The group leading the development of a new Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing (FOHN) has launched a survey of OH practitioners’ views on the remit of the faculty and the future of OH nurse education.
The Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing development group (FDG) is committed to giving OH nurses a voice on the development of the FOHN. In October 2015, the FDG published a position paper on OH nurse education, funding and regulation and promised to update this in autumn 2016 after gathering feedback from the profession.
The survey has been put together with Dr John Ballard, director of the At Work Partnership. It has three objectives:
- to gather feedback on what occupational health nurses(OHNs) want and expect from a future FOHN;
- to gather feedback about what OHNs think about OHN education now and in the future; and
- to better understand the demographic characteristics of nurses working in the OH setting.
Information collected will be anonymous. The data will be analysed by Karen Coomer (of the FDG) and Ballard, with the intention of publishing it on the FOHN website, OH journals and at key OH conferences.
The FDG said: “In order to build a faculty that fully meets your needs and that you can be proud to be a part of we really want to hear your views. OH nursing faces multiple challenges relating to the changing nature of work, the workplace and the status of the profession itself.
“As a specialism, if we are to remain relevant and at the forefront of public health in the UK, we must speak as a unified body. Building a professional faculty of occupational health nursing will be an important step in raising the profile of OH nursing among stakeholders and with the regulator.
“We would therefore urge you to take just 15 minutes to complete this voluntary survey.
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“On behalf of the FDG, we want to thank you for all the wonderful support you have given us so far. We have a huge opportunity to shape the future of our profession so we need to hear from as many of you as possible – whatever your role is in occupational health nursing. Please do pass this survey on to your colleagues, contacts and networks and encourage them to participate as well.”
The closing date is 31 May 2016.
