The occupational health nurse in the spotlight

It's nursing day! A great time to spotlight the role of the occupational health nurse at The Occupational Health and Safety Service .

The role of health and safety nurses has changed significantly in recent years; so too within De Arbodienst. Whereas until 2005 they were seen as an expert in their own right, their role became more limited in 2005/2006 due to a change in the Occupational Health and Safety Act; that is, occupational health and safety nurses were not among the four core experts that an occupational health and safety service had to consist of. This also brought training to an end. But in 2016, occupational health and safety nurses made their comeback! Due to a shortage of occupational physicians in the Occupational Health and Safety Service, the possibilities in collaborating with occupational health and safety nurses were re-examined; especially in the preventive field. Also within De Arbodienst, part of paraDIGMA groep, the group of occupational health and safety nurses has grown considerably!

Not zooming in on medical issues, but looking at possibilities

The cooperation within De Arbodienst between the Labor and Health Advisor, the occupational health and safety nurses and the company doctors is without a doubt unique. For example, an absent employee is first seen by the Occupational Health and Safety Advisor. If necessary, the expertise of an occupational health and safety nurse, company doctor or other BIG-registered occupational health and safety professionals is deployed. As a result, an employee will only face transfer to the other health care professional when it is truly deemed necessary.

Jessica Meijboom, occupational health and safety nurse at De Arbodienst: "Our strength is that we do not zoom in on the medical problems of an absent employee, but look at the possibilities in work and where the cause of the problems lies. Problems can arise, for example, due to poor employment or private circumstances. Together with the Labor and Health Advisor and the company doctor, we try to bring this to light and make it open for discussion. Sometimes the opposite also happens: employees who have fallen into absenteeism and want to work, but are unable or barely able to because of a (medical) limitation. Together with the company doctor, we support these employees by advising them on the possibilities at work.

A day in the life of...

As a health and safety nurse, you have a lot of contact with the employee and hear unique and special stories. For example, Jessica once got to meet a manager of a large, commercial company. Just before his retirement, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's....

"This gentleman made a big impression on me. He had worked for the company for 40 years and only had to work a few more years before he could retire. When he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, he eventually came to me. He begged me if I could help him, because his employer had pulled him from every project; he has Parkinson's and therefore "couldn't do anything anymore," according to his employer... In the end, he was 100% at home. During our conversation, he asked me if I, together with him and his employer, could look at the possibilities to get back to work; now he was just sitting at home, the walls were coming down on him. He had concentration problems and it was chaos in his head. He saw work as the only remedy. I started talking to him and his wife to see what the situation was like at home. How were household chores going? Which chores could he do and which were too heavy? This quickly made it clear that he needed guidance and could no longer perform his current management tasks. Yet I saw that there were plenty of opportunities that no one had yet thought of. Instead of his management duties, he could perform support tasks, such as checking the content of the website and reports. He was willing to take on those tasks. In consultation with Mr. and his wife, we considered whether these tasks were feasible. Finally, in cooperation with the company doctor, we came up with a list of tasks. We discussed this list with the employer and the manager. They found it a bit scary at first, but also understood that it made him happier. As a result, he was still able to give his life an enjoyable and valuable content until his retirement!"

Curious about the whole story?

This extraordinary story is recorded anonymously in the sequel to the book Parkinson's Partner. This book has now also received a sequel: The Flying Lobster. This book was published on April 11, 2020. The role of Occupational Health Nurse Jessica, is also described in this sequel in an inspiring way.

Working at paraDIGMA groep as a health and safety nurse?

After reading this article, have you become enthusiastic about the role of Occupational Health and Safety Nurse within De Arbodienst? Then we have good news: we are always looking for BIG-registered nurses who are enthusiastic about sustainable employability and the field of Labor and Health. Check out the vacancy!