To most people, nurses care for patients who come to a hospital or need care at home. An occupational health nurse focuses on a different kind of patient. They are concerned with employees of a hospital, company, organization, and certain communities. The employing organization usually determines the patients of an Occupational Health Nurse, but they mostly focus on employees' needs.
A day in the life of an Occupational Health Nurse is highly variable, depending on the needs that arise. But they usually assess risks and work hazards in the workplace, evaluate employee health, offer recommendations on work safety and ergonomics, and other procedures that improve or preserve employee health.
Occupational health nurses usually have a background in nursing, with a relevant degree and advanced degrees. They also have experience in community health care and emergency nursing.
How to Become an Occupational Health Nurse
What is an Occupational Health Nurse
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an Occupational Health Nurse. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.15 an hour? That's $60,625 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 371,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Occupational Health Nurse Do
There are certain skills that many Occupational Health Nurses have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Compassion and Detail oriented.
How To Become an Occupational Health Nurse
If you're interested in becoming an Occupational Health Nurse, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 43.8% of Occupational Health Nurses have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.3% of Occupational Health Nurses have master's degrees. Even though most Occupational Health Nurses have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an Occupational Health Nurse. When we researched the most common majors for an Occupational Health Nurse, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Occupational Health Nurse resumes include Master's Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an Occupational Health Nurse. In fact, many Occupational Health Nurse jobs require experience in a role such as Staff Nurse. Meanwhile, many Occupational Health Nurses also have previous career experience in roles such as Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Occupational Health Nurse Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an Occupational Health Nurse can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Nurse Case Manager, progress to a title such as Case Manager and then eventually end up with the title Director Of Case Management.
Occupational Health Nurse Jobs You Might Like
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Occupational Health Nurse
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12 Occupational Health Nurse Resume Examples
Build a professional occupational health nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your occupational health nurse resume.
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Zachary Wallace Occupational Health Nurse |
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Christina Wells Occupational Health Nurse Experience Occupational Health Nurse2020 - Present CNA Financial•Reading, PA
Registered Nurse2010 - 2020 Good Samaritan•Baltimore, MD
Certified Nursing Assistant2006 - 2010 Kindred Healthcare•Virginia Beach, VA
Certified Nursing Assistant Instructor (Part-Time)2004 - 2005 Riverwood Center•Jacksonville, FL
Skills State BoardTelemetryDementiaCPRWorksiteMedical AssistantsTnccFmlaCNARN Education Master's Degree Nursing2005 - 2006 South University•Savannah, GA Bachelor's Degree Nursing2002 - 2005 Florida State College at Jacksonville•Jacksonville, FL |
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Learn How To Write an Occupational Health Nurse Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Occupational Health Nurse resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Occupational Health Nurse Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Occupational Health Nurse Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Occupational Health Nurse templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Occupational Health Nurse resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Occupational Health Nurse Demographics
Occupational Health Nurse Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Occupational Health Nurses, 89.0% of them are women, while 11.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Occupational Health Nurses is White, which makes up 69.5% of all Occupational Health Nurses.
- The most common foreign language among Occupational Health Nurses is Spanish at 77.0%.
Find the best Occupational Health Nurse job for you
Occupational Health Nurse Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Occupational Health Nurse Jobs - $85K and Up
- Work From Home Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Entry Level Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Part Time Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
Top Colleges for Occupational Health Nurses
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
6. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
9. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
10. Chamberlain College of Nursing - Arlington
Arlington, VA • Private
Find the best Occupational Health Nurse job for you
Occupational Health Nurse Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Occupational Health Nurse Jobs - $85K and Up
- Work From Home Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Entry Level Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Part Time Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Occupational Health Nurse Jobs
Online Courses For Occupational Health Nurse That You May Like
Build a career in occupational health & safety. Learn the requirements of ISO 45001...
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are "Health for All" and "Primary Health Care." In this course, we will explore these terms in the context of...
Healthcare providers around the globe (e.g., doctors, nurses, physical or occupational therapists, etc.) are increasingly relying on health information technology, like electronic health records, for their daily routine tasks. Although using health information technology holds tremendous promises (like personalized and precision medicine to all) it can also result in unforeseen consequences leading to patients’ harm. To fulfill the promise of better and safer care through information...
Top Skills For an Occupational Health Nurse
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.0% of Occupational Health Nurses listed RN on their resume, but soft skills such as Communication skills and Compassion are important as well.
Best States For an Occupational Health Nurse
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an Occupational Health Nurse. The best states for people in this position are California, Oregon, Washington, and New Jersey. Occupational Health Nurses make the most in California with an average salary of $97,508. Whereas in Oregon and Washington, they would average $82,433 and $78,139, respectively. While Occupational Health Nurses would only make an average of $77,137 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$78,139
Avg. Salary
2. New Mexico
$67,941
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$71,402
Avg. Salary
How Do Occupational Health Nurse Rate Their Jobs?
Top Occupational Health Nurse Employers
Occupational Health Nurse Videos
Becoming an Occupational Health Nurse FAQs
How do you become an OHN?
To become an OHN, you'll need to meet the educational and nursing experience requirements required for this role. To begin working as an occupational health nurse (OHN), you will need a nursing degree certificate and a few years of nursing experience. Occupational Health Nurses are Registered Nurses (RNs) with specialized training in occupational health and, as such, require additional certification.
How long does it take to become an occupational health nurse?
It takes six to eight years to become an occupational health nurse. To become a certified occupational health nurse, you will first need to be a fully licensed registered nurse with at least 3,000 hours of work experience in the occupational health field. This will take around 2 to 3 years of RN experience.