Introduction:

Core concepts of occupational health nursing include understanding exposure, metabolism, and toxic effects of the chemical substances encountered in the workplace. This module will give occupational health nurses a fundamental knowledge of toxicology including an understanding of important terms, dose-response relationships, routes of entry, distribution and metabolism, chemical interactions, and classifications of toxicants.

This module is part of the 19-module OHN Prep Course Package.

Learning Objectives:

• Define toxicity and hazard.
• Understand the dose response relationship, exposure routes of entry, and how toxicants are distributed throughout the body.
• Describe the different elimination pathways and elimination half-life.
• Understand the action categories of toxic materials.
• Be familiar with the different physiological classifications of toxic substances.
• Understand different chemical reactions.

Lecturer:

• Cynthia Elwood, BS, PhD, CIH, is the owner and Principal Industrial Hygienist at Associates in Occupational + Environmental Health, an industrial hygiene and safety consulting firm. She has provided consulting services for 32 years in the fields of employee exposure assessments, retrospective occupational disease investigations, indoor air quality, local exhaust ventilation, development of comprehensive safety and health programs, and academic and professional education.

The University of Colorado College of Nursing is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Colorado Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. A maximum of 1 contact hour is available for this course. For questions about contact hours, please email nursingce@ucdenver.edu.

This course covers topics outlined in the ABOHN Candidate Handbooks for COHN and COHN-S.

Criteria for Successful Completion: You must fully complete this module and all assessment questions, along with the OHN Prep module survey.

Conflicts of Interest: No individuals in a position to control content for this activity has any relevant financial relationships to declare.

Commercial Support: There is no commercial support being received for this event.

Expiration date for Enduring Materials: Origination Date: May 1, 2020 through Expiration Date: May 1, 2022

Joint Providers: This activity is being jointly provided by the University of Colorado College of Nursing Office of Continuing Education, The Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health and The Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health has partnered with the The Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health to deliver continuing education to occupational health nurses.