lynnr_98

This is the website where you can look at the pay scales for any VA location. If you don’t know what station it is, go down to the state first and look for the facility you want and it’ll tell you the station. Then you can find easily that station’s pay scale. https://www.VA.gov/OHRM/Pay/archive.asp With the VA, you don’t get a guaranteed step increase each year like you do with DoD. I’m glad I stuck with DoD and didn’t take the lowball offer the VA gave me.

I just turned down a job with the August, GA VA because they would not budge on the salary. I became an RN with a BSN in 2001 and got my MSN in 2011. They offered me Nurse 2 step 8. I asked for reconsideration since I've been an RN for 20 years, have had my MSN for 10 years and am a Certified Case Manager and Certified Occupational Health Nurse but they wouldn't change the offer. It must be a regional thing because I have friends in California and Texas that were offered Nurse 2 step 12 with only a BSN. This whole process took 6 months from interview to final offer. It seems like such a waste of money and so backwards the way they do things. I'm assuming they must have plenty of nurses to choose from and they'd probably prefer to get someone less experienced and educated so they can pay them less.

Hi Jess, I don't feel my MSN in Occupational Health Nursing has helped in regards to Occ Health as most Occ Health jobs don't require an MSN. The COHN-S is required or highly desired for most Occ Health jobs that I see posted so I suggest you acquire that before an MSN in Occ Health. Unfortunately you need to have Occ Health experience just to qualify to take the COHN-S exam so you'll need to find somewhere that will hire you without the certification. I do think having an MSN has been helpful, just not in regards to Occupational Health. I'm no longer working in Occ Health; I returned to Primary Care nursing and am now the Population Health Nurse at my clinic. I'll still keep my COHN-S certification current just in case I ever decide to return to Occ Health.

I just left my Occupational Health Nurse job but can tell you that where I worked (a very large County in So. Calif), you would need to list any presciption meds you've taken in the last year on your medical history form along with any surgeries, illnesses, etc. If it was discovered that you did not disclose information, it would be grounds for disqualification. You would also need to list any prescription meds you've taken in the last 60 days on the drug screen consent form along with the reason why you were taking them and the name of the prescribing physician. All nurses hired at that organization have to go through a physical exam by the MD or the PA, so depending on what kind of minor surgery you had, it would probably be discovered during that exam. If the facility you're going to work for is as thorough as ours was, I suggest you be upfront, disclose the minor procedure, and list the meds. Worst case scenario is they may ask you to obtain a note from your physician asking if you have any restrictions due to your condition/recent surgery or if you're able to work full duty.

Here is the link for info on the Master's programs and the certificate program: Occupational health nursing degree program If you scroll to the bottom, the information regarding the certificate is there along with the link to the certificate site with more detailed information. It looks like there is a one-week on campus requirement for one of the classes but the rest can be completed online.

If no one has called you in a week's time, I would call them and ask for your status. Where I work, the MD or PA doing the physical would tell the applicant right away if they wanted a letter from their psychiatrist. If an applicant was diagnosed a long time ago and has been stable on their meds, a letter usually isn't required but if they are newly diagnosed then a letter is usually required addressing their history, diagnosis, current status and if they have any limitations or restrictions.

I don't think the CEN would help you for future OHN roles but would be beneficial if you plan on being an ER nurse later in life. While several Occ Health job ads have said that they want a nurse with ER experience, I've never seen an ad that asked for CEN certification. The ads usually ask that the nurse have COHN or COHN-S certification along with Audiometry and Spirometry certifications and sometimes Case Management certifiation (CCM or COHN-S/CM). If I were you, I'd spend my money on getting those certifications instead of the CEN if you want to stay in Occ Health.

Hi SunDazed! It's probably best that you declined. President Obama's budget cuts end all financial support for the ERCs so tuition will not be paid by NIOSH next year. I'm really bummed that I'll have to pay for it myself but am grateful that the first year was paid for by them. This semester I did my practicum at Knott's Berry Farm which has been very challenging with working full time but my boss has been supportive. I'll be glad when this semester is over in May....I'll have the whole summer off. Next year it will be just 2 classes each semester so will be more manageable. Just do whatever is best for you and your situation. You don't want to be stressed out going full-time and working full-time and don't want to end up owing a ton of student loan debt. Hopefully the right program will be there for you when you're ready! :)

I applied for mine on 2/5/11 and just saw online that my HI RN license has been issued as of 2/28/11. Now I'm just waiting for the actual license to arrive in the mail.

sanz.ian, If I recall correctly, in order to get the NIOSH grant, you have to be a US citizen. I believe you can still apply and attend the school but wouldn't qualify for the grant.

