In France, Occupational Health Nurses are registered nurses who first complete a three-year State Diploma in Nursing (Diplôme d'État Infirmier – DEI) before undertaking specialized training in occupational health, through Inter-University Diplomas (DIUST/DIU), professional Bachelor's degrees (Licence), or continuing professional education.

The training focuses on workplace health and safety, risk prevention, occupational diseases, health surveillance, ergonomics, and health promotion. Occupational Health Nurses work alongside occupational physicians to protect workers' health, prevent occupational risks, and promote well-being in the workplace.

National regulatory framework (since 2022)
Since Decree No. 2022-1644 (27 December 2022) and its implementing order (arrêté of 30 January 2023, amended 30 December 2023), specific training in occupational health has become a legal requirement for nurses working in occupational health services (SPST) in France. The decree defines a common national framework of six competency areas that every training programme must cover, regardless of which university delivers it:

• Knowledge of the world of work and business
• Occupational hazards and diseases, and how to prevent them
• Collective prevention actions and health promotion at the workplace
• Individual health monitoring of workers
• Support for employers and companies, and prevention of loss of employment due to health issues
• Working within multidisciplinary occupational health teams

Employers must ensure that any nurse recruited without prior occupational health training is enrolled in a qualifying programme within 12 months of hire, and this training is becoming mandatory even for nurses already in post, with a phase-in target of 1 January 2026 in several regions.

Because of this reform, programme names, durations, and delivery structures have changed since the previous overview was written: several formerly independent university programmes have merged into regional consortia, and some universities have introduced new dedicated DU/DIU tracks to comply with the decree. For this reason, this page lists confirmed examples rather than an exhaustive directory — always check directly with the university or with GIT for the most current details before applying.

GIT (Groupement des Infirmiers de Santé au Travail) — the national professional association — can help direct nurses to the right programme for their region: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. — www.git-france.org

1. Licence  – examples

Lille (ISTNF, in partnership with Université de Lille and ILIS)
Licence Sciences Sanitaires et Sociales, parcours santé-travail (formerly known as "Licence ingénierie et santé publique"). A specialised Bachelor's-level track for State-registered nurses working in occupational health.
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Strasbourg (Université de Strasbourg)
Licence professionnelle – Qualité, hygiène, sécurité, santé, environnement, occupational health track. 10 modules of 35 hours plus a 3-month work placement.
Contact: Faculté de Médecine, Service de Pathologie Professionnelle et Médecine du Travail, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg (please confirm current contact details via the university's continuing education service, sfc.unistra.fr).

Toulouse (Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier)
Note: the occupational health nurse pathway in Toulouse has been reorganised as a DU Santé au Travail (see below) rather than a stand-alone Licence.

2. DIUST / DU Santé au Travail (Diplôme Inter-Universitaire / Diplôme d'Université de Santé au Travail)

Following the 2022 decree, these diplomas are delivered over roughly 210–240 hours of theoretical modules (organised in weekly sessions) plus a supervised placement in an occupational health service, and are aligned with the six national competency areas listed above.

Grand Ouest consortium (Angers – Brest – Rennes)
DIUST-Grand Ouest, 6 modules (210h) rotating between the three cities, plus 420h of workplace training.
Contact: Université de Brest continuing education service (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for accessibility queries; general enrolment through the participating universities).

Grenoble (Université Grenoble Alpes)
DIU Infirmier en Santé au Travail, a 2-year certifying programme, registered under France Compétences (RS7519).

Saint-Étienne (Université Jean Monnet)
DIU Santé au Travail, 240 hours over two years, developed in coordination with Clermont-Ferrand and Grenoble modules to ensure decree compliance.

Toulouse (Université Toulouse III)
DU Santé au Travail, aligned with the December 2023 order; will become mandatory for nurses already working in occupational health from 1 January 2026.
Contact: Mme Pauline Pech, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Other regions (Paris, Bordeaux/Limoges, Bourgogne, and others)
Several other universities historically offered DIUST programmes (Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Lille among the earliest). Many of these have since been reorganised under the new decree. For the current status, contact details, and application windows in a specific region, please contact GIT directly (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or consult git-france.org, which maintains regional contacts for Grand Nord-Ouest, Grand Nord-Est, Île-de-France, Grand Sud-Est, and Grand Sud-Ouest.