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Occupational health nurse

Alternative titles for this job include

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

Average salary (a year)

£22,000 Starter

to

£45,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends on a rota

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become an occupational health nurse

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

Apprenticeship

If you are a qualified registered nurse or midwife you may be able to do a specialist community public health nurse (Master's) degree apprenticeship.

This typically takes 18 months to complete as a mix of 50 percent workplace learning and 50 percent academic study at an accredited university.

Entry requirements

To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:

  • to be a registered nurse

More Information

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

Further information

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

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of medicine and nursing
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • a desire to help people
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work well with others
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As part of your day-to-day duties, you may :

  • carry out pre-employment medical checks
  • assess and treat employees who are injured or become ill at work
  • provide counselling and support
  • give advice on health education, health and safety and sickness absence
  • carry out risk assessments
  • manage employee health records and statistics
  • develop and manage 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

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could move into 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, work for a private company or take extra qualifications and go into nurse education or research.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current 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

OCN L3 Access to HE Dip: Nursing (Fastrack) (ADACNRF)

  • Provider: LONDON SOUTH EAST COLLEGES
  • Start date: 28 November 2022
  • Location: Erith

Level 3 Access to Higher Education Diploma: Nursing

  • Provider: SOUTH THAMES COLLEGES GROUP
  • Start date: 12 September 2023
  • Location: LONDON
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

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