Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week by Karen Mills, Director of Zen Occupational Health Ltd.
I qualified as an RGN In 1990 and worked in various roles, leaving the NHS as a ward manager in 2007. I began working in occupational health (OH) at my local council in 2007; I worked on the job and completed an OH diploma in 2009. Over the years I have worked in various sectors for small, medium and large OH providers before setting up my own business in 2017.
A typical day for me now is to look at my vision board in my home office before I start work. This is the size of a small window. It contains pictures of personal goals on one side and business goals on the other side. Most days I will write down personal and business goals that I aim to achieve for the month.
I check my emails at 9am and prioritise my work. I reply to any email enquiries about reports I have completed and any new enquiries. I triage the referrals that come in and decide how they should be assessed and who should assess them. Most cases are telephonic and for Occupational Health Advisors (OHAs). Occasionally they are referred to an Occupational Health Physician (OHP), for example if they are ill health retirement or very complex cases. If health surveillance clinics have been carried out sometimes there will be OHP referrals.
I usually have clinical appointments throughout the week which can be face to face, telephone, or video consultations. Within these appointments I use NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) techniques to understand people’s health conditions and help them to overcome them and return to work.
I still do health surveillance onsite, as I enjoy keeping my clinical skills up to date and working in the workplace. I have a wide range of clients from various industries: food, chemical, housing, logistics, healthcare etc.
Throughout my day I may have a meeting with other business owners, Human Resources and managers as I have found it is important to keep networking to help grow my business. These meetings will be face to face or via Zoom. I will also interact with them throughout the week on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
If I do routine admin type work, I tend to listen to an audible book via Alexa. I am currently listening to NLP at Work by Sue Knight which I have already read. I find listening is absorbed more.
I often must research conditions and refer to NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidance to ensure I am providing evidence-based information.
I have admin support and I work with associate OHAs and OHPs. Sometimes I require support outside my area, and I will refer to the SOM database to seek help. I keep up to date by reading journals, accessing the SOM website, reading the OH Facebook group posts and attending any relevant course online or face to face when I can.
I always schedule my lunch in my diary, so I don’t miss it. It’s so easy to get caught up in work and forget to take a break.
I tend to finish work around 4 to 5pm, and only occasionally work extra hours to ensure a good work life balance. I often open water swim before work or after work. I like to try to walk if I don’t swim to ensure I get fresh air and exercise. Fridays I don’t do any clinical work and I use this day to catch up on admin tasks.
Every day is different and there is never a dull moment. I love running my own business and I find OH very interesting. I am on a journey to do more NLP and will study to Master level in June.
I am holistic in my approach, and I enjoy empowering people to manage their own health challenges. I often sign post people to alternative therapies and support, especially when people are not happy with current treatment.
I am forever learning and developing as a business owner and OH professional in order to be happy, provide for my family and succeed.
This is the first in our series of guest blogs written for Occupational Health Awareness Week 2022 (19-24th June). Karen Mills is Director of Zen Occupational Health Ltd and an RGN Occupational Health Advisor. Click here to find out more about Occupational Health Awareness Week and here to learn more about Careers in OH.