How to Become a Health Inspector

An individual pursuing a career as a health inspector is a professional healthcare officer who inspects public places and companies that are involved in manufacturing. Health inspector's jobs are to spend most of their time travelling and inspecting public places. The inspector awards sanitation grades to businesses that determine the level of sanitation involved in the internal functioning of the places. He or she also imposes violations on the companies where their standard safety measures that impact the general people’s health do not meet.

The health inspector's job description includes maintaining the files and evaluating businesses to see improvement in sanitation. Health inspector jobs may also be required to present at court proceedings and present evidence of the establishment’s violations of safety measures.

Inspection

The primary responsibility of a health inspector is to ensure the standard sanitary conditions meet the level of the schools, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other public places. Duties of sanitary inspector in India, include ensuring the functioning of a public place in a hygienic environment. If he or she finds standard guidelines are not being followed, they are liable to terminate the working license of the organization.

Ensuring safety

The duties of a sanitary inspector include ensuring that employees of an establishment work in a safe environment. He or she oversees the biological, physical, and chemical workplace hazards and reviews safety conditions. A sanitary inspector ensures that the health of workers or employees would not get affected by workplace routine or functioning.

Resolve complaints

A career as a health inspector has to take necessary actions on received complaints regarding health and safety issues such as disease outbreaks, unhygienic conditions, exposure to harmful chemicals, and workplace accidents. A health inspector responds to the complaints and inspects the conditions of the workplace. He or she provides effective measures to the management of the organization of resolving the problems related to hygiene and workplace hazards.

Shut down establishments

The health inspector is responsible for canceling the license of the established company if found violating the standard measures of health and safety regularised by local or state government authority. A health inspector jobs are to provide the evidence on court proceedings describing the grounds for shutting down the establishment such as use of toxic substances in food products, or how the lives of employees were at risk while working with harmful chemicals. There could be several reasons for terminating the license.

Training

A health inspector trains the employees and the general public about environmental protection, workplace safety, and public health. A health inspector ensures that the employees and the organizations follow the standard measures of safety and hygiene regulated by the state or local authorities. He or she instructs about the protocols of public health and ensures everyone within the organization follows them.

In this section, we have discussed all the types of health inspectors and also health inspector work.

Epidemiologist: Epidemiologists are research-based career profiles. The work includes investigating the causes, symptoms, and patterns of various diseases. These types of health inspectors are more focused on communicable diseases and find ways to eliminate them. Their work also includes planning and conducting a study on public health issues. They collect data and analyze it to determine the cause of the disease.

Community health worker: Community health workers teach the individuals of a community about public health. The community health workers or health educators plan education programs and events to train the healthcare workers professionals on how to improve health resources.

Occupational health and safety specialist: An occupational health and safety specialist is responsible for observing the workplace to find health and safety hazards and abolish them. They also ensure the safety of employees in the workplace. An occupational health and safety specialist’s work includes inspecting the workplace and ensuring that standard safety measures are followed. These types of health inspectors also design and implement the processes and procedures for the workplace to abolish hazards and improve safety conditions.

Also read: Career as food scientist

Individuals in the health inspector job work for public institutions, private corporations as well as local and state government authorities. Their everyday work responsibilities involve collecting samples for analyzing, inspecting equipment, public areas, and workspaces visually, and preparing a record of their findings and recommendations during the inspection. Health inspectors are employed by government authorities. They are responsible for ensuring that various establishments and businesses follow standard health and safety measures regularised by the government authority. They evaluate the work environment with detailed observation and scientific tests.

Does Health Inspector require travelling?

Likely

Health inspector jobs require travelling from his office setting to inspection sites. A career as health inspectors may be required to be present in court hearings to present the evidence collected while inspection.

Employment Shifts

Full Time, On Call

An individual who is taking a career as a health inspector does not work on a part-time or hourly basis. A health inspector is a senior-level role and requires a strong commitment. Individuals in the health inspector job work late evenings and night shifts too.

Employment Nature

Permanent

A health inspector is employed by a government authority or government health department. He or she works permanently with the government department. Those who work in the private sector possess different job roles related to health inspectors such as health managers, health consultants, laboratory assistants or health technicians. Those who work with private entities may be employed on a permanent as well as contract basis. It completely depends on the organization whether it is hiring employees for a limited period that is a contractual basis or a permanent basis.

