Safe Work in the 21st Century Education and Training Needs for the Next Decade's Occupational Safety and Health Personnel (2000) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 17-31
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From page 17... ...
, it is nevertheless true that even in the waning years of the century, 20 American workers died each day as a result of occupational injuries, for a total of 6,000 deaths per year. More than 16,000 suffer nonfatal injuries on the job every day, for a total of 6 million injuries per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998a)
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From page 18... ...
Every year, approximately 500 students graduate from NIOSH-supported programs with backgrounds in occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, and safety. Many current leaders and OSH advocates have received training from NIOSH-funded programs.
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From page 19... ...
Other important changes are occurring in health care delivery generally, with an increased emphasis on managed care and other means of reducing costs. The evolving role of the occupational physician has not been explored in this new delivery system, nor have the roles of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, or other health professionals who may be treating workers.
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From page 20... ...
The goal of the assessment would be to identify gaps in occupational safety and health training programs in the United States that can be filled by either public or private programs and identify the critical curricula and skills needed to meet these evolving OSH concerns. CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE The charge to the committee from the sponsors was fourfold, calling for analyses of both the adequacy of the current OSH workforce and training and adjustments that might be required in the future because of changes in the workforce, the workplace, the organization of work, and health care delivery.
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From page 21... ...
Coverage extends to all businesses except the self-employed, farms that employ only members of the immediate family, and a few specific industries such as mining, nuclear power, and civil aviation that are regulated by other federal agencies. It does not cover over 8 million employees of federal, state, and local governments, including public schools, public healthcare facilities, and correctional institutions.
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From page 22... ...
OSHA's cotton dust standard virtually eliminated brown lung disease in the textile industry; and OSHA's lead standard reduced lead poisoning in battery plant and smelter workers by two-thirds. OSHA inspections may be an important part of that success: according to a recent study, in the 3 years following an OSHA inspection that results in penalties, injuries and illnesses drop on average by an average of 22 percent.
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From page 23... ...
Immunity can be waived in cases in which the employer is not in compliance with relevant OSHA standards (in practice, it usually takes gross negligence or criminal activity on the part of the employer) , so the laws serve as an incentive for employers to comply with OSHA standards.
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From page 24... ...
ADA consists of five different titles, the most important being Title I, which prohibits employing entities from discriminating against a qualified, disabled individual in any aspect of employment. Titles II, III, and V of ADA address the need for construction to allow disabled individuals access to public areas and services, as well as to private businesses and recreational establishments (Rogers, 1994~.
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From page 25... ...
In regard to financial compensation, medical examinations by occupational medicine physicians and occupational health nurses aid in determining not only whether the cause of an injury was work related but also whether an employee has been temporarily or permanently disabled and when and in what capacity he or she is fit to return to work. As a result of ADA, OSH personnel have increased their presence in the workplace, particularly in the areas of recruitment, reasonable accommodation, and financial compensation.
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From page 26... ...
The 1978 Nationwide Survey of the OSH Workforce The relevant universe of workplaces for the 1978 survey study's estimates of the 1977 OSH workforce included all firms that employ 100 or more individuals in mining, construction, manufacturing and transportation, communication and utilities and all firms that employ 500 or more individuals in the trade and service industries and in non-OSH related state and local government agencies. Survey instruments collected data on each firm and its OSH operations, on each of the firm's OSH-related positions, and on the background and activities of each of the firm's identified OSH personnel.
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From page 27... ...
Their total projected annual supplies for 1977 and 1990 were 1,426 and 2,504, respectively. The report concluded that demand equaled supply for industrial hygienists but that demand exceeded supply for safety personnel, occupational health nurses, occupational health physicians, and OSH generalists.
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From page 28... ...
The 1988 IOM Report on the Role of the Primary Care Physician in Occupational and Environmental Medicine Growing recognition of adverse health effects associated with exposure to toxic substances at home, at work, and in the general community, and the limited capacity of most physicians to deal with those effects, led IOM to form a committee to seek ways to foster more active and effective participation of primary care physicians in preventing and treating occupationally and environmentally related health problems. The committee recommended improved information sources, preferably a single access point for pertinent clinical information, improved availability of clinical consultation, primarily through increased numbers of trained specialists, and changes in the reimbursement system both to increase the adequacy
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From page 29... ...
OEM specialists, who would be board certified in occupational medicine, would be employed as full-time university faculty, in a public health agency, in industry, or as a consultant to any of those institutions. OEM clinicians, who would be board certified in internal medicine or family practice but with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in OEM, would work primarily in community hospitals and clinics as clinical faculty and in industry.
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From page 30... ...
The sponsors' project officers shared information on education and training from their files or put committee members in touch with the offices that had relevant data, and the committee members themselves contributed both personal contacts and specific information from their own files and experience. The World Wide Web provided much information about additional organizations and OSH training, and the following databases were accessed and searched: the National Center for Education Statistics database, National Center for Health Statistics Data Warehouse, the Federal Research in Progress database, the Federal Conference Papers database, Medline, MedStar, and HSRProj.
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From page 31... ...
Because time, expense, and contract specifications ruled out collection of original survey data on both the supply of and the demand for OSH professionals, the committee drew on membership data from the leading OSH professional societies for its analysis of the current OSH workforce. AAOHN and the American Board of Occupational Health Nursing, ACOEM, AIHA, ASSE, and the Employee Assistance Professional Association all provided copies of membership demographics and recent member surveys on relevant topics.
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