Public Health and Occupational Health Nursing

making sure employees are aware of the health and safety aspects of their work (e.g. posting information on notice boards, keeping an information file such as COSHH, training, and providing

The Occupational Safety and Health Act purpose is to assure that individuals are working in safe environments. OSHA has been around for over 40 years and has come with many advantages as well as disadvantages. According to OSHA, “nursing homes and personal care facilities has had one the highest injury and illness rates, workers have faced numerous amounts of health hazards, and disorders compared to other work places”. These obstacles occurring in the health care work force has lead to the NYS Safe Patient Handling Act. This act consists of programs ensuring workers are better educated on how to prevent injuries, reduce disorders and improve quality of care towards patients.

It is important to recognise the different responsibilities and approaches of a member of staff, the employer and others in the work setting. For example the employer is responsible to provide PPE and relevant health and safety training free of charge. It is then the responsibility of a staff member to use the PPE and to attend the training. So although the responsibilities are different they are also related and both need to work in order to ensure a high standard of health and safety. The employer provides as safe working environment, however if an accident or incident occurs it requires the efforts of both staff and sometimes others to report this to ensure measures are put into place to reduce any risk associated with the incident or accident. Another example of how health and safety has a linked responsibility can be shown through a member of staff ensuring they provide the relevant fire safety information/instructions to others. It is then the responsibility for others to follow these instructions.

Public health nursing is an important aspect of nursing field, which contributes tremendously to the safety and health of our society. Public health nurses work hard to assure our communities are healthy and are able to attain needed support to be self-sufficient. However, it seems their hard work goes unnoticed by vast majority of our society. This of course, is my opinion, but I would say that if I were to survey various communities, most people would say that “Nurses just work in the hospital”. I could be very wrong.

The work environment :- GITS The work environment plays a significant role in our health. Workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses are high and lead to an enormous health burden, suffering, and economic loss. Which is why, a proactive approach to health and safety at work can help employers achieve healthier employees, low absenteeism, fewer injuries, lower long-term risk, and lower payouts for disability and health care costs.  General activities :- The occupational hygienist may be involved with the assessment and control of physical, chemical, biological or environmental hazards in the workplace or community that could cause injury or disease. Physical hazards may include noise, temperature extremes, illumination extremes, ionizing

A study conducted on the Canadian workforce by OHSAH (2004) indicated that nurses are prone to more workplace injuries than any other occupational group. The study revealed that injury rates vary significantly by health care settings and occupation. Among the 3 categories of workers in the study (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and care

Employers must ensure the health and safety of employees at work and other people on the premises.

With over 2 million jobs, registered nurses represent the largest health care occupation (Windle, 2008, p. 209). Although nurses are the biggest health care occupation, there continues to be a shortage in the United States. The shortage has worsened because of rising healthcare costs and a focus on cost containment, which has negatively impacted nurse work environments (Keeler and Cramer, 2007, p. 350). With demand for healthcare expecting to continue to increase and financial pressures becoming more burdensome, these shortages will likely become even more critical in coming years if not adequately addressed (Love et al., 2006, p. 558). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 1.2 million nurses will be required to fill new and vacated nursing positions by the end of 2014 (Windle, 2008, p. 209).

There are three major organizations in nursing that have made great impacts on the way nurses guide and represent their profession. One of the organizations is the American Nurses Association (ANA) whose mission statement is “nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all” and their philosophy is committed to ensure that there are an adequate supply of “high-skilled and well-educated nurses is available” (ANA, 2014). The ANA helps to advance the nursing profession through fostering high standards, the promotion of the general welfare of nursing professionals in the workplace, projecting a positive as well as realistic view of nursing practices, and lobbying within Congress about health care issues that affect both nurses and the general public (ANA, 2014). The ANA is primarily responsible for restructuring healthcare through legislature and lobbying on both state and national levels (ANA, 2014).

Explain how this individual has demonstrated exemplary public service (give specific examples): Jane Capili has worked as a Public Health Nurse (PHN) for the past eleven years for Santa Clara County in various roles impacting the community 's health. As a generalist PHN, she entered clients ' homes assessing newborns and their moms providing education, valuable resources and encouragement. Jane also case managed other types of high risk clients and families ranging from those with active Tuberculosis to families with multiple health and social concerns. As a Regional PHN, she expanded her role as the Lead PHN and Referral Coordinator, providing guidance to peers and managing the intake of referrals for PHN services. With Jane 's work

In 1860, Florence Nightingale founded the first modern nursing school to break the stigma of previous nursing views and provide appropriate training to nurses (Finkelman & Kenner, 2016). Since then, the nursing profession has dramatically evolved over the last centuries.

The public health nurses are integral part of the nursing workforce, who are caring for the entire populations. They are involved in educating people about health issues, identifying health risk factors unique to specific communities, provide health-related interventions based on community needs, conducting health prevention activities such as immunizations and screenings, and advocating to improve health care access for underserved communities (Explore Health Careers, 2016). The public health nurses are involve in illness prevention, and health promotion by reaching

The roal of public health nursing is to promote and protect the health of the population. This proactive approach does not limit their scope of practice to health concerns of individuals but also to developing and implementing programs and policies that help enhance the health of populations. The role of public health nurses is to focus on population centered care with the outcome of promoting health, preventing disability and disease, and improving the quality of life. An effective public health nurse is able to evaluate assessment data to define population diagnoses and set priorities accordingly. They can also serve as advocates for individuals and families in the population to develop policies, access resources, and protect their

The physical demands require that a person be physically capable of standing for long periods of time. Nurses often assist in lifting and moving patients and can work up to 12 hour days. They must also have technical abilities because of some of the computerized equipment. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the primary hazard in patient care is blood borne pathogens, such as hepatitis B and HIV. Nurses are exposed to a variety of infectious diseases so they must be very careful and follow the safety guidelines. A typical day includes accessing patient needs, creating treatment plans and evaluating their progress. They must also educate the patient and the families involved.

This significance of public health nurses had made a major impact on history. They help shift relatively unsanitary living environments, diseases state awareness, health education, school programs for children from little or no existence to full swing participation by the community. Public health nurses in the Henry Street Settlement initiated awareness around the country, bringing rise to thousands more clinics spreading their mission (Buhler-Wilkerson). Despite the challenges the nurses faced, they carried on to care for the sick when the sick could not get care. As time went, it became so the visiting nurses were in demand as chronically ill patients filled the hospitals, leaving less space for critically ill and emergent cases.