Occupational health nurse

Occupational health nurses care for the health and wellbeing of people at work.

Average salary (a year)

£22,000 Starter

to

£41,250 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends on a rota

How to become an occupational health nurse

You can get into this job through:

• working towards this role

Work

You'll need to be a registered nurse and have the support of your employer to apply for occupational health nursing posts.

You'll take an approved programme in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Occupational Health Nursing (SCPHN - OHN).

The entry requirements vary between universities offering the programme, but usually have no minimum period of post-registration experience.

The SCPHN qualification can also be used for the health visiting or school nursing pathways.

More information

Registration

• you'll need to register with the Nursing & Midwifery Council

Further information

You can find out more about occupational health nursing from Health Careers.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

• knowledge of psychology
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• customer service skills
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• sensitivity and understanding
• thinking and reasoning skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• being able to use a computer terminal or hand-held device may be beneficial for this job.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day duties may include:

• carrying out pre-employment medical checks
• assessing and treating employees who are injured or become ill at work
• providing counselling and support
• giving advice on health education, health and safety and sickness absence
• carrying out risk assessments
• managing employee health records and statistics
• developing and managing emergency procedures

Working environment

You could work in an NHS or private hospital or at a client's business.

Your working environment may be physically demanding.

You may need to wear a uniform.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to a management position, leading a team of occupational health staff or running an occupational health centre.

You could become a self-employed occupational health consultant.

You could also take additional qualifications and move into nurse training.

Training opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for an occupational health nurse right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Access to Nursing Midwifery & Allied Professions Level 3

• Provider: OLDHAM COLLEGE
• Start date: 02 September 2019
• Location: OLDHAM

Access to Nursing

• Provider: WEST THAMES COLLEGE
• Start date: 09 September 2019
• Location: Middx

Find courses near you

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