Occupational health nurses promote employee health for their organization. Sometimes called employee health nurses, occupational health nurses (OHNs) work to prevent injury, illness, and infection while also treating any injuries that happen on the job.
Different work environments can expose employees to harmful chemicals and substances. Part of an occupational health nurse’s job is to identify these chemicals and develop strategies to minimize exposure, and give plenty of warning to those who might be affected.
Where Do Occupational Health Nurses Work?
Occupational health nurses can work in many settings because companies of all types provide in-house health care for their workers. OHNs may find themselves working as:
Case managers
Clinicians
Consultants
Educators
Managers
All kinds of facilities need occupational health nurses, from hospitals and nursing homes to construction sites. Hospital occupational health nurses work with all hospital employees: medical and ancillary staff alike. An OHN may also work in an office setting, seeing employees for a pre-employment evaluation or current workers for injuries.
Occupational health nurses can work a wide variety of hours. If they work in a hospital, they may be required to take 12-hour shifts, and some have to stay on call overnight and on weekends in case of after-hours emergencies. OHNs in an office or clinic setting will be more likely to work Monday to Friday, nine to five.
What Does an Occupational Health Nurse Actually Do?
An occupational health nurse’s job is to keep employees safe and treat their job-related health complaints. If a worker gets injured on the job, they go see the occupational health nurse. If they are exposed to a harmful chemical like asbestos, their OHN checks them out.
But OHNs don’t just treat accidents and exposure: they work hard to prevent them. Here are some common occupational health nurse tasks:
Administer vaccinations
Annual health screening
Develop and oversee facility emergency and disaster preparedness
Document employee injuries and illnesses within the workplace as per OSHA requirements
Draw blood for testing
Drug and alcohol screenings
Establish and promote disease prevention programs
Examine patients
Give medication
Health counseling
Manage the medical side of worker’s compensation claims
N95 mask fitting
Research the effects of workplace exposures
TB skin test
Vision and hearing tests
Whatever tasks fall to an occupational health nurse in any given role, their overarching goal is always to promote health and safety in that population. OHNs can have a lot of independence in developing and implementing new policies for workers to keep them safe, and companies rely on their expertise to maintain employee health.
How Much Does an Occupational Health Nurse Make Per Year?
An occupational health nurse usually earns the same amount as a registered nurse (RN), with an average of $81,220 per year as of 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This amount can vary depending on your work setting and the cost of living in the area. The low-end average is $61,250, and the high-end is $129,400. Different employers may be able to offer higher or lower compensation depending on which type of facility you work in:
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $90,600
Offices of Physicians: $79,810
Outpatient Care Centers: $97,200
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities): $77,190
Salaries also vary depending on which state an occupational health nurse works in.
The west coast, New England states, and Alaska pay their occupational health nurses the highest wage, but the cost of living in these areas can also be high. The lowest paying states are in the Midwest and some southeastern states.
Occupational health nurse practitioners can earn more than RNs, and their earnings run about the same as any other nurse practitioner. The average annual salary of a nurse practitioner is $121,610, according to BLS data from 2022. The low-end average is $87,340, and the high-end is $165,240. Salary can also change based on employment type:
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $129,330
Offices of Physicians: $121,880
Offices of Other Health Practitioners: $112,660
Outpatient Care Centers: $134,030
The location of employment can affect occupational health nurse practitioners as well, with the differences closely aligning with RNs.
The top paying areas for occupational health nurses and nurse practitioners include:
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Napa, CA
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Yuba City, CA
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA
How Do I Become an Occupational Health Nurse?
Those who wish to become occupational health nurses first have to earn their Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited nursing program. After they graduate, nurses can jump right into occupational health, or they can get some experience in other settings first. Different employers may have varying requirements to get started as an OHN.
After a nurse has their degree, they will have to take and pass the nurse licensing exam: the NCLEX-RN. Once a nurse passes their NCLEX, they will be a licensed professional nurse as either a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or a registered nurse (RN).
An occupational health nurse may wish to take their education and license to the next level by becoming a nurse practitioner (NP). To do this, they must obtain a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). A master’s degree takes about two years to complete if full-time hours can be devoted to study. But many working OHNs get their MSN over a longer period.
Certified Occupational Health Nurse-Specialist (COHN-S)
Case Management (CM)
To be eligible for COHN and COHN-S, nurses must have an active RN license and 3000 hours of occupational health nurse experience within the past five years. The COHN-S certification requires a nurse to have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
The ABOHN offers a case management certification specific to OHNs: the CM. To get CM certified, an OHN must already have their COHN or COHN-S and be able to prove an additional 10 hours of continuing education in case management.
Are Occupational Health Nurses in High Demand?
Since organizations of all kinds need occupational health nurses, employment opportunities are widespread and growing. The BLS predicts nursing jobs will grow 6% from 2021 to 2031, with about 203,200 openings each year.
Nurses of all specialties are in high demand in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 24% of US hospitals have reported critical staffing shortages, and at least eight states have had to call in help from the military for staffing. Occupational health nursing is set to offer strong employment opportunities for years to come.
Additional Resources About Becoming an Occupational Health Nurse
To learn more about becoming an occupational health nurse, these websites offer additional resources:
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