Hi Anne,

 

It’s a very good question.

 

It is really going to depend on the types of roles available. The debate will continue about whether a nursing qualification is necessary, but currently (at least in my organisation), non-nursing roles are limited to OH Technicians and Health & Wellbeing specialists (although these are generally filled by Nurses).

 

For health and wellbeing roles, our job descriptions do not demand a nursing background, so a person with that type of background could apply (we have had non Nurses in these roles previously) and would potentially add some value with their background.

 

Therefore, I believe that they would be employable. Even if they start out as a Technician, they would have many additional skills that they could bring to the party and would likely progress rapidly in any one of a number of directions (including safety). They could also engage in activities or manage projects, e.g. contract management type role (liaising with gym providers, etc.), support functional capability assessment, etc.

 

Your suggestion of roles with those who have specific fitness requirements appears reasonable. It will be interesting to hear from those in such environments.

 

Regards,

 

Matt

 

 

 

Dear List

I have a query which I hope you can help me with – sorry for the length of the email – its rather complex.

As many of you may know we offer two occupational health pathways programmes – one is exclusively for registered nurses and confers registration with the NMC as a SCPHN. The other uses the same modules but is open to people who are ineligible for the SCPHN pathway eg Enrolled Nurses, and nurses registered overseas. It is also open to other professionals including OTs and Physio’s. I had an enquiry from a prospective student yesterday from someone who holds a degree in sports and exercise science and has been involved in the fitness sector. She has now been told that she can no longer undertake this role as she is not registered with the HCPC (previously known as the HPC).

I suspect that what this means is that the  HCPC have advised her that she cannot use a protected title (similar to only a nurse registered with the NMC can call themselves a “Registered Nurse”). Prospective employers tell her that they prefer to employ someone who is registered with the HCPC.  Having looked at the HCPC web site there are a number of professions which register with the HCPC from Art Therapist to Speech and Language Therapy. I cannot see anything regarding sports or exercise and as such there cannot currently be a protected title for sports/exercise specialists.

I would have thought that someone with this exercise background and an understanding of key OH issues be very employable in the OH setting particularly in one where high levels of fitness are associated with job requirements such as the military, fire service, prison service and police (particularly with the requirements of the Winsor review in mind).

Issues key to practice  in the OH setting would include:

• the ethics of working in the OH setting – particularly with regard to confidentiality;
• the principles of H&S legislation such as  H&S at Work Act and the 6 pack;
• promoting wellness in the workplace
• assessing fitness for task

My question is – would subscribers employ such a practitioner, particularly one who holds the Grad Cert/BSc(Hons) Workplace Health Management  within their OH team – I am not enquiring about possible employment just employability. I have attached a flyer of that course for your info in relation to this query.

Your feedback would very much be appreciated.

Anne Harriss
Course Director
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

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