Industrial nursing is the practice of providing medical attention to workers while they are at work and advising businesses on how to enhance the safety of their operations. Since industrial nurses can work in a variety of locations, there are often multiple opportunities for them to obtain employment in their preferred sector. If you have a background in nursing and great observational and problem-solving abilities, you might succeed in becoming an industrial nurse. In this blog we will cover the topic of industrial nursing and how to become one.
What is industrial nursing?
Industrial nursing includes the care of workers who suffer accidents or diseases at work, combined with improving workplace health and safety procedures. It includes periodic health assessments of employees, and planning and implementing health promotional activities. Because a large part of industrial nurses work involves assessing workplace safety and suggesting methods to improve measures that can safeguard employees, many people also refer to them as occupational health nurses. The majority of industrial nurses are well-versed in areas including emergency medicine, business administration, and labour laws.
Although they are certified to provide medical care in a variety of contexts as registered nurses, industrial nurses frequently treat patients who are staff members at the businesses they evaluate.
What is the role of an industrial nurse?
Numerous duties that help determine how safe an organisation’s operations are can fall under the purview of an industrial or occupational health nurse. Industrial nurses, for instance, can watch how things are done every day to spot potential dangers that could cause mishaps or injuries. Additionally, they can offer advice on how a business might increase its safety in particular ways, such as by creating new processes or utilising modernised tools. By responding to accidents or emergencies that happen at work, an industrial nurse can also offer medical care to workers there. Additional duties that an industrial nurse may have to include the following:
- Take the lead in first aid, safety and CPR training sessions
- Record accident reports
- Coordinate health programs that support health and safety in a workplace
- Perform research to be informed about best practices in medical care and industrial safety
- Refer injured workers to specialists when necessary
How to train as an industrial nurse?
The following actions will help you begin a career as an industrial nurse:
1. Obtain a bachelor’s degree
The completion of a nursing degree can be your first step in beginning a career as an industrial nurse because all nurses require some sort of undergraduate degree in nursing. A bachelor’s degree in nursing, which usually takes four years to finish and provides opportunities for classroom instruction and real-world application, is the path taken by many nurses to land a nursing job. Candidates may, however, choose to pursue an associate degree in nursing instead, which typically requires three years to finish and can include topics equivalent to those covered in a bachelor’s programme in nursing.
2. Obtain a licence for nursing
Obtaining a registered nursing licence is another need that most nurses must meet before working. A licence serves as proof that a nurse has finished the training and educational requirements necessary to succeed in their position and gives prospective employers a way to assess their level of skill. Bypassing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN), you can become qualified to practice as a registered nurse.
It can also be important to explore what you would need to do to ensure your licence remains active as some jurisdictions can have special criteria for nurses regarding licence renewal. For example, most states require that nurses complete a specific number of ongoing education hours to maintain their license active.
3. Consider doing a master’s degree
Although most nurses choose not to pursue a master’s degree, industrial nurses can gain by furthering their education in their field. This is due to the fact that working as a nurse in a specific area of nursing may call for more sophisticated knowledge and abilities than are taught in an undergraduate nursing programme. To get ready for work in specialised roles, many nurses decide to earn a master’s degree in nursing. To understand more about the procedures and systems they could assess in the companies they visit, some prospective industrial nurses pursue master’s degrees in fields like business administration or public health.
4. Obtain specialised certification
Although certification in occupational health and safety is optional for registered nurses, it may be beneficial for industrial nurses to consider it. This is due to the fact that an industrial or occupational health nurse may come into particular circumstances while working that necessitate specialised knowledge to address. The Certified Occupational Health Nurse credential is one of the most popular ones for industrial nurses (COHN). If you have an active licence as a registered nurse and at least 3,000 hours of experience in occupational health nursing, you can obtain this certification.
If you are considering becoming an industrial nurse and need more information regarding which institution to gain admission into, contact MWT Global Academy which is ever ready to help you with all your concerns and queries.