At a recent dinner meeting of the Southwest Suburban Association of Occupational Health Nurses, everyone was talking about the most popular issue affecting their field these days: corporate wellness and health promotion programs.
Members of this local chapter of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, serving nurses who work or live largely in Du Page County, take advantage of this meeting to share wellness program ideas and strategies.
Fifteen charter members started the local chapter in 1985; the group now boasts a membership of 89 occupational health nurses.
Members leave their monthly meetings with fresh ideas on initiating new programs and improving existing wellness programs at their own corporations. The on-site occupational health nurses often are solely responsible for any wellness programs conducted by a corporation.
”The best part of these meetings is the networking,” said Dorothy Morande, chapter president and occupational health nurse for Central Du Page Hospital, Winfield. The networking meetings are a chance for the occupational health nurses to come together and talk about what they do at their different corporations.
At a recent meeting, members were lectured on how to implement regular mammography screenings for their female employee-patients.
Members also heard about the newest back injury prevention programs.
A major factor in the group`s rapid growth during the past few years is the camaraderie it provides. The nurses enjoy the companionship of their peers because the field is vastly different from other nursing specialties, said Joyce Cienkus, AT&T Bell Labs nurse and past chapter president.
”Occupational health is really just a different type of nursing,”
Cienkus said. ”The focus is different from other nursing fields because our main interest is educating our patients. We are also much more independent than nurses in hospitals. In the hospital, we would never give any type of treatment without a doctor`s order. Occupational health nurses have that independence and it`s hard to get used to.”
The group`s aspirations include becoming an effective government lobby on issues that affect nursing. Its most important function, however, will be to continue to provide education regarding corporate wellness and health promotion programs.
”The big thrust of occupational health nursing is toward wellness and health promotion,” Morande said. ”Dealing with people who are healthy and trying to keep them healthy is very satisfying.”
