COHN Exam Format | COHN Course Contents | COHN Course Outline | COHN Exam Syllabus | COHN Exam Objectives

Exam Code: COHN
Exam Name: Certified Occupational Health Nurse
Total questions: 160 multiple-choice questions (135 scored + 25 unscored/pilot)
Time allotted: 3 hours
Passing score / criteria: Pass/fail status is based on a scaled score derived from the raw number of correct answers.
The minimum passing score is determined by a standard-setting process (Angoff method) with subject matter experts.

Clinician Role
- Assessment
- Obtain an occupational and environmental health history
- Conduct post-offer/pre-placement health assessments
- Assess health needs of workers and worker populations (i.e.- health risk assessment- jobhazard analysis- changing demographics- injury evaluation and triage)
- Identify laws and regulations affecting nursing practice (e.g.- licensure- practice acts- NurseLicensure Compact)
- Monitor new developments related to emerging health care issues
- Assess workers with work restrictions or limitations and make appropriate job placementrecommendations (i.e.- fitness for duty)
- Identify physical requirements to fulfill essential job function
- Identify ethical issues in practice
- Identify health surveillance of individuals/groups for specific hazards (e.g.- hearingconservation- respiratory protection- laser safety- hazardous materials)
- Planning
- Interpret results of screening tests and health history; refer per policy protocol
- Recommend changes in job/work to accommodate workers’ health status and history
- Recommend programs and testing based on worker health needs
- Formulate a response to emerging healthcare issues
- Implementation
- Use and maintain a health recordkeeping system
- Recognize and respond to ethical issues in practice
- Provide treatment of work-related injuries or illnesses
- Provide direct care for non-work-related injuries and illnesses for workers
- Provide health promotion- disease prevention screening tests (e.g.- cancer screening- bloodpressure monitoring- cholesterol- health risk appraisals)
- Refer workers to an employee assistance program
- Provide individual counseling services for worker
- Perform medical surveillance and regulatory compliance testing/screening
- Assure confidentiality of personal health information and comply with established codes ofethics- legal or regulatory requirements
- Comply with OSHA occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements
- Evaluation
- Evaluate the quality of care provided by internal and external health services
- Evaluate injuries- illnesses or incidents using root cause analysis
- Demonstrate the value of clinical services by internal occupational health services
- Interpret medical surveillance and regulatory testing and screening
Coordinator Role
- Assessment
- Monitor laws and regulations affecting nursing practice (e.g.- licensure- practice acts)
- Analyze injury- illness- and incident data
- Reference safety data sheets
- Determine staffing requirements
- Identify hazards through work site walk-through surveys
- Assess ergonomic needs
- Assess and report on the organization’s regulatory compliance with applicable standards(e.g.- OSHA)
- Planning
- Collaborate with other disciplines to protect and promote worker health and safety
- Identify appropriate personal protective equipment
- Coordinate medical testing for DOT compliance
- Develop occupational health and safety policies and procedures
- Develop the components of a drug and alcohol screening program
- Establish goals and objectives for an occupational health and safety program
- Develop nursing protocols
- Incorporate knowledge of cultural beliefs and practices in implementing programs andservices
- Establish guidelines related to workplace violence
- Utilize principles of ergonomics for worksite design
- Develop emergency preparedness plans
- Implementation
- Coordinate health promotion and disease prevention strategies and programs
- Coordinate surveillance programs
- Incorporate computer technology for occupational health practice
- Use software applications for health information management (i.e.- informatics)
- Recommend control measures to reduce or eliminate exposures/hazards
- Apply regulatory standards and guidelines
- Prepare and provide testimony or documentation for legal proceedings (e.g.- worker’compensation- dismissal- EEOC)
- Participate in administrative proceedings related to occupational health
- Prepare business reports for management (e.g.- budget- trending- vaccination compliance-program compliance)
- Adhere to policies and procedures for confidentiality
- Implement laws and regulations affecting nursing practice (e.g.- licensure- practice acts)
- Implement workplace substance abuse programs
- Establish and monitor compliance with infection control guidelines
- Coordinate and serve on interdisciplinary committees and teams
- Provide resources and information to meet the health and safety needs of the organization
- Develop programs based on health and safety management principles
- Participate in audits (e.g.- health- safety- environmental- organizational)
- Evaluation
- Conduct quality management/improvement program (s) for occupational health and safety(e.g.- benchmarking- best practices)
- Demonstrate the value of services provided (e.g.- case management- occupational healthservices)
- Interpret the data obtained during a work site walk-through survey assessment
Advisor Role
- Assessment
- Assess education and training needs
- Determine management support for health- wellness- and safety programs
- Assess for opportunities for workplace- professional- and community involvement
- Planning
- Interpret needs assessment results
- Select teaching methods and content based on the characteristics of learners (e.g.- applyadult learning principles- cultural differences)
- Develop educational strategies to effectively communicate risks to workers
- Plan new worker occupational health and safety orientation programs
- Develop education and training programs (i.e.- health and safety)
- Develop business case to enlist management support
- Implementation
- Educate and train workers about health and wellness (e.g.- self-care-complementary/alternative medicine- stress management)
- Educate management at all levels about occupational health and safety programs
- Educate and train occupational health and safety staff
- Serve as a preceptor or mentor for students and health care professionals
- Train workers on proper use and care of personal protective equipment
- Serve on professional and community boards
- Evaluation
- Communicate the results and outcomes of educational and training programs
- Evaluate value added service
- Measure program outcomes
Case Manager Role
- Assessment
- Identify work-related cases that are appropriate for case management
- Identify non-work-related cases that are appropriate for case management
- Identify legal- labor- and regulatory implications related to case management
- Planning
- Develop case management plans for individuals
- Develop and/or coordinate a network of resources for case management
- Develop a multidisciplinary plan of care in collaboration with the worker and their supportsystems
- Implementation
- Manage short-term or long-term disability cases
- Administer or manage integrated disability management strategies (I.e.- STD- LTD- FMLA-workers’ compensation- ADA/ADAAA)
- Manage workers’ compensation cases
- Refer workers for rehabilitation as indicated
- Coordinate administration of case management with vendors and community resources
- Communicate essential job functions information to providers
- Recommend modified duty based on work restriction and fitness for duty
- Evaluation
- Analyze workers’ compensation data
- Monitor treatment plan and outcomes (e.g.- early return to work- work conditioning- workcapacity exam- adherence to treatment plan- opioid minimization)
- Evaluate health care delivery to workers provided by external providers

