Choosing a Fulfilling Career in Occupational Health - Lynda Bruce's Journey
We spoke to Lynda, one of Compass’ tutors for the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice who told us about her start in Occupational Health, and what it means to her.
As a single mother working night shifts in coronary care, Lynda was disappointed to find that her request for a day off over Christmas to spend time with her kids had been denied (even though she had asked in advance). She was then faced with a tough decision – resign from her post in the NHS or continue adhering to rigid schedules and a lack of flexibility.
For Lynda, this was the tipping point. With three kids under the age of 5, shift work combined with unsociable hours was not ideal when it came to childcare (in fact, many nurses in the NHS struggle to balance family commitments with the shift system) and she struggled with the common issue faced by nurses of not knowing how her schedule would look 3 months down the line.
A decision was made, and Lynda handed in her notice, then free to spend the holiday period with her family.
Leaving the NHS
After her resignation, Lynda spent some time as a bank nurse for the NHS which she found interesting, being able to work in places where she would never have gone otherwise. During this time, she also joined a nursing agency, where they sent her to do conduct mandatory medicals and vaccinations for offshore workers at Offshore Medical Support, which was owned by Aberdeen University.
During her Occupational Health (OH) based placements with the nursing agency, she was offered not one but two job roles, and Lynda chose the position with Offshore Medical Support as an Occupational Health Nurse. OH had chimed with her and she had finally found a place where she belonged that fit in with her family commitments.
Occupational Health is about evidence-based practice
For Lynda, OH just made sense. Working office hours (which is typical of OH work) meant that she had greater flexibility when it came to her family commitments as she always knew what her schedule was going to look like, and working a 9 – 5 meant it was also easier to find childcare. Besides the work-life balance, she also appreciated how occupational health felt more ‘peer-to-peer’ than when she had been in the NHS. She also enjoyed the level of autonomy she experienced day-to-day and how quickly she had been given training in her new role.
Lynda was enrolled on an introductory course (Occupational Health Practice Course), which was similar to the modern Diploma in Occupational Health Practice and it gave her a solid foundation through an introduction into OH.
“Occupational Health is about evidence-based practice,” Lynda says, “You need sound education as well as some training to understand what knowledge you need and how to access and use it. In Occupational Health, our role is to give advice. We are not employees’ managers, and it is always a company decision whether they follow the advice you give. You can make a positive impact working in Occupational Health but you have to be confident that the advice you give is supported by evidence. The new Diploma in Occupational Health Practice course is designed to help nurses new to the role in OH to feel more confident… knowledge is power.”
How to succeed
Studying to become well equipped for your role while you are working is not a walk in the park but you can make it work if you are prepared for the challenge.
Some tips from Lynda:
- Before you embark in any study programme, work out how much time you will need – not just attending the course but for any additional reading and exam preparation. It’s important to identify where this time will come from and how your other activities will be managed when you are studying.
- Also think about how you learn, what works for you? I like to read material and take notes with a second sheet devoted to references so I can retrieve information if I need it.
- It’s important to have access to a computer with good internet access and space for you to store your notes as well as lecture material.
- Do you work best listening to music or in silence? If you google music to study by you will come up with some interesting tips!
- While studying the Diploma in Occupational Health, you will benefit if you can make time for the additional reading outside of the guided learning time spent in the online classroom.
The additional reading (which works out to around 6 hours per week) includes looking at relevant legislation ( https://www.legislation.gov.uk/) which will give you the context and background knowledge you need to help you make informed decisions in your role as an OH nurse.
To support you with this commitment, Compass has developed their delivery of the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice course for nurses by nurses -like Lynda – who have an understanding of what will be most beneficial for them in a real-life scenario.
The course was designed to not be too academic and is more streamlined to what nurses need to know to contribute to their team.
Confidence is key
Whilst there can be a rigid structure in the NHS, some areas of nursing, such as in Accident & Emergency, offer greater degrees of autonomy, which transfers well to a career in Occupational Health. Coming from a background in coronary care, Lynda was used to thinking on her feet and using her initiative to deal with emergencies – if a patient needed resuscitating, she couldn’t wait for a doctor, and she would take charge of the situation herself.
Similarly in Occupational Health, there is a high level of autonomy. “We make some big decisions,” Lynda relates, “If someone is about to drive a forklift truck but they have epilepsy and had a seizure four weeks ago, it’s up to us to give the company advice to keep workers safe.” Again, confidence is key – OH nurses need to be able to influence employers to make the right decisions for the health and safety of their workforce.
Preventative and proactive
Occupational Health is preventative and proactive – it requires a lot of forward thinking and planned activity. Its about helping people to stay well and stay in employment as well as supporting those who have been out of work to return to work safely.
In this way, it works hand in hand with health & safety. “Employers are often not knowledgeable about their H&S obligations especially in certain industries. Occupational Health plays an integral role in helping to ensure we spread awareness about health & safety, and so we need to understand the wider implications of all relevant legislation so that we know how it impacts the employer, educating workers and employers of any gaps in their knowledge.”
Lynda has experienced first hand how Occupational Health changes people’s lives for the better, especially in stress related cases. “Both the employee and their manager can get so much benefit from Occupational Health. I’ve had people say to me, “I didn’t want to speak to you I didn’t see how you could make things better, but you have helped me to see a way forward.””
Advice for Nurses thinking of a career in Occupational Health
Landing a job in OH nursing can sometimes be tough when you come from a different nursing background, and employers are asking for experience. Lynda’s advice for nurses thinking about starting a career in OH is detailed below:
- Find out where occupational health practices are in your area by searching online.
- Get in touch with them and introduce yourself, letting them know that you are a registered nurse who is seriously considering a career in OH.
- Ask to shadow one of their OH Practitioners (and add in a caveat to sign a confidentiality agreement).
- By doing this, you can see if its something you want to do and commit to.
- If your experience with them goes well, there is a good chance it could end in a job offer.
“We need more people in Occupational Health, not less.” Lynda says. Networking is important and if you can spend a couple of days walking in someone else’s shoes, then who knows what doors may be opened for you?
Where OH has taken Lynda now
After 30 years in the sector, Lynda has had a fulfilling career. She eventually worked her way up Chief Occupational Health nurse and Business Development Manager with Offshore Medical Support, and eventually set up her own company too. In this position, she has prioritised placing value on people’s skill set when recruiting and has employed people to support a healthy work life balance.
Now at this point in her career, some of what she is doing is legacy work and she dedicates some of her time to being a trustee with iOH, an inclusive professional development and networking group.
Membership offers invaluable support, which is part of Lynda’s role as a trustee. For example, if members are feeling conflicted about something, they can get in touch with Lynda and talk the issue through, which can be particularly with remote working where people can feel isolated. “That’s why its great to be part of a community of like minded people,” Lynda relates, “iOH is creating a peer support group.” Membership is free to any student studying the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice for the first year.
Lynda also has plans to write a couple of books over the next few years. One of the books she is going to write will be about the history of Occupational Health, which she says is a topic that hasn’t been written about for a “long time”. “People often ignore what has happened before. The world is full of mistakes that are made again and again.”
She has also made an agreement with SOM to write a book about Occupational Health for Beginners. This book will be made available likely in 2026 on the SOM website. The intention is that the book will be available online, not behind a paywall, so it will be a great resource for OH professionals to access.
