An analysis of the employment patterns, roles and functions of master's prepared occupational health nurses. Part I

Ninety percent of the study subjects were employed and the majority of the unemployed had voluntarily chosen not to work. Of those employed, 77% held positions in occupational health. Half of these master's-prepared occupational health specialists were the first person to occupy their positions and 40% of them did not have a formal job description when they began employment. It appears that these specialists have been able to sell themselves and create new positions in a number of organizations. More than 80% of the nurses were somewhat to very satisfied with their relationships to physicians and non-health administrators/managers within their organization. Given the increasing amount of interdisciplinary cooperation necessary for effective occupational health programming it would be useful to analyze what factors influence this finding. Both graduate and continuing education faculty could use this information to support these positive relations.