An employee health nurse has to have good communication and computer skills. Each health care facility has its own educational requirements for becoming an employee health nurse. Generally a nurse with a valid nursing license and at least a few years of nursing experience can qualify for the position. An employee health nurse is not only concerned with the health of the patients, but also the health of the staff nurses to promote a healthy working environment.

Testing New Employees

Employee health nurses have the duty of helping with making hires. Once the appropriate officials have screened the applicant for credentials and skills, the employee health nurse will provide additional testing for the new employee. Those tests include vaccinations, TB skin tests, chest X-rays, color blind testing and other screening that is determined necessary by the human resources department. These tests are needed for all new employees for the safety of the health care facility's staff, patients and all other visitors of the facility.

Assisting Ill or Injured Employees

When an employee is ill or sick, he generally alerts the employee health nurse of his absence or if he is leaving work earlier than scheduled. The employee health nurse will follow up on the illness of the employee to determine if the illness is job related. If the illness was due to an injury on the job or related to health hazards on the job the employee nurse will file the appropriate paperwork for the employee.

Agency Contacts

An employee health nurse is responsible for staying in contact with various ancillary services of a health care facility, such as clinical laboratories, EKG and radiology facilities. The contact between the employee and these ancillary services should be daily by phone or in person. The contact is in reference to employee tests.

Disciplinary Action

An employee health nurse has the responsibility of ensuring the health care staff she oversees complies with the rules and ethical codes of the health care facility. If an employee does not follow the regulations and codes of the health care facility, it is the duty of the employee health nurse to report that nurse to an authority figure, such as a physician. The initial disciplinary action process begins with the employee health nurse. The employee health nurse may not show favoritism for a particular employee when it comes to disciplining that employee; this is grounds for discrimination against other employees.

Ordering Supplies

An employee health nurse is responsible for maintaining adequate supplies of all the necessities the health care facility and its employees need. This calls for placing orders of supplies such as immunization materials, culture media and laundry. An employee health nurse keeps track of staffing records and medical files, so ordering clerical supplies is also a responsibility of this nurse.