Proponents say it’s important to market early and often
While their numbers may be greater than they were in years past, males still comprise only a small percentage of the general nursing population — and occupational health nursing is no exception. According to a recent survey by the Atlanta-based American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), of its total membership of 9,601, only 445 are men. However, the percentage of male OHNs is higher among the younger nurses and accounts for approximately 10% of the newest generation of occ-health nurses (see table).
Still, say observers, the numbers could be higher, and many are asking: Why is the profession failing to attract a larger number of males? To many, the root cause is a failure to communicate the variety of experiences and opportunities available to occupational health nurses. "I think the No. 1 thing with any nurse, male or female, is that it is not very well known what an occ-health nurse is," says Douglas Hoffman, BSN, RN, an occ-health nurse with a Fortune 500 company in Columbus, OH. "Since there is a small percentage of males in nursing, [in occ-health] it gets it even smaller. It’s just not widely known what an occ-health nurse is and what the duties are."
"I think it’s just the lack of knowledge by males that this specialty is out there," adds Tim Brown, RN, COHN-S/CM, occupational health nurse/case manager with San Diego Gas & Electric Co. "Basically, the [female-to-male] ratio is 10-1 in the general nursing population, and males start off thinking that that’s all there is out there. They only look within the hospital and don’t look any further." If they did look further, he says, they would see there are more choices available than they thought. "But they make other choices in their career path before they can choose occ-health," he says.
"There is not enough exposure of this particular career path to the professions of nurses and practitioners," offers Tom Smock, RN, BS, health data coordinator and case manager in the medical department of Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, NY. "Second, over the years, the profession has been transformed into one where you wear multiple hats; it is more of a professional, managerial type job vs. a heavy clinical job, and a lot of people may be looking for a more clinical job."
Dick Kowalski, RN, MSA, COHN, an AAOHN board member in Bay City, MI, doesn’t believe gender has much to do with the current situation. "I think occ-health has just become more competitive," he says. "If you have basic nursing experience in a hospital, whatever companies are out there hiring occ-health professionals are offering company benefits superior to what you would get in a hospital. So, whether it’s a paper or chemical company, or an auto company, whether you are male or female, it is very competitive." Pensions and health care coverage, Kowalski adds, are at least as important today as salary, which adds to the attractiveness of working for a corporation.
What they’re missing
In any event, since many male nurses are not aware of the occ-health option, they literally don’t know what they’re missing, say those who do know. "When I first looked at nursing as a profession, I never thought I would have a Monday-Friday job that was inherently linked to the eight-hour business day," says Hoffman. "I thought there would be a lot of weekend work; [the fact that you may not have weekend work] can be very appealing to people looking at occ-health."
Hoffman’s first degree was a BS in exercise science, and he worked as an athletic trainer. He looked at occ-health, he says, because it mirrored both his training and working in industry. "You get to know the ins and outs of the work force," he explains. In addition, Hoffman notes, with the support of AAOHN and local occ-health nursing organizations, "There is the opportunity to look at a lot of cutting-edge issues that affect industry, as well as being involved locally in Columbus to have some effect on workers’ comp, putting some related legislation through, and looking at nursing shortage issues," he says.
Brown says the broad range of skills required within the specialty make it particularly attractive. "I like the challenge — the management, the problem solving, the safety component, such as accident investigation," he observes. "The broad range of experiences that occur within an industry’s environment is tremendously satisfying; it’s not the same thing each day. I am part of a middle management team across the entire operation of the company; I get to see it all, and I need to know intimately how the different departments work to solve their problems. It’s wonderfully satisfying."
Brown has a unique situation in that he is half of a husband-wife OHN team. "It’s very much a plus. You never like to bring your work home with you in a normal environment because your spouse does not know what you’re dealing with; here, that’s not the case. You can talk with your spouse and they have a perfect understanding of what’s going on," he says.
"I’m in my 35th year [as an occ-health nurse]; I’ve held every possible nursing position here, and have found it rewarding in a variety of ways," adds Smock. "There’s never a dull moment; you have the opportunity to grow; to work in the corporate world; to use the skills of marketing, promoting, and selling; to learn to work in a true corporate world where data rule; to continuously show value added; and to have the opportunity to provide for your employees the continuous enhancement of their health through their behaviors. I see it as a gateway to the rest of the medical community for the people you serve."
