Who do you report to?

skyburp27 · Sep 6, 2014

Same here, I also report to our safety manager who doesn't have any medical background. Because of that, health has been taken for granted. They focus more on the safety issues and leaves behind the health related ones.

Rbeck911, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2014

I am very lucky to have a manager who is not only an RN, but also a legal nurse, COHN, BA in management, and head of safety. I am in a very good position to learn from her.

I would think the best thing you could do is establish trust between the safety personnel and yourself. OHN is very outside the box and you might as well forget about the standard structure in the medical profession. You support production, maintain compliance, and treat injuries. This field is not for everyone, and I myself have struggled at times with it. However, there is always something that eases my mind. Establish the trust to a point where your non medical supervisor allows you to be autonomous and trusts your medical decisions. Things will go much smoother if you don't have someone questioning you. Show him that you have his back and the companies interest in mind, and that you drive safety with injured associates as much as he drives safety to prevent injuries. An injured associate is 3 times as likely to be injured again vs an associate that has never been injured on the job. Make sure he knows that you take that seriously and try to make his job a little bit easier.

livingonadream · Nov 7, 2014

Thanks for the responses. Who I report to has changed recently. It was more because I could not get any direction from my former boss unless he was randomly trying to micro-manage me. While health and safety co-exist, we have different functions.

Now they big task at hand is trying to figure out who is responsible for what. I was doing responsibilities that were not part of my job description because safety didn't want to do them.

I wish the frustration would end but I just have to keep reminding myself why I am doing what I am doing. I defend myself daily with what I have done and changes I have made. Work comp claims have decreased by 50%. There are still injuries but they are just managed differently most in part to stronger health staff.

katkonk, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2014

I've had several jobs since 1996 when I first started in Occ Health where the relationship between safety and medical was contentious. It can be immensely frustrating, and I have walked away from some jobs because of it. Hopefully you can get the structure of the organization straightened out, because without a proper chain of command, it is hopeless. And it is historically difficult to "prove" your worth. If you have a safety director that believes in what nurses can do, you will prosper. If someone wants to work the numbers to show how nurses "don't have any affect on outcomes", then they can manipulate the statistics for that as well. I know one doctor who is notorious for not having any fondness for nurses and their impact, and he "crunched the numbers" for a very energy-related firm. The end result was that all the clinics closed and the 14 nurses they employed at the various clinics were terminated. They now only have 3 case managers and that's it, and they do all the ADA and FMLA work for the entire company. He also "crunched numbers" for another oil firm that I know of, and that resulted in lay offs as well. It is all dependent upon the safety directors whims and attitude toward nurses. I wish you the best!!

Rbeck911, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2014

I've had several jobs since 1996 when I first started in Occ Health where the relationship between safety and medical was contentious. It can be immensely frustrating, and I have walked away from some jobs because of it. Hopefully you can get the structure of the organization straightened out, because without a proper chain of command, it is hopeless. And it is historically difficult to "prove" your worth. If you have a safety director that believes in what nurses can do, you will prosper. If someone wants to work the numbers to show how nurses "don't have any affect on outcomes", then they can manipulate the statistics for that as well. I know one doctor who is notorious for not having any fondness for nurses and their impact, and he "crunched the numbers" for a very energy-related firm. The end result was that all the clinics closed and the 14 nurses they employed at the various clinics were terminated. They now only have 3 case managers and that's it, and they do all the ADA and FMLA work for the entire company. He also "crunched numbers" for another oil firm that I know of, and that resulted in lay offs as well. It is all dependent upon the safety directors whims and attitude toward nurses. I wish you the best!!

That is very unfortunate. I am guessing that physician worked for a local Occ Health clinic? I think it is very clear how on-site medical can keep cost and recordables down. Was your manager given a chance to refute the data presented by the physician?

katkonk, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2014

That all happened prior to my coming on board....so it was past history. We still had the same doctor. No, he didn't work for a local Occ Health clinic. He has a partnership with a couple of other people and he serves as medical director for several multi-BILLION dollar corporations. His connections are to the executive boards, the CEO's and such. No manager of anything stand a chance. Let's just say he makes a VERY nice income.