The industrial nurse's role in occupational safety

Abstract

Much of the effectiveness of any industrial safety program depends upon the occupational health nurse. She is in a unique position to observe, analyze, and report early incidents before they are followed by serious accidents. The industrial nurse trains her eyes to see, her ears to hear, and her mind to understand the unsafe condition, the unsafe act, and the unsafe attitude. When an employee reveals an 'its for the birds' attitude, or a belief that accidents are just unfortunate or uncontrollable breaks in living, the alert industrial nurse should recognize the challenge and the acute necessity for altering these attitudes. She knows that a person's industrial safety attitudes are a pretty good indicator of his accident potential. One cannot separate safety attitudes from emotional adjustments, for the 2 are interrelated. The occupational health nurse always holds medical service as her primary objective, and safety as second, realizing that the 2 cannot be separated. Many nurses learn the right methods of accident prevention by experience and observations: many do the right thing instinctively. A few suggestions are given to help the industrial nurse function more effectively in a plant safety program.