Occupational Health Nursing Pulse: AAOHN Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr. Yang Li, PhD, RN, shares her research on the effect of trauma and her observations regarding the integration of trauma-informed care into medical practice on this episode of the AAOHN Pulse. She identifies a critical need for medical professionals to account for what patients have experienced, as well as for caregivers to acknowledge their own struggles. Host Stephanie Weinsier and Dr. Li discuss creating a safe space for patients, practices to treat physical and mental disruptions caused by trauma, as well as the way trauma specifically impacts high risk communities, such as the field of nursing, as seen in Dr. Li's research.

                To learn more about trauma-informed care and to access the rest of Dr. Li's work, click here. Check out Dr. Li's University of Austin page for her contact information. For further reading, visit the AAOHN Journal (free access for members!). For more information, to submit questions to our host or guests, or to suggest a topic or guest for a future Pulse episode, please contact education@AAOHN.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal ideation, dial 988 for the nationwide Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For more information, click here.

Dr. Louise O'Keefe, Ph.D., MSN, BSN, ADN, CNE, FNP, CRNP, RN, joins this week's AAOHN Pulse to discuss her research on Post-Acute COVID 19 Syndrome – otherwise known as Long COVID. Post-2020, OHNs, RNs, and patients alike were – and still are – burnt out. It can be difficult to discern if the mental and physical symptoms patients exhibit – fatigue, "brain fog," issues with sleep, shortness of breath, etc. – are caused by Long COVID or a rise in mental health conditions. Dr. O'Keefe and our host Stephanie T. Weinsier, DNP, ANP-BC, COHN-S, FAAOHN, dive into how to manage Long COVID symptoms and self-care recommendations for OHNs and RNs. They also discuss how the manifestation of symptoms in patients often associated with Long COVID can stem from larger, systemic issues exacerbated by the pandemic, but that Long COVID can simultaneously be the cause.

                To learn more about Post-Acute COVID 19 and access the rest of Dr. O'Keefe's work, click here. Check out Dr. O'Keefe's page on the University of Alabama in Huntsville website here. For further reading, visit the AAOHN Journal (free access for members!). For more information, to submit questions to our host or guests, or to suggest a topic or guest for a future Pulse episode, please contact education@AAOHN.org.

In the latest episode of the Occupational Health Nursing Pulse, we are so excited to chat with another nursing organization, the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON). Our hosts Jennylynn Balmer and Bryan Combs converse with two Nurse Practitioner educators, Kathleen Geier and A.J. Benham from Jackson Orthopaedic Foundation. They focus on advanced practice nursing in the primary care setting for all musculoskeletal conditions. Through this conversation, we discover we have so much to learn from one another, including staying committed to the nursing role looking at the whole patient to improve care. Tune in for a new perspective.

Coming to you LIVE from the AAOHN Exhibit hall, Occupational Health Nursing Pulse sits downs with two first time attendees; Donette Price, MBA, BSN, RN, CCM from Renaissance Lakewood LLC and Caitlin Lang, MA from the National Safety Council to chat about their conference experience.

One of our guests provides a glimpse of the session she will present on OHNs navigating a new normal in future workplaces, and the other, who is new to her occupational health nursing role, shares how she is experiencing that new normal. They reflect on the spirit of collaboration and community between OHN members and AAOHN partner organizations that they feel at the conference.

In this episode, Dr. Nicholas Monfries, MD joins us to discuss the Workplace Health & Safety Journal article on his pilot study on nurse burnout. Burnout affects both the individual's personal and professional life and deals with issues like emotional exhaustion, decreased productivity, and personalization. The economic impact of burnout to an organization can be significant. One interesting note from Dr. Monfries is that the interventions can be used as more generalized training for resiliency, mindfulness and meditation for other types of issues. As Dr. Monfries explains, there is wide application for occupational health clinics to adapt the study to their own worksite. Workplace interventions are feasible and potentially effective at reducing burnout amongst healthcare professionals.

