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.
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.
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.
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.