Hi SunDazed! I'm just about done with this semester....I have my last final this coming Tuesday. It was definitely challenging working full-time and going to school full-time but was doable, although there were times I was so overwhelmed that I thought about quitting. Then I would remind myself that the other students aren't really smarter than me, they just persevere so I decided to stick it out. I had changed jobs twice since the semester started so that didn't make things easier but I managed to make it through. I think the hardest part for me was the Nursing Informatics course I had to take along with the Occ Health courses. The informatics course was a lot of work...many assignments (most of them group assignments), discussion boards to post to, etc. It felt like I never could catch up in that class but I finally completed everything yesterday! The Occ Health courses weren't too bad; a lot of reading, a couple of papers along with posting to the discussion boards. For practicum, you have to keep a log of your hours (you need 100) and what you've learned in relation to your objectives. I was able to use my latest job as my practicum site so that helped a lot. Others in the class did their rotations at a variety of facilities in IA. Looking back over my paperwork, it looks like I applied at the end of August 2009 and received my acceptance letter in mid-December 2009. If they follow the same timeline this year, you should hear by the end of the month. Let me know when you hear from them...I'm crossing my fingers you get in. I flew to Iowa in August 2010 for the orientation and to sign the paperwork for the grant. I'm not sure if I'll have to go back again this coming August but if I do and you get in also, I'll see you there! Keep me posted!

Ok SunDazed, here's some more info regarding the program. Even though I'm not in the state of Iowa, I'm considered a resident for funding purposes. NIOSH paid 100% of my tuition this year. The form I signed said they're paying $14098 for the year. Not too shabby, huh?! The only money I've spent so far was on my trip to Iowa and I bought a couple of books. I was surprised that I'm the only one in the program that doesn't live in Iowa, even though it's a distance program. I kind of feel like I'm at a disadvantage compared to the other students. They can form study groups if they want, can go to the campus library, bookstore, nursing department, etc. whereas I can't. Also, they were all placed in practicum sites in Iowa. Since I'm in California, I will be doing research instead of being placed at a site. Not exactly what I had envisioned but for a practically free education, guess I can't complain too much! I could look for a practicum site if I really wanted but it would be difficult to do clinical while working M-F at my regular job. If you apply for next year, since it's the last year of the MSN program, you will have to go full-time. I have to say that after reading the syllabii for each class, I kind of wished I would have signed up for part-time but was told it's too late to change. IT IS A LOT OF WORK! I will not have a life for the next 2 years! There is sooo much reading, discussion boards, papers, etc. I don't know how I'm going to do this but I'm just going to keep plugging along and hope that I make it! I was surprised at the number of students working on their PhDs and DNPs. They looked so young..made me feel like I should have done this years ago. Oh well, better late than never. Everyone was very nice...Ken is great and very helpful. He is trying to get us funding so we can all attend the AAOHN conference next year in Atlanta. Should be fun! I'll keep you posted as I move through the program. Let me know if you have any questions.....

Hi sundazed, The program doesn't start until late August. I'll be attending the mandatory orientation on August 20th so will have more information then. At this point in time, I'm still unsure how much NIOSH is going to pay. I've read posts by people going to other NIOSH funded OHN programs where NIOSH paid 100% of their tuition but from what I've been told, it's only about 50% at Iowa...not sure why but I will be asking that at the orientation. I don't want to go into debt to do this program! I signed up for a full-time caseload and will give it a try while working full-time. My kids are grown and my husband can take care of himself so I'm hoping with good time management, I can pull it off. If it seems like too much after I begin, I'll switch to part-time. I'll update you once I go to orientation and begin the classes! :)

Hi JerseyLilly! What other specialty field are you in now? Do you miss Occ Health or are you enjoying your new job? Your posts have provided so much information to me while I try to transition to an OHN position. I'm still working in Work Comp case management for the time being but keep scouting the job ads for an OHN position near me, although there are very few positions advertised. I've interviewed for a few jobs but they've always chosen someone with Occ Health experience over me. It's become very frustrating...they say they want someone with more then just work comp experience yet no one will hire me so I can get the Occ Health clinical experience! I've gotten all the certifications they require; I just can't seem to find a job where I can use them! Keep us posted on how your new job is going! I'm wishing you the best! Who knows, maybe I'll go back to Public Health Nursing. The pay isn't great but I sure miss the benefits, hours, etc. As we get older, it's amazing how those things become so important! :)

Thank you all so much for your replies! They've really shed some light on everything. I've been addicted to searching OHN job ads across the country and have noticed this to be true. I'm seeing more and more ads for NPs! Also, I recently interviewed with Abbott Vascular and was not hired because they wanted someone with more clinical experience as they have onsite care as you described above, katkonk. They have a NP onsite to treat industrial and non-industrial issues. I was recently accepted into the online MSN program in Occupational Health Nursing at University of Iowa. I'm starting to wonder if I should instead try to get into a NP program instead. Or maybe I'll do the MSN first, then do a post-graduate NP certificate afterwards. It seems like the only way to make more money and be more marketable. What do you guys think about obtaining OSHA certifications or CSP (certified safety professional)? It seems like there's a lot more jobs in Safety or EHS jobs than there are for OHNs. Plus, these jobs seem to pay well and are benefited. What do you think about going this route or should I stick with the MSN and NP route? I think the MSN/NP route would be nice if I ever wanted to work part-time and still make a decent hourly wage. Any thoughts?