Aggiew

I would check with similar companies to see what the requirements are with this type of company. You will need to have private malpractice insurance if you work as a nurse for him and I am sure there are legal hurdles to jump. Good luck! Aggie

:) Hello! Just wanted you to know that in our State (West Virginia), further injuring a body part that is already injured is still a compensable injury so, do not feel bad about it. Just get the treatment you need under Worker's Compensation and try your best to get back to work as soon as possible. This will show you have a good work ethic and are not trying milk the system like so many.

Sikat, That is the written certification for occupational health nursing. I think the COHN-S is more for occupational health nurses who do more paperwork than clinical. You still have to meet certain reuirements before sitting for this test which is what I plan to do. You can go to the ABOHN website and learn about the COHN and COHN-S.

May I ask if you set for the COHN or COHN-S and if so, was it difficult. Which one would be best to sit for? :)

Actually, I can say there is not much I dislike about my job. I am very involved in workers comp. when injured workers are off. I guess that can be a bit frustrating at times when employees milk the system and try to stay off as long as possible when they could actually return to work. Most are legitimate injuries but, with 1,300 employees, there will always be some who like staying home and drawing workers comp. There is a lot of paperwork and I do wish I had more time to learn more about the OSHA guidelines etc... but I do feel like I know the basics and the most important healthcare OSHA requirements. I really love working with the employees and help them in more ways than just physical healthcare. Some come with family problems and just want to talk. Others do not like their job and I try to help them find something else. I just really feel like they are my second family. I work under the H.R. Director of our hospital and she is great. My job is pretty autonomous and I like that as well. I love not being on call and not taking work home. I use to supervise and was pretty much on call 24/7. I can honestly say, the time clock is my friend. I would like to have more time to do preventative classes such as smoking cessation classes and other preventative issues but I stay pretty busy. I like my job so much, I drive one hour each way just so I can work where I do. I hope you like your change as much. Will it be in hospital or general industry occupational health?

Nurse Practitioners are often wanted in Occupational Health because of the prescriptive authority and being able to work much more independently. I often take our injured workers to our ER to see our NP because they need Flexeril or to have an x-ray ordered etc... and I cannot do that as an RN. Good luck with your career change and if you are interested in jobs available, go to the AAOHN website, look under member services then career resources then click on view jobs. From here pull down Occupational Health NP and it will show you all NP OHN jobs available. This is a great overall site to help get certification. Also with O.H. there is a need to know OSHA regulations, worker's compensation etc... AggieW :)

Beth, I would not worry about losing the skills. If every you decide to do another type of nursing, they will come back to you. I have worked in Occupational Health for 6 years after working home health and labor and delivery. I absolutely love it and I never plan to do anything but this. My next step is becoming certified (COHN) if I can pass the exam. Is there anyone out there who has recently taken this exam and can give some pointers on what to study? Aggie