Occupational health nurse

Occupational health nurses care for the health and wellbeing of people at work.


Typical Salary

£30,000 – £53,000

per year

Working Hours

37–40

hours per week

Career Area

Other health professionals

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Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could:

  • carry out pre-employment medical checks
  •  assess and treat employees who are injured or become ill at work
  •  provide counselling and support
  •  give advice on health education, health and safety and sickness absence
  •  carry out risk assessments and keep employee health records

Skills needed

  • knowledge of medicine and dentistry
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • a desire to help people
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work well with others
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to get into this role

You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or by working towards this role.

Career progression

With experience you could:

  • move into management and lead a team of occupational health staff or run an occupational health centre
  •  become self-employed and work as an occupational health consultant
  •  work for a private company
  •  take extra qualifications and go into nurse education or research