Add this to your to-do list: A dose of business savvy
Survey finds OH nurses take on business tasks
Occupational health nurses are increasing their focus on outcomes and using information technology to meet their goals, according to a survey of some 2,000 occupational health nurses by the American Board of Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN) in Hinsdale, IL. About one-quarter of the respondents were hospital-based.
Business and management skills play a greater role in the job of the occupational health nurse, according to an analysis of the survey and a comparison to a similar survey in 1996. Mary C. Amann, RN, MS, COHN-S/CM, executive directory of ABOHN, presented the findings at the annual conference of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare in October.
"People are starting to prioritize and to do cost effectiveness analysis of their interventions," Amann says. "There was a significant increase in the number of information management related items, things like record keeping, reporting, trending, and tracking. [Occupational health nurses] are analyzing more."
In the role delineation survey, ABOHN seeks to determine the job tasks and their relative importance to occupational health nurses. For example, OH nurses identified numerous business-related items, saying they conduct quality management, establish goals and objectives, develop/design budgets, develop policies and procedures, conduct cost/benefit analysis, analyze illness/injury rates, and apply knowledge of business cycles and forecasts to market programs.
The study was administered in 2000 and had a response rate of 33%. It was designed to ensure that the credentialing process reflects current practice in occupational health nursing, and it will be repeated in 2004.
ABOHN also surveyed managers to learn about their expectations of occupational health nurses. "They’re interested in compliance. They’re interested in cost. They see the occupational health nurse as being in a position to help them with those things," Amann says.
Occupational health nurses remain involved in traditional tasks, such as health surveillance and worksite assessment. The greater use of information technology and integration of business skills enhances the value of the occupational health nurse, she adds.
Occupational health nurses are increasing their focus on outcomes and using information technology to meet their goals, according to a survey of some 2,000 occupational health nurses by the American Board of Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN) in Hinsdale, IL. About one-quarter of the respondents were hospital-based.
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