Work Place

Office

An individual who is pursuing a career as a health inspector works in an office setting. He or she visits the laboratory for sample tests and evaluation of results. A health inspector has to visit various establishments for health and sanitation inspection. A health inspector sometimes may also be required to be present in court and provide evidence.

Presence in Geographical Area

Urban

Every state government or local government authority employs limited vacancies for health inspectors in the government health department. The other careers or job roles related to health inspectors find flourishing opportunities in urban areas. Urban cities such as Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Gurgaon have flourished with corporate industries. These cities are the job hubs for youth. People from around the country come to these cities for employment opportunities, thus these cities are densely populated and have more public places including public facilities such as hospitals, clinics, schools, and other establishments.

Time Pressure

Not Likely

There is hardly any time pressure for health inspectors. A career as health inspectors are required to work as per their schedule which includes the responsibilities and inspections assigned to them. The time pressure is almost negligible in the job except for inspection days when the supervisors cross-verify the work of health inspectors.

Overtime Details

Typically, health inspectors are required to work for 9 hours per day. They usually work in indoor settings going through the files and documents of various health projects. However, during inspection days they might be required to work overtime because of traveling inconveniences.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 40 Hours

The work hours may increase due to travelling and inspection of far away businesses. A career as a health inspector needs to work 40 hours a week. They work late evenings and night shifts too. The work hours often extend due to travelling.

In this section, we will be discussing how to become a health inspector in India. 

Strong memory: A strong memory ensures that you are likely to make more interesting presentations, rather than searching through pages of documentation, and manage more efficient meetings that might get you to function better. A local health inspector has to remember as many health codes for public facilities. A grasp of knowledge of the majority of health codes is required in the profession.

Investigation Skills: An effective investigation into the workplace serves several equally important purposes and reduces the risk of liability. Inform workers that their issues are considered seriously which has a significant influence on the efficiency, performance, and employee turnover rate. The public health inspector conducts an uninformed inspection. The inspection team never tells the organisation about their visit, so there is a lot more to investigate. The career as health inspector has to collect samples and take evidence. If a violation of safety standards is found, the health inspector has the authority to cancel the license.

Honesty: Honesty is a major aspect of a company as it sets the stage for the kind of workplace environment the employees want to establish, offers continuity in organizational practices, and strengthens customer loyalty and satisfaction. A career as a health inspector has the responsibility to look after the health of a wide array of the population who are consumers of public services. A local health inspector has to be honest about his or her duties. His or her unbiased attitude towards duty can save the health of many people from being affected by vulnerable diseases.

People skills: Good soft skills maintain an efficient, inclusive, and safe working atmosphere, both of which are key qualities in an increasingly competitive world for organisations. A health inspector has to engage in conversations with as many people as he visits. A local health inspector has to deal with different kinds of people. There might come situations when one has to control his or her temper from losing to perform the duties. 

Also read: Career as food inspector

We have mentioned below related certifications that may help you to upgrade your skills for a career as a health inspector.

Junior Health Inspector: A Junior Health Inspector is a professional who oversees standard health and sanitation conditions. A Junior Health Inspector usually works under the guidance of senior professionals.

Senior Health Inspector: A Senior Health Inspector is an experienced professional is to keep the hospitals and all the health-related facilities to be clean and healthy. A Senior Health Inspector inspects various public places and ensures they maintain proper sanitary procedures. 

According to the current scenario, people have become more concerned about their health and safety. The increase in the number of hazardous communicable diseases has made everyone responsible to follow strict safety measures. There is an expected 11 per cent job growth in public health careers in the coming years. Enormous job growth is probable in the next few years amid the circumstances of COVID-19. 

Therefore, an individual planning to become a health inspector needs not to worry about getting a job since there is going to be significant job growth in this field. Not only that, in this field if the candidate manages to maintain a good track record then he or she can be promoted as well. The number of Health Inspector jobs is certain to increase. The increase in the number of jobs also determines that more individuals will find careers alluring. The career does not ensure stability at the entry-level as there will be huge competition. There is lesser competition for senior-level roles. The health inspector salary in India is growing in a rapidly way.

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