 |
 |
on 5/2/04 5:37 pm, Rosie Busfield at [log in to unmask] wrote: Naz I emailed Carol Bannister a year ago as I needed to know as I am an OH nurse with only the Certifcate qualification and not the degree or diploma so wanted to not over step the mark so as to speak. I have a copy of her reply and its as follows: "There is no law to prevent you from calling yourself occupational health nurse. You should note however that the title has a defined status in the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a person who has a recorded qualification in occupational health nursing. If you use that title and something goes wrong, then the courts will measure your standard of practice against that of a specialist practitioner in occupational health who has a qualification. It is for this reason that the RCN for Indemnity insurance purposes, recommends that you do not use occupational health nurse. There is no such expectation around occupational health adviser so you can use that title...." Hope this is of interest Regards Rosie Busfield >From: naz bury >Reply-To: Occupational Health mailing list >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: re titles of oh staff >Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 16:35:44 -0000 > >Hi all, >Does anyone know of any guidelines anywhere that give suggestions for what titles to address staff working in OH? (No rude answers now!!) What do qualified ohn's generally get called in your places - ohns or ohn advisers? I know some are called advisers, but I presumed that this related to those with an oh qualification, and that others were called ohns, but we had some debate about this in Uni once and different organisations seem to do things differently. >Thanks in advance for your help >Naz > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Please remove this footer before replying. >Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives Personalise your e-mails with photos, expressive graphics and stationery - sign up for MSN 8 <http://g.msn.com/8HMBENUK/2749??PS=> today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives Dear Rosie I am responding to your e-mail in my previous capacity as Programme Director for Occupational Health Nursing courses at the RCN. I am currently course director for the BSc (Hons) Occupational Health Nursing at London South Bank University. I think I can cast some light on this issue and offer some reassurance to subscribers holding a qualification in OH which is at certificate rather than degree or diploma level. I am assuming that the certificate you hold is the RCN validated OH Nursing Certificate which was available for study at a number of centres throughout the UK. If that is the case I don't think you made that clear to Carol and this is reflected in her response to you. At the time you undertook the OHNC, a qualification which although RCN validated was recorded with the UKCC, was the only qualification which made you a qualified OH Nurse. Although this qualification is no longer available for study those of us who undertook this qualification and recorded it with the UKCC still have it recorded on our entry on the NMC register. The recording of that qualification is the important point and I hope the following direct quotation from the RCN is of assistance : "An OHN, according to the Nursing (and) Midwifery Council (NMC) is a first level general nurse, registered on parts 1 or 12 of the Council's register. In addition, the individual will have satisfactorily completed a qualification which is recorded with the NMC." (RCN 2003) Ref: Nurses employed outside of the NHS recommended pay, terms and conditions 2003-4 The OHNC is a recordable qualification and therefore holders of this certificate are still qualified OHNs, and can describe themselves as such. The employment lawyer, Gillian Howard, states that: "Anyone who calls themselves an "OH physician/adviser" would be expected to be qualified in that field." She goes on to elaborate "OH nurses should be qualified with the appropriate relevant credentials in occupational health issued by the RCN or UKCC." (Howard, 13) Ref Howard, G (2001) Expert advice. Occupational Health Feb 2001 pp12-13 (details of volume and edition are unavailable). At the time of publication I responded to the journal and suggested that the term adviser should be replaced by "Nurse" as at would be in order for an individual with a safety qualification to have the job title of adviser but could only title themselves nurse if they were registered with the UKCC (now NMC). My response was printed in the letters page. I hope this is reassuring for some of you and enlightening for more recently qualified OHNs. Some of the most senior and well respected OHNs in the country gained the OHNC as their first OH qualification, some went on to obtain higher qualifications in OH, others did not. Anne Harriss (holder of OHNC and MSc (Occupational Health) and proud of my OHNC!!!!) Course Director - Occupational Health Nursing London South Bank University ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives