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Occupational health nursing (OHN) is concerned with the health and safety of people at work, their families, and the general community. Specific concerns include the development, management and evaluation of health services, programs, and policies designed to promote health and prevent work-related injuries and disease.
The OHN program is funded in part by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The program was competitively reviewed by NIOSH, using a peer review process involving occupational and environmental health colleagues, and received the best score in the nation (1997-2002). The curriculum includes course work in environmental and occupational health sciences and policy, epidemiology, research methods and statistics, management, and public and occupational health nursing.
The field has grown rapidly as employers and the government realize the need to protect the health and safety of the nations' work force. The ever increasing number of workplace hazards (including chemical, physical, psychosocial, and biological agents), the development of new governmental regulations, the concerns for escalating health care costs, and the tight labor supply have all converged into a heightened societal awareness of the need to maintain and promote the well-being of workers. Occupational health nurses are uniquely prepared to address this trend.
Agricultural health and safety training is a sub-specialty within the OHN track that addresses the need for additional education among nurses providing public health services, primary health care and other types of consultation to farming families and farm workers. Interested students complete a minor of 4-6 credit hours of specialized instruction and master's level research projects to supplement the general OHN curriculum. The minor emphasizes the etiology, risk factors, and prevention strategies for agricultural injuries and disease.
Degree Options
The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree option is designed for students with an interest in program management who are considering careers in industry, health services or the insurance industry. It has a stronger management and less quantitative focus than the corresponding M.S. degree option. Students are admitted to the School of Public Health's environmental health major. Requirements for this degree option generally take two years to complete.
The Master of Science (M.S.) degree in environmental health is designed for students with an interest in applied research who are considering careers in teaching and research. It includes more biostatistics and epidemiology than the M.P.H. option and less management course work. It is intended to provide the knowledge and skills of public and environmental health sciences as the methodological paradigm for research. Students are admitted to the Graduate School's program in environmental health. Requirements for this degree option take two years to complete
The M.S./M.P.H . dual degree program is designed for students interested in working in public health agencies or pursing a doctoral degree and eventual employment in nursing education. Students can earn an M.P.H. and participate in a program accredited by the National League of Nursing by taking the M.S. degree curriculum offered through the School of Nursing's program in public health nursing. It generally takes two and one half years to complete the required academic plan. In addition to M.P.H. course work students take alternative course work in public health nursing and practice and complete a more rigorous research project or thesis.
The Ph.D. program is for students interested in a career of research and graduate education. It is designed to bring students to a high level of academic competence through a combination of advanced course work and research. Post master's level course work emphasizes the statistical and analytic methods required to conduct original research, and topics specific to the student's dissertation topic. Course work in health services research relevant to ccupational health policy and program evaluation is stressed. The program generally takes a minimum of three years of full-time study to complete after completing the equivalent of masters' level occupational health nursing course work. Students develop their dissertation topics from funded research projects. Ph.D. Curriculum
Coursework
The program provides coursework in core public health and occupational health sciences, research methods and statistics, management and financial management, public health nursing and occupational health nursing. The curriculum is designed to provide a unique and rewarding opportunity to experience learning and working in a multidisciplinary team environment and exposure to real life practice settings and problems. The coursework will prepare students to
- apply basic scientific knowledge to current occupational and environmental health problems
- demonstrate understanding of principles of epidemiology, statistics, toxicology and policy and management
- apply quantitative skills to characterize or solve EnHS problems
- demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate publications and other media addressing EnHS issues
- identify the sources, the impacts and the transmission mechanisms of environmental agents (chemical, biological, physical and psychosocial factors) that affect human health
- identify various elements, complexities, and uncertainties of the risk evaluation process including risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication
- describe the regulatory and policy implications of the material presented and research undertaken
- demonstrate expertise in designing prevention programs and intervention strategies that achieve results for improving health and managing employers' health care costs.
- demonstrate effective written and verbal communication skills to a variety of audiences.
Financial Assistance
Funding is available to cover tuition and fees for full- and part-time study at the master's level. Stipends are generally available to full-time master's students. Funding for doctoral studies is individually negotiated. Students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships through funded research projects. An assistantship provides tuition reimbursement and salary support for students assisting on research projects while registered for a degree program. Students may also apply for several competitive scholarships available within the division.
Financial Assistance
More Information About Application
Probationary Admission
Applicants may be admitted to the MPH program on a probationary basis. Each application for probationary admission will be evaluated and considered individually. Full time students will be required to take three courses in the first semester (PubH 5320, Fundamentals of Epidemiology; PubH 5414 Biostatistical Methods I; and one of three core EnHS courses) and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. Part-time students will be required to take the same courses over a period of two semesters and maintain a GPA of 3.0. Students who successfully complete these requirements will be admitted to regular student status.
Curriculum for MPH
Curriculum for MS
Curriculum for PhD
Primary Faculty
Patricia McGovern, RN, MPH, Ph.D., Professor
Nancy Nachreiner, Ph.D., MPH, RN, COHN-S, Assistant Professor
Debra K. Olson, R.N., M.P.H., COHN, Instructor
Affiliated Faculty in Occupational Health Nursing
Jeanne Ayers, B.S.N., M.P.H., Adjunct Instructor, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health; Director of Continuing Education Program, Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (occupational health nursing, community programs, continuing education)
David Cossi, J.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health (employment law topics including work-related violence and sexual harassment, the American's with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
LaVohn Josten, R.N., Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Nursing (public health nursing, administration, leadership)
William Lohman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health; (occupational medicine, worker's compensation program management, policy development)
Affiiated Academic Personnel in Occupational Health Nursing
Catherine Hunt, B.S.N., M.P.H., Community Preceptor, Area Vice President, BHK&R, Inc. (A Member of the Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Group)
Jean Bey, B.S.N., M.P.H., Community Preceptor, Occupational Health Manager, Corporate Occupational Medicine, 3M Corporation.
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