it looks like you have no problem with), short-staffed, and be the only one/highest medical authority when it comes to complex cases (bad if you don't like the pressure). So you have to be very confident in your decision-making. And a lot of the time, you have to use your own equipment due to budgetary concerns. On top of all of that, I ran the first aid class for the scouts since it is a requirement. I was lucky because I have a great medical director/camp doctor that I can contact for non-emergent issues and a camp director and other higher-ups that I have known for years. We trust each other which helps when it comes to decision-making for the camp, medically speaking. When I started the job, while I was in college, I worked with a school nurse and he trained me in every aspect of nursing; I give him credit for everything I have learned. Then a couple of years later he took a Summer off (since he worked there the past 10 years and wanted a break before starting NP school). So I was on my own, alone and terrified, but I came out of it stronger. I was constantly on and on-call. Open the health lodge at 0700 (but get there earlier-around 0630 to do school work), close at 2230, but I would do school work there because the wifi was amazing there so more likely I would close whenever I leave (commonly 2330-0000). Then I would be a radio call away or leave the door unlocked (depending on where I was sleeping that night while at camp) for anyone in need of medical care. My camp health lodge was basically a mini urgent care. It dealt with everything from personal/camp medication administration (camp meds are common OTC meds) throughout the day, first aid within my scope of practice and stand medication and treatment orders, occupational health center for the staff, and that first aid class I mentioned earlier (probably more but I'll save you the reading time). Some conditions I worked with are allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis), lacerations, various mental health conditions, eye pain from kids keeping their eyes open while in the pool, dehydration, abdominal pain, homesickness, and much more! I even worked with a child with hemophilia (I think) that had a nurse come by on a strict schedule for IV infusions- so I had to coordinate care with him too. I have had to send people to urgent care and the ER as needed for further care due to the complexity of care and whenever I "reasonably" run out of resources for a patient. I can talk all day about camp nursing. Honestly, for me, if it paid better and if it was full time then I would do it forever and get paid for it but it is seasonal and it may not be appealing to others because of that and the pay can be low for some. Feel free to message me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I hope that you were able to find a camp that you love and people who appreciate your care!

Thank you katkonk! That is a lot of extremely helpful information and I greatly appreciate it!

MikeCOHN, Thank you so much! That answers my questions. I did not know that nurse practitioners can be specialized in the occupational health field; that's really interesting. I will continue to do my research in this field of nursing but I am very interested in it and hope that I can join it one day.

Hello All, I apologize for the long post… I am a new registered nurse (BSN-graduated in May 2019) and I currently work in an emergency department (I have been working there since late July and on my own since November). During nursing school, an occupational health nurse did a presentation in front of my class describing what she does as an occupational health nurse and what her day to day routine could be like. After the presentation I emailed her, and I described what I did at a cub scout camp that I worked at as a nursing student over the past few summers and now I volunteer there as a nurse. This is what I sent to her: What we do there is: · I work from 0700-2230 and I am on call 24/7 (since I slept there) · Assist in training the staff on doing CPR, using an AED, and first aid (we have a certified trainer come to teach them) · Teach the first responder Webelos Adventure (which is basically a first aid class-but it does not certify them for anything) · Treat injured campers and staff and administer medications available through standing orders (Tylenol, Benadryl, Polysporin, and if needed we use epinephrine, glucose gel, etc.) o Manage care of multiple people at one time if necessary (with their consent first of course) o Triage injured staff and campers to determine who to treat first § Some conditions include: Bruises, sprains, strains, minor wound care, respiratory issues (such as asthma), fevers, headaches, rashes (from plants or sweat), burns, insect and other animal bites, GI issues, dehydration, heat-related injuries (such as heat exhaustion) menstrual periods, mental health conditions, other physical traumas o Determine if certain injured campers cannot participate in certain activities (for example, vomit or diarrhea = no pool time) o Make the decision to tell the camp director or ranger to call 911 o Call the camp doctor for non-urgent medical questions/extra orders o Go out to areas to perform first aid and determine if the person needs emergency services, need to go to an Urgent Care, or if they just need first aid · Document (electronic and paper documentation) their injuries and write incident reports and worker’s compensation forms · Perform activity safety assessments- visit each program area and evaluate its safety considerations · Make announcements to program directors when it is very hot to remind them to remind their staff and the campers to stay hydrated · Keep track of the inventory · Notify camp director when certain injuries happen often (when trends occur) such as abdominal trauma at BMX from handlebars o Potentially make the decision to close down area or perform maintenance on it when necessary for safety reasons She responded saying that what I do at the cub scout camp is very similar to what she does as well (except that she has a different patient population and potentially different injuries since she works in a different environment) which I was very happy to hear. My questions to the people of this forum are: -How much experience should I have before I switch to occupational health? Should it be 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years? -What certifications do I need to work as an occupational health nurse other than BLS? Will companies pay for my training (such as urine screenings, blood alcohol screenings, etc.)? I understand how to do that stuff, but I don’t know if I need to be formally trained and certified first? -What advancement opportunities are there for occupational health nurses other than the COHN certification? If I want to go to grad school, what would be a good program of study related to occupational health nursing? -Lastly, I did NOT get into nursing for the money, but it would be foolish to not ask this question. I live in eastern PA, what would the salary range be like for an occupational health nurse here. I want to start a family one day, and I would like to provide for them. Thank you so much for reading this and thank you for all of your responses ?