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A Moving Target: Highlights from a National Occupational Safety and Health Continuing Education Needs Assessment
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June 10 2019
Source: Am J Ind Med. 62(10):901-907
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Alternative Title:Am J Ind Med
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Description:Background
There is a lack of trained Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals able to meet the current and future demand for such expertise in the U.S. Therefore, many professionals are required to perform duties, which are outside of their primary area of expertise; thus, continuing education (CE) may be necessary to properly train individuals for new OSH responsibilities.
Methods
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) funded Education and Research Centers (ERCs) collectively developed and distributed a continuing education survey to gauge the needs and interests of the OSH workforce.
Results
There were 2,064 responses. The most common primary professions represented were safety (28%), occupational health nursing (18%), and industrial hygiene (12%). The majority of respondents (61%) reported that they perform work activities outside of those associated with their primary profession.
Discussion
The CE offerings with the highest interest among respondents were related to safety. Other courses with high levels of interest included topics such as legal issues in OSH (88%), compliance (88%), risk management (85%), OSH management issues (83%), risk communication (83%), and communication in accident prevention (81%). Health and safety leadership (82%), health and safety culture (78%) and Total Worker Health (74%) were also significant interests.
Conclusions
It is critically important to be responsive to the evolving needs to the OS&H community. Developing relevant courses will help ensure that OS&H professionals have access to the training they need to perform essential job functions and keep employees healthy and safe.
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Pubmed ID:31180591
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC7427339
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