RA # 11058-AN ACT STRENGTHENING COMPLIANCE WITH OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
STANDARDS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
EVOLUTION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING IN THE PHILIPPINES
MS. MAGDALENA VALENZUELA – she instituted the INDUSTRIAL NURSING UNIT of the Philippine Nurses
Association on November 11, 1950.
MS. PERLA GORRES – from the Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC) served as the first chairperson
of the said unit.
MS. ANITA SANTOS – was elected as first president on August 19, 1964. She paved way to the modification
in the name of the organization to Occupational Health Nurses Association of the Philippines, Inc. on
November 12, 1966.
June 5 – 6, 1970 – first annual convention was held.
September 25, 1979 – the organization was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL OF HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACE
HEALTH HAZARDS – are the elements in the work environment that can cause work- related disease.
SAFETY HAZARDS – are the unsafe conditions or unsafe acts that significantly increase the risk of a worker
to be injured.
What is an occupational health nurse?
An occupational health nurse (OHN) strives to keep workplaces free of injuries and
illnesses that could be directly caused by the work environment. An OHN also cares for
hurt or sick employees. Occupational health nurses ensure that employees remain safe
and work with employers and employees closely to that end. Although you can find
OHNs at work in clinics, medical centers and hospitals, companies also hire these
nursing professionals, which means OHNs can work in all industries and various types
of workplaces.
OHNs aim to provide employees who have experienced workplace-related illnesses or
injuries with proper care. OHNs rely heavily on their communication skills, as they are in
constant contact with employers, workers, insurance companies and other medical
professionals. Occupational health nurses are also teachers, in that they educate
individuals about safety in the work environment.
An occupational health nurse delivers services and health and safety programs to
worker populations, workers and community groups. Similar to environmental health
nurses, OHNs have a combined knowledge of both business and health that coincides
with their healthcare expertise to provide the necessary balance for a healthful and safe
work environment. An understanding of worker care is a specialized competence that
distinguishes an occupational health nurse from a registered nurse who is state-
licensed in general nursing practice.
Related: How to Choose a Career
What does an occupational health nurse do?
Occupational health nurses are responsible for many functions in their role that are
significant to the prevention, investigation and treatment of workplace-related injuries
and illnesses.
Workplace hazard detection. OHNs identify hazards through worker and workplace
hazard detection. They are responsible for monitoring, evaluating and analyzing any
recognized risks using the research they conduct on the effects of exposure to dangers
in the workplace. OHNs collect and make use of hazard and health data to determine
how best to put into place necessary control and preventive measures, which they
intend to be an on-going process.
Case management for injuries. As a routine practice, occupational health nurses
coordinate and manage a caseload of injured and ill employees. They act as case
managers for non work-related and work-related injuries and sicknesses. OHNs use
case management in areas of short- and long-term disability benefits, group health,
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and workers' compensation for employees.
Risk reduction. Risk reduction and harm prevention are among some of the other
areas of responsibility for occupational health nurses. They design programs for
workers to encourage different positive changes to lifestyle. OHNs make sure the
programs they develop support the individual efforts of employees to reduce the risk of
injury or disease. These programs are meant to heal help workers create a balance of
their personal, work, family, psychosocial and health concerns.
Preventative health. OHNs help keep workers productive and healthy by offering them
preventative strategies like chronic disease monitoring, immunization, stress
management, smoking cessation, nutrition and weight control and exercise and fitness.
Counseling and crisis intervention. These nursing professionals provide counseling
and crisis intervention for other issues that may extend beyond the scope of counseling
limited to care for only illnesses and injuries related to work. Many times, OHNs may
need to counsel workers on issues involving substance use or their psychosocial needs.
Rehabilitation therapy. Another crucial responsibility of occupational health nurses is
caring for workers that become ill or get hurt because of hazards in the workplace.
OHNs may need to perform rehabilitation therapy following specific injuries. They may
also have to nurse the injuries of employees or administer medication.
Health screening. OHNs also may be asked by an employer to screen prospective and
new employees to make sure they are fit enough to complete the duties designated for
their position. The pre-employment or onboarding screening could include drug and
alcohol screening, physical examinations, hearing tests and vision tests.
Some of the other tasks completed by OHNs include but are not limited to:
Maintain confidentiality of workers' personal health information and work with
employers to comply with established codes of ethics and regulatory or legal
requirements
Implement procedures and policies for continually assuring confidentiality
Keep logs and documents required by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
Evaluate workers who have limitations or work restrictions and recommend
appropriate job placement, such as fitness for duty
What is Occupational Health Nursing?
Occupational health nursing is a field within the nursing discipline that involves developing business
health and safety programs or observing workers who have been injured on-the-job. If you are
interested in starting a career in nursing, it is important to be aware of all of the various types of
opportunities that exist. You can work in healthcare as a nursing professional without working in a
clinical setting at a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. Read on and learn more about this interdisciplinary
field of health care so that you know whether or not this is the right occupation for you.
What Do Occupational Health Nurses Do?
Occupational health nurses (OHNs) are specialists who practice in industrial and community settings to
help improve the health and safety of workers and other community groups. The role of an OHN can be
extremely diverse and specific responsibilities will depend upon where an OHN is employed. Some of
the most common roles and responsibilities of OHNs include:
Observation of workers doing their job tasks to assess health statuses
Development of innovative health and safety programs
Management of work-related diseases
Disaster and emergency planning
Environmental health planning
Assistance with rehabilitation
Coordination of employee treatments and referrals
Emergency care to injured employees who are on-the-clock
Counseling employees and families when injured
Conducting research and working with community organizations and health educators
Working with executives to lower costs of disability claims or other related costs
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Community
a group of people with common characteristics or interests, beliefs and culture living
together within a territory or geographical boundary
place where people under usual conditions are found
Derived from a latin word “comunicas” which means a group of people.
Elements of a Community
1. Geographical Entity
2. Cultural Entity
3. Social entity
Health
OLOF (Optimum Level of Functioning)
Health-illness continuum
High-level wellness
Agent-host-environment
Health belief
Evolutionary-based
Health promotion
WHO definition
Community Health
Part of paramedical and medical intervention/approach which is concerned on the
health of the whole population
Aims:
1. Health promotion
2. Disease prevention
3. Management of factors affecting health
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES, CLIMATE , ENVIRONMENT(Housing, Neighborhood, Accessibility to Health
Institutions, Major Industries
