Standards of Practice

Employee Health Nursing in the Hospital Setting

Employee health nursing in the hospital setting applies nursing principles to conserving the health of hospital workers and maintaining a safe and healthful environment within the hospital.

The knowledge base synthesizes principles from several health sciences including, but not limited to, nursing, medicine, safety, industrial hygiene and toxicology.

The employee health nurse in the hospital setting is primarily concerned with the preventive approach to health care that encompasses early disease detection, health teaching and counseling. Current trends in health care delivery, legislation, as well as social and economic factors influence the hospital employee health nurses’ responsibilities.

The standards of care for the hospital employee health nurse are applicable to the nurse in solo practice or the one who supervises other professional nurses and paraprofessionals.

As a professional, the employee health nurse is accountable for the nursing care provided to the consumer; that is the hospital employee. Standards of practice provide a means for determining quality of care, as well as accountability of the practitioner.

The format for this presentation of hospital employee health nursing is standard, interpretation and criteria for determining achievement. The component related specifically to nursing practice is consistent with the nursing practice is consistent with the nursing process, which is a systematic approach to nursing practice: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation.

The Need for Standards of Hospital Employee Health Nursing Practice

A professional association, such as the New Jersey Hospital Employee Health Nurses Association, has the responsibility of developing standards of practice that recognize legal, social, ethical and technological factors that affect health care delivery. These standards will protect both the public and the profession.

Establishing standards enables a profession to insure the quality of the provider’s service by gaining control of its practice. These standards require ongoing revision as the scope of nursing practice changes and the knowledge base is redefined.