To read more information on Dr. Monfries study, please look for the article in the March 2023 WH & S Journal.

In workplace settings, active shooter incidents are unpredictable and not entirely preventable, but there are steps to take to increase awareness and develop action plans. Joining us on the Occupational Health Nursing Pulse is Georgia Reiner, MS, CPHRM, a risk analyst with Aon/Affinity in their Healthcare division. In her role with Nurses Service Organization, Georgia educates nursing professionals on risk safety in their practices.  Tune in for tips as a nursing professional on how to detect signs of threatening behaviors and steps to act quickly to protect themselves and others.

In this new episode, Jennylynn welcomes Dr. David Kuntz, PhD, F-ABFT, Executive Director of Analytical Toxicology at the Clinical Reference Laboratory. Spend some time with AAOHN to learn history on laboratory drug testing and the methods involved with workplace drug testing. While each state has different rules for drug testing, overall the testing is standardized to involve a two-step process: screening  and lab confirmation. We'll also hear about new designer drugs and the process to develop the tests to measure their presence.

We sit down with OHN, Melanie Hayes, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, to discuss her current role at OSHA and past roles with the Department of Navy. Melanie first gained experience with occupational health in her nursing role at the Department of Navy. From this experience, she prioritized advancing her education in occupational health nursing and was fortunate to have found a grant specific to occupational health nursing at an ERC DNP program to accomplish this goal. She started at the OOMN as a Graduate Nurse Intern after pitching her DNP project on Hearing Protection Device fit testing implementation into an OHN clinic and later filled a nursing vacancy within the department. The nursing staff at the OOMN works on issues such as the bloodborne pathogen standard, respiratory protection standard, workplace violence issues, and currently the preparation for regulatory heat standard rules. In addition, as the first Advanced Practice Nurse in the office of OOMN, Melanie also works on the more complex cases such as the enforcement consultation cases for medical issues and gives us insight into the work of the organization.

The onsite clinic model of occupational health nursing offer nurses more direct care of patient employees. Specific to the various industry settings, many opportunities exist for an LPN in occupational health nursing. Jennylynn Balmer talks with Candace Wilmoth, RN at Wayne-Sanderson Farms previously Wayne Farms. Candace has worked as an LPN in the poultry manufacturing industry with a scope a practice from clinical care of lacerations or repetitive motion injuries, health promotion, injury and illness prevention, return to work protocols, employee pre-employment drug screens and post offer assessments. As an on-site clinic nurse, day to day care varies and most beneficial to her, the setting allows for use of more critical thinking skills or even the development of new processes. Being onsite as the nurse responsible for over 700 employees, her skill set and experiences constantly expand. Providing a safe environment and the trust she builds with employees is the one of the most rewarding aspects of her job. She is always on the lookout to update the best practices within her industry setting and credits the great support of her employer.

Jennylynn sits down with Brenda Ruhrer, BSN, MPH, COHN-S to discuss her 32 year military nursing career serving in the National Guard. Brenda was Chief Occupational Health Nurse for the National Guard Bureau with oversight and coordination amongst the 54 occupational health nurses. While Brenda has served a dual role being a civilian OHN and serving in the Guard during her career, not every occupational health nurse serves in the military when they may work for a military facility or the department of defense. Some have access for direct care, while others like Brenda performed medical surveillance, safety hazards and industrial hygiene reports. Brenda worked the "flightline" at her facility where aircraft take off and land, with her office located in the hangar the helicopters were stored. She was the only OHN stationed at her facility in her state. She has had a lot of OSHA and DOD training for her role, as well as providing CPR and AED training for military personnel. No routine tasks with this type of nursing role and often a lot of fun, Brenda describes having to perform a noise survey while a helicopter took off as one of her favorite days. Weekend work was focused on medical readiness performing periodic health assessments. Brenda also discusses a deployment overseas as a nurse educator for Afghanistan military medics and a deployment here domestically with COVID-19 in a variety of occupational health/public health roles.