What’s gender got to do with it?
Being a male in a profession that is generally associated with females can be both a plus and a minus, say male OHNs. "If males were exposed [to the profession], they might see that the occupational or industrial health world is more male-oriented and would allow them a greater acceptance of their profession," Brown posits. "That’s what I’ve found."
As for employees’ reactions, "Normally, the men have to deal with a female nurse who can’t identify with what they do in the working world," he notes. "They identify with me very quickly, and I become accepted, not as a male nurse, but as a co-manager. It takes the them-vs.-us element out of the equation."
Hoffman has been able to work on the front lines and currently is a supervisor in the human resources department helping to manage workers’ comp, wellness, and disability programs. However, he says, being a male occ-health nurse can also have its drawbacks. "There are different reactions from employees; it does limit you in some aspects, and broaden you in others," he asserts. "Females will come in and talk about personal issues with a female nurse, but a male may not feel comfortable with the opposite sex. I can sit down and talk [more easily] about prostate problems with men, but mammography might be harder."
Brown agrees. "I like the uniqueness of being male in the industrial environment," he reiterates. "But for women’s health matters, we find in general that just as they tend to like women OB/GYNs for general women’s health matters, the same barrier can occur."
Attracting more men
What can be done to draw more men into occupational health nursing? Increased exposure is the key, say observers. "There has to be a lot of outreach from organizations such as AAOHN and local chapters to nursing schools," says Hoffman. "When I was in nursing school, usually in the community nursing piece, you’d get to experience other forms of nursing. That’s where I remembered I had seen an occ-health nurse come in and talk. I feel we have a lot of impact on employee health and decreasing health care costs of corporations; we have the opportunity to make a real difference."
"What we need is a better representation of occ-health as a well-rounded specialty," adds Brown. "That is AAOHN’s challenge — to represent it as more than sitting in an office and seeing injured employees. They need to communicate to nurses just entering the hospital phase of their career; those nurses need to be exposed to occ-health early and often, so they know they have a choice. Other specialties are much more aggressive in marketing and recruitment." He adds, however, that occ-health depends on industry to "accept the benefit of what we can do for them; that’s the first barrier." In other words, he says, "We need to have places for people to go before they can go there."
Yet, Kowalski insists, things today are much better than they were. "There are more men now than when I started [he has 30 years’ experience]," he says. "When I started, I was at GM [General Motors Corp.], and I was not only the only male nurse and the youngest nurse, but every other nurse had been in nursing longer than I had been alive."
Kowalski, who recently retired and has his own consulting business, has hired two additional full-time men in the past five years. "In the ’70s, you couldn’t find them," he says. "They’re coming into the profession now because of the nursing shortage; it’s a good job opportunity."
"There has to be a continuous avenue of information on what the full career is about — not just nursing, but being able to show them the opportunities to expand," says Smock. "A number of us now hold titles like health director, director of health and safety, and so on. We need to get to the schools of nursing, and to other allied professionals we work with, and have modules available through AAOHN."
And that, says Brown, should be the bottom line of the industry’s marketing message to men. "We need to show this as a career step up from wherever they are," Brown continues. "Usually, these jobs can be made into whatever you want because the employer does not know how to structure the occ-health environment. If an aggressive and knowledgeable nurse gets into the position, they can expand it and make it a very rewarding position."
For more information, contact:
- Dick Kowalski, RN, MSA, COHN, AAOHN Board Member, Bay City, MI. Telephone: (989) 686-6301.
- Douglas Hoffman, BSN, RN, Columbus, OH. Telephone: (614) 870-4155. E-mail: [email protected].
- Tim Brown, RN, COHN-S/CM Occupational Health Nurse/Case Manager, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. E-mail: [email protected].
- Tom Smock, RN, BS, Health Data Coordinator, Case Manager, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY. Telephone: (585) 722-0575. E-mail: [email protected].
While their numbers may be greater than they were in years past, males still comprise only a small percentage of the general nursing population and occupational health nursing is no exception.
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