This photo was taken in February 2020, during the last DNP Intensive prior to remote learning and the statewide mask mandate By Frank Couch
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student Melanie Hayes, MSN, FNP-C, has been selected to participate in a highly competitive internship in Summer 2021 through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Graduate Nurse Internship Program.
The OSHA internship trains nurses in occupational safety and health policy and regulatory affairs at the national level, providing research opportunities, educational experiences and other opportunities to advance knowledge in worker safety and health. Throughout her internship, Hayes will participate in compliance and regulatory activities, attend congressional and/or public hearings and collaborate with external stakeholders such as the American Nurses Association and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Hayes, who is also a NIOSH Graduate Trainee through the Deep South Center for Occupational Safety and Health at UAB, will further develop the quality improvement project she has completed as part of her DNP. Titled “Improving Hearing Protection Device Fit through Objective Fit Testing in an Occupational Health Clinic,” Hayes’ goal is to produce a product that can be utilized by OSHA field officers and employers throughout the United States to help protect workers’ hearing and prevent hearing loss.
Hayes currently works for a federal occupational health clinic as a nurse practitioner and program manager. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama, a Master of Science in Nursing from Florida State University and is scheduled complete her DNP degree at UAB in May 2021. She is a member of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.