- What is the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
The OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship is a purposefully designed experience for
registered professional nurses pursuing a graduate degree in occupational
health or related fields. The internship experience blends current OSHA issues and
initiatives with the intern’s theoretical bases of academic study into a
practical occupational safety and health experience with a national
perspective.
- How long is the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Each selected candidate is expected to complete a full-time (40 hours/week),
eight-week rotation (320 total hours) with the Office of Occupational
Health Nursing (OOHN) in Washington, D.C. The OOHN may entertain
alternate rotation periods upon request of the prospective candidate.
- What will I be doing as an OSHA graduate nurse intern?
Each intern is assigned a project(s) to complete during the internship
rotation. The project(s) is/are designed to blend current OSHA issues and
initiatives with your specific knowledge, skill, and ability set. The majority of
your time will be spent completing the project(s). In addition, you will
receive an orientation to OSHA’s mission and programs. Additional time may be dedicated
to meeting with senior OSHA managers, staff from the various OSHA
Directorates, and OSHA field personnel. Time and scheduling permitting,
the intern may attend a Congressional hearing on an issue of relevance to
the Agency; as well accompany a Compliance Safety and Health Officer (OSHA
inspector) on a compliance inspection.
- Who is eligible to apply for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Any registered professional nurse pursuing an advanced degree in occupational
health or a related field from an
accredited
college or university is eligible to apply for the OSHA Graduate Nurse
Internship. Refer to the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship Program, Program
Outline for full details concerning the Program's
eligibility requirements .
- Will I receive compensation as an OSHA Graduate Nurse Intern?
Historically, a stipend, commensurate to a GS 11, step 1 staff
position, has been provided to the graduate nurse intern through their contracting academic
institution. The specific dollar amount changes from year-to-year and is
contingent upon OSHA’s current year budget. These monies are intended to
defray the graduate nurse-intern’s expenses while working in Washington, DC.
This money is the only source of compensation the graduate nurse-intern
should expect to receive for and during the internship. The final amount
given to the graduate nurse-intern is at the discretion of the
contracting-academic institution. OSHA does not control this disbursement.
- How long will it be before I get paid the stipend?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not directly
reimburse the graduate nurse-intern. Payment to the graduate nurse-intern is at the discretion of
the contracting academic institution. Procedures vary from university to
university. Ask your sponsoring-faculty member about your university's
funding procedures. OSHA does not control this disbursement process – it is controlled by the
contracting academic institution.
- When will the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reimburse my contracting academic institution?
OSHA will disperse payment after the contracting academic
institution bills the Agency for services rendered.
OSHA’s payment to the contracting academic institution should occur
approximately six weeks after the university’s invoice is received by the
U.S. Department of Labor-OSHA. The preferred method of reimbursement to
the contracting academic institution is through Electronic
Funds Transfer [66 KB
PDF, 2 pages].
- Is it my responsibility to ensure my university bills the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for services rendered?
No, it is not your responsibility to ensure your university
bills OSHA for services rendered. However, be aware that some universities
will not reimburse the intern until full payment has been received from
OSHA. Therefore, it may benefit you to check the status of OSHA billing
with your appropriate university financial center.
- How do I apply for the
OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Application instructions
to guide you in the application process are available online.
- May I apply online for the OSHA Graduate Nurse
Internship?
Although you CANNOT apply online, an example of the application package is
available
online.
- What do I include in my application package for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Each applicant for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship should
include the following documents in their application package. Refer to the
Instructions to Applicants for complete details.
- Application for Federal Employment (OF
612 [132 KB
PDF,
4 pages], or Resume)
- Letter of faculty support
- Personal narrative
- Copies of relevant documents
- Sample of your technical writing ability
- Letter of Intent (Only
minor changes intended to meet your university’s needs are allowed)
- How much of my academic requirements must I have completed before applying for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
You MUST have successfully completed a minimum of 50% of your academic requirements before commencing the
OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship. Your faculty advisor letter of support
should document meeting this requirement. The Office of Occupational Health
Nursing (OOHN) may partially waive a portion of the didactic requirement for
professional experience in occupational safety and health. This is on an
individual basis. Contact the OOHN for further information on credit for
field experience. The Office can be reached at: (202) 693-2120.
