Health is influenced by every aspect of one’s life. For many people their work plays a large role in their life and consequently in their health. The contribution of the occupational health nurse (OHN) is that she affects people in and through their place of work. She is not limited to their health only in terms of how their work affects it, but she also affects all aspects of their health. Employers are realizing that the impact of employees’ poor health on their businesses is negatively affecting productivity and increasing costs (Redmond & Kalina, 2009). Thus, it is important that nurses are present even in the workplace to promote healthy behaviors and environments, maintain health status, and restore diminished health.
An accurate assessment is extremely valuable to the occupational health nurse. It ensures that her intervention, whether for health promotion, maintenance, or restoration is useful and received well by the employees. This assessment data may also need to be communicated to the managing body to demonstrate the value of the nurse’s role and the intervention (Lukes, 2010).
The occupational health nurse utilizes health promotion, which seeks to improve one's health and prevent illness and injury before it becomes an issue. For example, after assessing a factory, an OHN may find a lack of appropriate personal protective equipment provided for work with toxic materials or a lack of use from employees (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). From this assessment, she can advocate for better supplies or educate the employees on the importance of using them. In all work environments, the OHN may find through a survey of the workers that many of them are obese and not aware of the risks of being overweight. She co...
... middle of paper ...
... should not leave the valued skills they have learned about the nursing process at the doors of their nursing school following graduation. Instead, they should continue to use the nursing process throughout their career regardless of the population they are working with.
Works Cited
Lukes, E. (2010). The nursing process and program planning. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 58(1), 5-7. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text.
Redmond, M., & Kalina, C. (2009). A successful occupational health nurse-driven health
promotion program to support corporate sustainability. AAOHN Journal, 57(12), 507-514. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in
the community (7th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby, Inc.
Self- care abilities of individuals and communities are important to promote mental and physical health and to reduce mortality and morbidity that occur from accidental injuries and chronic conditions (Dillion, 1997). Lifestyle changes have an effect on health prevention and delay of diseases and health problems. Dillion states if nurses use strategies from community nursing and objects from Healthy People 2000 they can identify threats to health promote and maintain health. Dillion states a key strategy is a health fair (Dillion,
...ter for obese individuals than for average weight individuals. The healthier workers are, the fewer medical services they use. The five leading causes of death in the U.S., heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes — are directly linked to unhealthy lifestyles. Clearly, encouraging healthful habits presents an opportunity to improve workers’ well being, reduce the need for medical services and help control costs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) (2010) defines obesity and being overweight as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Body mass index (BMI) as Arterburn et al (2008) put forward is a measure of body fat based on height and weight and further suggest that any individual with a BMI of more than 30 is considered as obese. Tannahill et al (1999) advocate that health education could be viewed as communication activity aimed at enhancing positive health and preventing ill health in individuals and groups by influencing their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour of persons with power and of the community. Butler et al (2008) defines health prevention as the measures for early detection of departure from good health. Whereas Heath (2002) concurs that the role and function of the nurse emphasise on health promotion and illness prevention, the Department of Health (2010) emphasises on the prevention of diseases, prolonging life and promoting health rather than treatment.
...nt. Wellness programs in workplaces have also become increasingly popular. These programs have not only demonstrated to be clinically effective but also cost effective. Companies are willing to invest to improve their productivity and decrease insurance cost. These programs will continue to grow in all fields and will require the need for more ND’s to participate. Promoting these programs can only lead to positive improvements from a patient to a corporate perspective.
Healthcare is a continuous emerging industry across the world. With our ever changing life styles and the increased levels of pollution across the world more and more people are suffering from various health issues. Nursing is an extremely diverse profession and among the highest educated with several levels ranging from a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to a registered nurse (RN) on up to a Doctorate in Nursing. Diane Viens (2003) states that ‘The NP is a critical member of the workforce to assume the leadership roles within practice, education, research, health systems, and health policy’.
According to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). In order for this to occur an assessment must take place. An aggregate or community assessment begins with a collection of data. This includes: the community’s health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data, and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can collectively come together to help promote an overall better health standing.
Groff Paris, L., & Terhaar, M. (2010, December 7). Using maslow’s pyramid and the national database of nursing quality indicators to attain a healthier work environment”. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 16 No. 1.
Nurses need to be physically and mentally able to deliver their duties to ensure the safety and health of those they care for. Thus, occupational stress among nurses is significant.
Nursing has always been a key career in the health care system. Although it is not often focused on media and stories surrounding health care, nursing is a career of great importance. If any patient was asked about their experience at a hospital or a care center, many would mention the capability and care that they received from the nurses. The health care system could not function efficiently, if at all, if nurses were not present to perform their part. Nurses are more than just physicians, support staff.
The career of a registered nurse is one of the most interesting professions in the medical field, because not only do they help to improve the health of their patients, they also help their patients to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Registered nurses work to promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. Their job is to help patients get their health back on track, and prevent increased visits to the physician. When providing care directly to the patient, they observe, assess, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress. They do this to see where the patient’s health stands and prevent further illness or health problems if such occurs. Registered Nurses help to develop and manage nursing plans, and instruct the patient and their
The major concern for registered nurses regard’s the nurse’s health and well being. Safe staffing levels are continuing to become more of a problem. The U.S is expected to experience a shortage of nurses as the “Baby Boomers” age and the need for health care grows (Rossester, 2014). This shortage is causing some health organizations to work with minimal amounts of nurses. This is affecting the nurse’s ability to provide safe care due to fatigue and injury. This shortage is also resulting in a dramatic increase in the amount of mandatory overtime, which often means that nurses stray from face-to-face patient care and can produce an increase in the amount of medical errors (American Nurses Association,
Upon graduation, a nurse is a competent caregiver, and chosen an area of specialization. In these first 2-4 years, new nurses learn to master their new profession and start specializing in their fields of interest. Depending on how that field captures the nurse’s passion, determines how fast they become specialized. However, at the five-year mark, an experienced nurse should know if they should continue their education, and how they would like to proceed with their career. Some nurses choose to advance by and becoming a nurse practitioner, or return to academia in order to teach the next generation, and many will be content with remaining in their specialty. Whatever the decision, those five years of experience will help determine that path. Focus on the basics, such as the meta-paradigm of nursing, provides a solid start—but it is the individual nurse who determines their
ANA describes “The Scope of Nursing Practice (as) the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how’ (8).’ In other words, it is the responsibility of the nurse to know who their patient is, what the patient’s diagnosis and treatment are, where it is they will be delivering treatment, the rationale behind their actions, and how they will deliver the care. By following the scope of practice, nurses reduce avoidable errors and are aware of the liability their actions entail. The ANA also puts forth a nursing process to guide nurses in treatment. The constantly evolving process is currently assessment, diagnosis, identification of outcomes, planning, implementation, and evaluation (ANA 9). Though this method has dramatically improved nursing care, it may be necessary to repeat steps to adapt to a patient’s changing needs and pathologies. By following guidelines set by the ANA, nurses are able to better connect with their patients and instill the image of professionalism to the public while also optimizing safety
Sampaio, C., & Guedes, M. (2012). Nursing process as a strategy in the development of
Thinking about going into the nursing field? If so I hope you are the type of person who