Salary Survey Results-Income rising slowly in occupational health, survey says
Salary Survey Results-Income rising slowly in occupational health, survey says
Income is up slightly in the occupational health field, according to the exclusive 2000 Occupational Health Management salary survey and leaders in the field. Readers are reporting income a bit higher than in the past few years, but some trends in managed care are making it unlikely that there will be any major increases soon.
OHM is pleased to provide readers with the results of the 2000 survey. This exclusive report illustrates the factors that may influence salaries and benefits among occupational health professionals.
The 2000 OHM salary survey was conducted in the summer. Questionnaires, response forms, and postage-paid envelopes were mailed to subscribers with the June 2000 issue of the newsletter. Of approximately 1,200 surveys mailed, 57 were returned in time to be included in this report, for a response rate of 5%.
Survey responses were tallied, analyzed, and reported by American Health Consultants, publisher of OHM.
Occupational health directors are reporting a median income that is slightly higher than the income reported for the past few years, though it is lower than the figure reported last year in the OHM survey.
In this year's survey, occupational health directors, most of them nurses, report a median income of $62,500, up from last year's $57,500. That still is lower than the median income of $72,500 reported in 1998, but that figure was so much higher than the 1997 figure that it appeared to be a statistical aberration. The return to a more constant income figure in 1999 seemed to confirm that the 1998 jump was not a reliable figure, and that this year's $62,500 represents a reliable incremental increase. Directors reported a median income of $52,500 reported in 1997, and a steady $47,500 in 1996, 1995, and 1994.
Readers responding to the title "manager/coordinator" also reported $62,500 as their median income in 1999. Physicians reported a median $92,500.
As in past years, occupational health professionals surveyed report a median 1% to 3% increase in income over the past year. This is the fourth year in a row that readers have reported that median increase in their incomes.
Staff growth slowing
The 2000 survey continues a trend with increasing staff sizes for occupational health programs, but not as much as last year's increase.
In 1999, 60% of respondents reported that their staff size had increased in the past year, compared to nearly half reporting that in 1998 and in 1997. About 30% reported no change in their staff size in 1999, and 9% said they had lost positions. In the 2000 survey, 41% reported an increase in their staff size, while 13% reported a decrease and 46% reported no change.
One good bit of news is that occupational health professionals seem to be leaving the clinic a little earlier than they did last year.
Some working fewer hours
In the 1999 survey, most respondents worked 46-50 hours a week, the same as in 1998 but up from the median 41-45 hours a week reported as the median in 1997. In this year's survey, the median was back to 41-45 hours a week.
Most of the respondents say the COHN (certified occupational health nurse) or COHN-S (certified occupational health nurse specialist) is their credential most applicable to their job. A clear majority, 58% of the respondents in the 2000 survey, report having the COHN or COHN-S.
The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) in Atlanta reports that 36% of its 4,000 active members are certified. That certification is offered by the American Board of Occupational Health Nursing.
AAOHN's president, Deborah DiBenedetto, MBA, RN, COHN-S, ABDA, says certification is a good way to improve one's professional worth. The COHN is offered to those registered nurses with associate, diploma, or higher degrees or the international equivalent.
The focus of this credential is on the nurse's role as a clinician; it also reflects the nurse's role as advisor and coordinator. The COHN-S is offered to those occupational health nurses with a baccalaureate or higher degree and reflects the nurse's role in direct care, management, education, and consulting. A baccalaureate in nursing is not required for this credential.
Other criteria
The following qualifications and steps also are required:
• Active licensure as a registered nurse or its international equivalent.
• 4,000 hours experience in occupational health nursing within the five year period prior to the application deadline. This is equivalent to two years of full-time employment.
• Current employment in occupational health nursing for a minimum of eight hours per week or equivalent.
• 50 contact hours of documented continuing education related to occupational health earned within the five-year period prior to the application deadline. Professional presentations, nursing leadership activities, and publications can be used to meet part of this requirement.
• A completed application Part I with fee submitted by the application deadline prior to the examination date. All criteria must be met by the application date.
• A passing score on the credentialing examination.
In addition, the COHN-S requires a baccalaureate degree or higher. A baccalaureate in nursing is not required for this credential. Graduate study in occupational health or a baccalaureate completion program (after basic nursing preparation) can be used toward either the experience or the continuing education requirement. Details of these options are included in the application.
Robert Goldberg, MD, FACOEM, an occupational medicine physician in San Francisco, is president of the Arlington Heights, IL-based American College of Occupa-tional and Environmental Medicine.
He says the field is promising overall for physicians in 2000, with ongoing needs for experienced physicians who have good clinical skills and sound training in occupational medicine.
"The corporate practice setting is probably unchanged from the way it's been in the past few years," he says. "There is a continuing demand for people on that level, and from a career attractiveness standpoint, I doubt that will let up any time soon."
Opportunities to grow
Incomes for physicians working at a corporate level (who are employed by a company as its physician on-site) or in consulting work have remained relatively stable, Goldberg says.
But at clinics, the situation changes depending on whether the doctor is self-employed or employed by a health care provider, he explains.
"If you're self-employed, it always depends pretty much on the productivity of the individual. There is always an opportunity to grow," he says.
"But for those employed by a clinic, there is a leveling of salaries because of the consolidation of clinics," Goldberg explains. "As you have more physician practice companies coming in and making the practice of occupational medicine more corporate-like, they are leveling out the income levels, making them much more standardized."
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