ABOHN tackles certification rates, seeks to boost brand recognition
Computer-based testing will make exams more convenient
If you are an occupational health nurse and your signature is followed by "COHN" or "COHN-S," you know that the designation is not easily earned, and you undoubtedly derive some personal and professional satisfaction from being a certified occupational health nurse (COHN) or COHN specialist (COHN-S). So why doesn't everybody earn certification?
That's what the American Board for Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN), the nation's only accredited occupational health nursing certification body, wants to know. ABOHN's board of directors are in the process of learning and processing the findings of a marketing and public relations study the board commissioned to learn why the numbers of nurses seeking COHN certification or recertification are down slightly.
"We, as an organization, like many nursing groups, are seeing a decline in the number of people practicing in our specialty; and a growing number of people retiring from occupational health nursing," points out ABOHN Chair Mary Lou Wassel, MEd, RN, COHN-S/CM, ARM, CSP. "As a result, our application numbers for certification and recertification have been declining for the past few years."
Wassel says that while one assumption could be that decreasing certification candidates means shrinking numbers in the occupational health profession, she does not believe that to be the case.
Untapped pool?
Wassel says ABOHN leaders believe that many nurses are practicing within the occupational health nursing scope of practice, but they "don't perceive themselves to be occupational health nurses and are unaware of the occupational health nursing specialty."
Wassel says the occupational health specialty is unique in nursing, in that many nurses working as on-site occupational health professionals may be alone at their worksites, with little chance for networking or mentoring.
"They may not be as connected [as nurses working in a group or hospital setting]," she explains, a factor she experienced herself earlier in her career.
"I had the opportunity to work for a company in a position that was not titled as 'occupational health nurse,' but then I realized that that is what I was," she recounts. "You can leave one of the more traditional nursing settings for an occupational health job and find yourself rather isolated. In my case, I was looking for colleagues and help with things like benchmarking. As a result, I joined a local chapter of AAOHN [American Association of Occupational Health Nurses]. It was through that connection that I learned more about the practice of occupational health nursing and about certification. So if you're out there on your own, you might not know about occupational health nursing certification.
"Reaching people to let them know the resources that are available to them is our challenge."
ABOHN leaders have made public relations and outreach a priority for the board, and have hired a marketing consultant to help the board craft a dynamic strategic plan to communicate their message about certification. (See box below, "Occupational Health Nursing Certification,").
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According to ABOHN Associate Executive Director Ann Lachat, RN, BSN, COHN-S/CM, since its 1972 inception, ABOHN has certified 12,206 occupational health nurses. As of the end of 2006, the number of currently active certifications is 6,278. In 2004 that figure was 6,772, a drop of about 7% in two years.
ABOHN's marketing partner has talked with nurses who are certified and non-certified, employers, and other key stakeholders. The firm created a benchmarking document from which it presented a day-and-a-half strategic planning session for ABOHN leadership at its January meeting. The benchmarking research revealed a current demand for occupational health nurses that exceeds the current supply of trained professionals.
"We are going to look openly at the organization to explore strategies to meet this demand, position ourselves in the future, and improve our brand recognition," says Wassel.
Certification of value to nurse, employers
The benefits of certification, say leaders in the profession, are apparent.
"One of the things we found when we surveyed our members about benefits and compensation is that certified nurses made more money," says AAOHN President Susan Randolph, MSN, RN, COHN-S, FAAOHN. "That's certainly supportive of seeking certification and maintaining certification."
The American Board of Nursing Specialties defines certification as the formal recognition of "the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated by the achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health outcomes."
Certification differs from licensure in a couple of ways — while licensure is required of anyone practicing nursing, certification is voluntary (except as required by employers), and typically represents the accomplishment of standards beyond those required by licensing boards.
"Anytime you have someone who's certified, that certification demonstrates advanced knowledge and expertise in occupational health nursing, and you have that body of knowledge that has been demonstrated through passing a national exam," Randolph adds.
Wassel says that many nurses who have achieved certification say they sought the designation for personal and professional reasons.
"They wanted to be certified to demonstrate competence because the specialty of occupational health nurses is so broad," she says. "A lot of times people will tend to be very skilled in one area of the practice they're engaged in on a daily basis, but other aspects they might not be as aware of or not be as familiar with.
"In studying and preparing for certification, people tell us they gained a new appreciation for the breadth of the practice, and also developed ideas of how they could expand upon or improve their practice."
Other reasons may be jobs that require certification either as a condition of hiring or as an indication of continued professional growth.
"It's a broad specialty and a challenging exam," with a pass rate in the mid 70 percent range, Wassel says.
It's about to become a more convenient exam, as the twice-yearly paper and pencil exam becomes a computer-based exam that will be available to candidates throughout the year at locations across the country.
"Now people will be able to apply, receive notice of eligibility, schedule themselves online, and take the exams at a time, place, and date convenient for them," says Wassel. "We have been working toward this goal of computer-based testing for a long time, and we're preparing to launch on our target date of March 1."
Computer-based testing, Wassel says, is one change the board hopes to will boost certification numbers.
"Many people have told us they have been waiting for computer-based testing, and the vast majority of feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," says Wassel, who says candidates for certification should feel less pressure than the twice-yearly tests might have caused.
"If you're preparing and people know about it, or your employer is encouraging you to take it, there could be pressure for the results [which arrived about six weeks later], but with the computer-based test, you get pass-fail results immediately."
In the event that the candidate does not pass, the new testing method means he or she won't have to wait six months to re-test.
For more information on certification, contact ABOHN, 201 E. Ogden Avenue, Suite 114, Hinsdale, IL 60521, phone (630) 789-5799 or toll-free at (888) 842-2646.
If you are an occupational health nurse and your signature is followed by "COHN" or "COHN-S," you know that the designation is not easily earned...You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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