The power of a vision. The nurse's journey through health care

1. Currently, health care is a constant battle between cost and compassion. The most difficult change health care professionals have had to make is expanding the vision of the compassionate caregiver to include the bottom line business professional. 2. Occupational and environmental health nurses need to have more visibility in the companies they work for to get a "seat at the table" with the rest of the management team. One way to gain visibility and credibility is to be a part of the community newsletter via a column "Ask the Nurse" where employees send in questions and nurses answer one or two questions each month. 3. Occupational and environmental health nurses can become the "visionaries" of the companies they work for by formulating a vision of what they want to provide for the employees of their companies and passionately sharing that vision with management and employees alike. If both management and employees buy into that vision, a remarkable transition can take place. 4. The future is very exciting for occupational and environmental health nurses. For those leaving the corporate world, there will be expanding opportunities in research, education, policy making, and lobbying. Occupational and environmental health nurses with the entrepeneurial spirit could consider being a consultant, working for a number of different companies, both here and abroad.