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Office of Occupational Health Nursing
What's New The Office of Occupational Health Nursing is now soliciting applications for the 2012 OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship Program. The internship is designed for registered professional nurses pursuing a graduate degree in either occupational health nursing or public health with an occupational health focus. The internship blends current OSHA projects and issues with the theoretical bases of the intern's academic study into a practical occupational safety and health experience at the national level. Selected interns will be assigned to the Office of Occupational Health Nursing (OOHN) in the agency's National Office in Washington, D.C. and precepted by OOHN staff. For application information, see the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship section below on this page. Mission The Office of Occupational Health Nursing (OOHN) is OSHA's principal source of occupational health nursing expertise in enforcement activities, standards development, outreach and education, partnerships, and the graduate nurse internship program. Using the foundation of occupational health nursing (epidemiology, worker advocacy, occupational health risk assessment, critical thinking, educational principles), the Office, collaborates with other OSHA offices and Department agencies, initiates projects and develops programs to prevent work-related illness and injury. The Staff The Office is staffed with Health Scientists who hold advanced graduate degrees and have expertise in occupational health nursing. These nurses and other staff exercise leadership in occupational safety and health and provide technical assistance in support of all the Agency mission and goals. OOHN Scope and Activities
OOHN Publications
OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship The Graduate Nurse Internship Program is designed for registered professional nurses pursuing a graduate degree in either occupational health nursing or public health with an occupational health focus. The internship blends current OSHA projects and issues with the theoretical bases of the intern's academic study into a practical occupational safety and health experience at the national level. Selected interns are assigned to OOHN in OSHA's National Office in Washington, D.C., precepted by OOHN staff and assigned projects in support of the Agency's mission and goals. Internship rotations are a full-time consecutive eight-week (320 hours) educational opportunity and are scheduled to suit the intern's schedule between May and September of each year. To be eligible to participate in the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship Program, individuals must be enrolled in a graduate program affiliated with an accredited university.
It is expected that a faculty member from the applicant's graduate program will sponsor the internship applicant(s) by assisting them in the application process, writing a letter of recommendation and providing a post-internship evaluation. OOHN solicits applications for each year's Internship Program during the fall and requires all applications to be postmarked by the following January 31. Applicants are rated on academic status, professional presentation, qualifications, experience, and demonstrated technical writing skills. The Instructions to the Applicant outlines the application process. The Program Outline, and the Letter of Intent provide other important information for the applicant. Minor changes to the Letter of Intent, designed to meet specific university needs, are acceptable. The Letter must be properly endorsed prior to submission, and must accompany the candidate’s application package. Failure to include a student-university signed Letter of Intent may eliminate the candidate from the competition. Each applicant must complete and forward all necessary application documents to the attention of Amy Miller, Director, Office of Occupational Health Nursing. OSHA does not directly compensate the intern. The academic institution must bill OSHA according to their established process. As agency funding permits, the academic institution will be compensated for services rendered by the intern, their agent, at a maximum amount equal to the current GS-9, step 1 pay rate established by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The final amount provided the intern is at the sole discretion of the academic institution to which the OSHA contract was issued. The compensation disbursed to the academic institution is to defray the student-intern's expenses while participating in the internship. Please note that in light of the current budget situation in the Federal government, there is no guarantee that there will be any money available to fund interns. If funding is not available at the stated level, a reduced funding level may be possible. OOHN is delighted to be able to offer this educational opportunity and encourages qualified individuals to apply for this rewarding internship program. Please direct all questions to OOHN at (202) 693-2120. OOHN Special Topics and Projects Distracted Driving Young Worker Health and Safety The characteristics of young workers and the nature of their employment, particularly the presence of job hazards, create multiple factors that increase their risk of injury or illness on the job (NIOSH, 2003). OOHN has particular expertise in assisting youth to establish safe work habits and leads OSHA's outreach to young workers. One example of OOHN's activities in this area is their of the Federal Network for Young Worker Safety and Health (FedNet), an informal group of federal departments and agencies that meet quarterly to maximize cooperative efforts to promote young worker safety and health. OOHN also edits and maintains OSHA's Young Workers webpage which provides health and safety information for young workers, employers, parents, teachers.Safe Patient Handling OOHN maintains an active involvement in promoting safe patient handling. Health care workers are at risk of musculoskeletal injuries such as muscle and ligament strain and tears, joint and tendon inflammation, pinched nerves and herniated discs during handling, transferring and repositioning of patients. Good work practice includes implementing engineering and work practice controls to help reduce or prevent these injuries. OSHA and other organizations concerned with healthcare worker health and safety recommend minimizing manual lifting of patients in all cases and eliminating manual lifting entirely when possible. OOHN edits the Hospital eTool on OSHA's webpage which contains recommendations for a Patient Handling Program and for Patient Handling Controls.OOHN serves on the OSHA Alliance team of two organizations – the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) and the Association of peri-Operative Registered Nurses (AORN) – that have addressed this topic within their Alliance with OSHA. Occupational Health Resources OSHA's Clinician Web Page [being developed]: To assist occupational health physicians, nurses and others with available resources for clinical practice issues. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Education and Research Centers: These centers have major occupational health resources for occupational health nurses. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Environmental Health Nursing Initiative Room N4618, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20210 (202) 693-2120 [Credits] Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management at (202) 693-2300 for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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