- CHEMICAL HAZARDS
- solvents- cutting oils (e.g.- benzene)
- reproductive hazards
- asbestos- silica- cotton dust
- carcinogens
- heavy metals (e.g.- lead- cadmium- nickel-chromium- mercury)
- latex allergy
- carbon monoxide- methane
- toxicology terms (e.g.- acute/chronic/dose/PEL)
- cyanide- hydrogen sulfide
- exposure routes (e.g.-inhalation/absorption/ingestion/injection)
- chlorine- toluene isocyanates (i.e.- sensitizingagents)
- target organs (e.g.- neurotoxins/hepatotoxins)
- •ethylene oxide
- medical surveillance
- pesticides (e.g.- organophosphates)
- other chemical hazards
- BIOLOGIC HAZARDS
- food and water borne pathogens
- bloodborne pathogens (e.g.- HIV- hepatitis B)
- tuberculosis
- travel medicine
- immunizations/tetanus
- other biologic hazards
- PHYSICAL HAZARDS/ERGONOMICS
- noise vibration/hearing loss
- upper extremity disorders/algorithms
- radiation (e.g.-ionizing/lasers/infrared/microwaves/NRC)
- back disorders
- heat/cold stress
- work station design (e.g.- VDTs)
- electrical
- job task analysis
- PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGIC/STRESS
- violence (e.g.- critical incident stress debriefing– CISD)
- drug screening/chain of custody/hair samples
- shift work
- aging workers
- fitness for duty/job placement (e.g.- transitionalwork/return to work)
- cultural differences
- stress/time management
- disaster planning
- employee assistance programs (e.g.- drugabuse/alcoholism)
- SAFETY AND INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE ISSUES
- safety walkthrough
- personal protective equipment (e.g.-respirators/gloves/clothing/hearing protection)
- splash exposure
- engineering controls (e.g.-automation/substitution/isolation/distancing)
- sampling (e.g.- area/personal)
- administrative controls (e.g.- rotation/shift adjustment/training)
- indoor air quality/radon
- other safety hazards
- STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
- hazard communication
- OSHA standards (e.g.- respiratory protection)
- MSDSs
- ADA/ADAAA (e.g.- job placement)
- DOT
- FMLA
- confined space
- HIPAA
- lock out/tag out
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- EMERGENCY RESPONSE
- burn care
- strains and sprains
- eye injuries
- crush injuries/amputation/bleeding
- cardiac emergencies/AEDs
- head injuries
- DISEASE MANAGEMENT
- dermatitis
- cholesterol
- occupational asthma/acute respiratory distress
- hypertension
- pulmonary function testing
- disease state management
- case management/clinical outcomes
- chronic pain management
- diabetes
- wound care
- asthma
- HEALTH EDUCATION/PROMOTION
- smoking cessation
- adult learning theory
- counseling/health promotion (e.g.- Healthy People 2020 objectives)
- levels of prevention
- confidentiality
- literacy/language issues
- AIDS education
- communicating risk
- counseling
- health risk assessment
- MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
- ethics
- legal/regulatory practice aspects
- principles ofmanagement/communication
- INFORMATION MANAGEMENT/RECORDKEEPING
- confidentiality
- recordkeeping
- workers’ compensation
- research designs
- policy and procedures/protocols
- CLINICAL PRACTICE
- pre-placement evaluation
- clinical assessment
- screening test results analysis
- return to work assessment
- performing screening tests
- work restriction management