Have special knowledge of workplace hazards and the relationship to the employee health status. Understand industrial hygiene principles of engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Have knowledge of toxicology and epidemiology as related to the employee and the work site. Many universities around the nation offer graduate degrees in either nursing or public health with specialty focus on occupational health. As all professional registered nurses, occupational health nurses are required to have a license from the state in which they practice nursing.
States vary in their requirements and the responsibilities they grant for scope of nursing practice.
See the board of nursing or the board of health professionals governing the practice of nursing in your state for further information. Certification Reflects specialty practice and knowledge at a mastery level. Certification for Occupational Health Nurses. Organization conducts a program of certification for qualified occupational health nurses, program started in 1972. For specific information on related occupational health and safety issues, see the OSHA Alphabetic Site Index .