Exam aces praise profession
By JOAN TUPPONCE
Special Correspondent

Registered nurses Dana Bennett and Donna Baugher have something in common when it comes to testing: Both women achieved the highest scores on their certification examinations for occupational nurses.

Bennett, who works for Klöckner Pentaplast of America Inc. in Gordonsville, was presented with the 2010 Marguerite Ahern Graff Excellence in Occupational Health Nursing Award for receiving the highest score on the Certified Occupational Health Nurse (COHN) certification examination. Baugher, a nurse manager for Tyson Foods Inc. at the company's Harrisonburg complex, received the 2010 Mayrose Snyder Excellence in Occupational Health Nursing Award for the highest scores on the Certified Occupational Health Nurse-Specialist certification examination.

Choice to enter field
Each woman had her own reasons for getting into nursing. Bennett's admiration for the profession dates back to her childhood. "I so admired the nurse in the doctor's office," she says. "I knew that I wanted to grow up to be a nurse."

Bennett began her nursing career in 1974 after graduating from the Johnston-Willis Hospital School of Nursing in Richmond. "I worked in a hospital but didn't find the professional satisfaction I had hoped for," she says. She then accepted a job with the Chesterfield County Health Department, where she worked for a while.

After a period as a stay-at-home mom, Bennett returned to the workplace as a nurse in a family practice office. She later worked as a school nurse at a private boarding school for girls. It was her first job in occupational health at the University of Virginia Health Center that eventually led Bennett to her current position at Klöckner.

Hands-on job
Bennett likes not only the autonomy of her job but also the opportunity she has to make a difference in the lives of the employees and their families. "It is far from being a "Band-Aids and ibuprofen" type of job," she says. "It encompasses everything from on-site care for accidents and illnesses to wellness programs and everything in between."

Her many duties include administering first aid, workers' comp reporting, follow-up to chronic disease management and the administration of the company's drug screening policy. She also oversees the influenza prevention program, participates in the safety committee and trains supervisors in first aid and CPR/AED.

Winning the Marguerite Ahern Graff Excellence Award was a personal victory for Bennett. "It was an honor to receive that award in a field of nursing that I enjoy so much," she says. "The personal satisfaction of receiving professional certification was exciting but the award was the icing on the cake!"

Unfortunately, the joy of winning the award was abruptly overshadowed by the sudden and unexpected death in May of Bennett's husband, Andy. Bennett would often help her husband with the couple's beef cattle farm when she was away from work. "Everything surrounding the farm is in a state of turmoil," she says. "We have been very blessed to have friends in the immediate area who have pitched in to keep the farm running until necessary decisions can be made."

Silver linings
Faith has always been important to Bennett, especially during her grief. "Faith is a large part of who I am," she said. "I attend the little Baptist church where I grew up and have been quite involved with our music program, both singing and directing. I find great joy in music."

She also finds joy in her work. She likes the fact that no two days are alike. "You have to be able to think on your feet," she says, noting that in her job she gets to see the patient through the healing process, from diagnosis to disease management or injury recovery. "I like providing guidance to the family and at the same time protecting the business interest of the company."

Career suits family
Unlike Bennett, Baugher didn't have her heart set on becoming a nurse. After growing up in Fairfax, she decided to live away from the city in a farm-type community. She attended Virginia Tech and received her degree in poultry science.

After having children, Baugher decided to go back to school and study nursing. "It fit me," she said. "My husband was being transferred a lot and that was something I could do wherever we lived."

She worked as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home while attending school. After graduating and getting her license, she worked in a hospital, first in med/surg and then in obstetric nursing. She didn't get into occupational health nursing until her family moved to Harrisonburg and she got a job at the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative in 2004.

Occupational nursing job
"I really loved it," she says. "It was a blend of ER type nursing and psych nursing. You got to see people in their real lives. Our office was a soft place for them to land. The plant is hard work. You can come in here and take a few minutes to let down your guard." Baugher had to learn the job from the ground up. Her predecessor had left the organization before she started work. "I had to learn what I was doing as I was doing it," she says. "I had to do a lot of research into what occupational health was. I researched OSHA and workers' comp cases. That was the best way to learn it."

She made the move to Tyson Foods in 2009. Her job encompasses a variety of duties, from management to responding to occupational injuries and illnesses; from pre-employment physicals and drug screening to OSHA recordkeeping and workers' compensation.

Baugher works with the company's approximately 550 employees in the hatchery, feed mill and processing plant. "We have a wide variety of people and a wide variety of injuries that can occur," she says, adding that her company is a safe workplace. "I help the safety manager by looking for unsafe practices in the plant. If I see a trend of injuries, I let the manager know something is up; that it's something we have to look at."

She believes that company employees see her as someone they can talk to when they have family problems. "We are a resource for people," she says.

Experience helps
Her job at Tyson merges her two interests - poultry and nursing. "My first degree helps me a lot," she says. "I was a co-op student so I did everything in the poultry plant. I understand what the people are talking about. That has helped me with empathy. [Working in the plant] is a hard job."

When she's not at the plant, the mother of three enjoys her time at the gym. "I go every single day," she says. "I'm trying to get in shape plus it helps me cope with everything better."

She likes to jog, cook, crochet, read and golf. One of her family's favorite outings is going to Virginia Tech home games. Both she and her husband went to Virginia Tech, and now her two college-age daughters go there as well. "That's what we do all fall," she says. "It's a good way to see our daughters."