Occupational Health Nurses with their specialized workplace health and safety education may practice in any
workplace setting. An Occupational Health nurse is a change agent who promotes healthy workers by employing
precautionary measures, preventative health maintenance and health promotion that maintains or returns an
individual worker to good health. Occupational Health Nurses skills include implementing and managing best
practice health and safety programs at the organization administration level to achieve healthy work environments.
Occupational Health Nurses can enhance the health of their employers by broadening their resources and utilizing
additional external health care service providers. Occupational Health Nurse services are a proven value added
resource to any workplace who want to focus on health workers in a healthy workplace.
Primary Health Care (PHC) by definition
" is the first level of contact of individuals, the family and community with the national health
care system, bringing care as close as possible to where people live and work and constitutes the first
element of a continuing health care process".(Primary Health Care, 1978) and
".health is created and lived by people within settings of their everyday life: where they learn, work,
and play" (Hirschfeld & Holleran 1992).
Vision Statement
"Occupational Health Nurses are in a unique position in the work place to provide leadership in the management
and the delivery of health care using the precautionary principle"
(Rio Declaration 1992)
The Occupational Health Nurse delivery of health care includes fulfilling the standards of the specialized practice
of occupational and environmental health and safety in nursing care for our clients, the employees and the
employers in the workplace. Occupational Health Nurses will maintain the promotion of health, proactive health
maintenance, prevention standards, precautionary measures, protection from harm, primary care of illness and injury
and restoration of health for the workers in the workplace. Occupational Health Nurses are dedicated to
excellence in ethical practice, life long learning, and fulfilling the standards of the specialized practice of
occupational and environmental health and safety in nursing care for our clients, the employees and the employers
in the workplace community.
Occupational Health Nurses recognize the need to establish interdisciplinary alliances with nursing colleagues and health care professionals to ensure quality health care systems for everyone.
OHNIG GOALS
To be the voice within RNAO for the specialty practice of Occupational Health Nursing
To raise the awareness of Occupational Health Nursing Scope of Practice and Occupational Health Nurse
Standards
To collaborate with other RNAO nursing interest groups in developing Best Practice Guidelines based on best
available evidence.
To influence the development of the field of occupational health nursing as a career choice for nurses
To contribute to a high quality of care based on the primary health care principles for the people of
Ontario by supporting RNAO policy of excellence in nursing
To support, recognize, network, lead and participate in political action, as well as public education
opportunities to enhance the public's awareness of the nursing profession
To provide membership in the Canadian Nurses Association for occupational health nurses in Ontario.
To begin to understand the dynamic field and career opportunities in the specialized field of
Occupational Health Nursing click here to visit the Ontario Occupational Health Nurse Interest Group
(OHNIG) section of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario website.
