MikeCOHN

Occupational Health Nursing is a great specialty and can pay 20-25% above traditional bedside nursing. I have been a nurse for 20 years and have worked in Occupational Health for 15. I manage programs in the manufacturing industry and have oversight of 11 facilities and about 25 nurses. The typical day of an OHN is never predictable. and challenging and you do a lot of different things. The job is very interesting. I will tell you what I look for in an occupational health nurse that I hire. - I don't require OHN experience, 2-3 years experience as a nurse is good. I like to recruit ED nurses looking for a change. The skill set is a good match. Fast paced, multi-tasking, handle stressful situations, deal with difficult people, can work independently and most important be able to critically think. - The learning curve is large and can take a year or more to get to the point where you think you have it under control, a lot of what you do will be on the job training. Depending on your work site you will be doing things like drug testing, post offer medical assessments, treating minor injuries or illnesses, breath alcohol testing, hearing conservation, ergonomics, STD/LTD/FMLA, workers comp case management, DOT drug/alcohol testing, wellness programs, teaching CPR/AED/BBP classes, respiratory protection and fit testing, etc. - Depending on your site once hired you will be sent for training to be certified in NIOSH Pulmonary Function Testing, CAOHC Hearing Conservation, CPR Instructor, DOT Specimen Collector and Breath Alcohol Tech. - Advancement - An OHN can advance into management positions, multi-site management, regional roles and corporate leadership. Many OHN's move into case management roles. You can get your MSN as an occupational health NP. Certifications including COHN, COHN-S, COHN/CM, CCM are all possible after a couple of years of experience. Certification is marketable and will increase your salary as an OHN. - Pay for OHN's can vary widely based on your industry. In general an experienced OHN with a certification can make 20% + more than a traditional bedside nurse. In my area (Southeast) we pay OHN's between $68-86k depending on experience. OH is a challenging and rewarding specialty, can be very demanding at times but I enjoy getting to know the employees and working with them and helping them work through whatever might be going on. I hope this helps. Good luck! -