- I do not have much experience in occupational health outside of my academic
experiences. May I still apply for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
You may apply for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship with a minimum of 6
months experience in occupational health nursing. Although your academic experiences (e.g., practicum experience in
an industrial setting, etc) do contribute toward this minimum experience
requirement, it is preferred (but not mandatory) that you have other
professional work experiences outside of your academic experiences. The
extramural experience is especially important if you are pursuing an
advanced degree in a discipline other than nursing, e.g., MPH. You must
document meeting this requirement in your application package. As
with the didactic requirement, the Office of Occupational Health Nursing
(OOHN) will consider other experiences. Call OOHN at (202) 693-2120 for
questions.
- What is the cutoff date for applications for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship to be submitted to the Office of Occupational Health Nursing?
All application packages MUST be mailed to the Office of
Occupational Health Nursing and be postmarked no later than December 31.
- How should I mail my application package to the Office of Occupational Health Nursing?
You may choose any delivery service available in your locale,
e.g., United States Postal Service, FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc., to forward your
application to the OOHN. However, the OOHN suggests sending your
application package by commercial carrier to avoid damage from security
procedures.
- May I FAX my completed application package to the Office of Occupational
Health Nursing?
Yes, you may FAX your completed application package to the Office of
Occupational Health Nursing (OOHN) at (202) 693-2502. However, you MUST mail
the original application package (with original signatures) to the OOHN
postmarked no later than December 31.
- To whom do I send my completed application package?
Each applicant must complete and mail all original application documents (with
original signatures) to:
Elise Handelman, Director
Office of Occupational Health Nursing
OSHA-Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management
Room N-4618
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20210
- How will I be selected for an OSHA Graduate Nurse Intern position?
You will compete against all other candidates and be rated on academic standing;
professional presentation, qualifications and experience; and demonstrated
technical writing skills. In addition, you may be asked to participate in a telephone interview.
- Who will be reviewing my application package?
All candidate application packages are reviewed by the Office of Occupational
Health Nursing professional staff. Once all reviews are completed,
recommendations are forwarded to the Director, Directorate of Technical
Support and Emergency Management (TSEM) who will make the final selection.
- If selected, where will I be assigned for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Selected graduate nurse interns will be assigned to the Office of Occupational Health Nursing (OOHN) in
OSHA's National Office, located at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C.
All graduate nurse interns will be assigned an OOHN staff member who will
direct their progress through the internship.
- What are the suggested time periods for the 2009 OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship?
Historically, all OSHA Graduate Nurse Internships have been for a consecutive 8-week period
occurring from early March to the end of September. Please submit your suggested
time frame for a tentative 8-week internship rotation to the
Office of Occupational Health Nursing. The Office has identified 3 rotation
periods to help frame your decision process. Other time periods may be
negotiated with OOHN. You should indicate your first and second choices from
these 3 periods in your application package.
Rotation Period 1: March 3 – April 24
Rotation Period 2: May 11 – July 3
Rotation Period 3: July 14 – September 4
- The tentative OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship rotation periods do not
complement my academic calendar requirements. What should I do?
If the tentative OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship rotation periods do not
complement your academic calendar requirements, you may propose
alternative dates in your submitted application package. The alternative
dates MUST be a consecutive eight-week period. The proposed period should
begin on a Monday and may start as early as January 5. The Office of Occupational Health Nursing will
coordinate with the selected interns on a mutually agreeable rotation periods.
- Does the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) provide housing for the
graduate nurse-intern?
No, OSHA does not provide housing for the intern. Final
selection and arrangements for adequate housing is the responsibility of
the selected graduate nurse-intern.
- I am interested in applying for the OSHA Graduate Nurse Internship but have
additional questions. How do I get these answered?
Unresolved questions should be directed to the Office of Occupational Health Nursing either by
phone
[(202) 693-2120)], or email to Robert
Nester.
Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of
Technical Support and Emergency Management at 202-693-2300 for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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