Training Occupational Medicine Physicians

Details

• Personal Author:
  McKenzie JG
• Description:
  The purpose of the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN), Perelman School of Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) Residency Program is to prepare residents for the comprehensive practice of occupational medicine in a variety of settings including academia, hospital based clinics, free-standing occupational medicine practice, private practice, corporate settings, public health programs, governmental agencies and legal or regulatory authorities. It is designed to provide structured, supervised training and experience to ensure that residents achieve competency in the areas required of the American Council on Graduate Education (ACGME), the American Board of Preventive Medicine Examination in Occupational Medicine (APBM-OM) and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) for the specialist practice in OEM. This highly innovative program is competency based with the goal of producing outstanding OEM physicians who will be leaders in the field and well equipped to move the field forward. Funded by NIOSH since its inception in 1997, this 2-year NIOSH and HRSA supported program meets a critical need by providing mid-career physicians formal ACGME accredited, residency training via its External Track (ET). Physicians within 5 years of graduating medical school are also trained - via the Internal Track (IT). The UPENN program helps overcome barriers that deter otherwise motivated physicians from specialist training. Being able to award NIOSH training funds helps toward his end. Criteria for NIOSH funds are: service to underserved populations; difficulty accessing a suitable training program (remote location, location without training program, family responsibilities, etc.); specific regional workforce needs; and service to special populations at risk. There are two tracks: The Internal and External Track. The Internal Track (IT) provides residents the opportunity to complete rotations at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and affiliated organizations. The External Track (ET) provides supervised practicum training for residents employed full-time in occupational medicine practice, most at community based training sites. The program consists of two interrelated components, a didactic component and an applied clinical component. Both components work in tandem to allow acquisition of the ACGME Milestones for Occupational Medicine. There are 5 subject area rotations (SAR) during the each of the two years, five longitudinal courses during the OM-1 year and one longitudinal course during the OM-2 year. The curriculum includes experiential learning, production of and presentation of supervised projects, including quality improvement and safety projects, direct observation of each resident in various settings and formative and summative evaluations and feedback at multiple points. We have graduated 107 residents to date. More than 95% of our graduates continue to work in the OEM field in their individual regional areas throughout the country; many are located in non-urban areas. During the study period 29 trainees started the program, 26 of whom have graduated. Six completed their first year during the study period and will graduate in June 2015. The program had been one year in length until 2011, when the ACGME determined that all PM programs be two years in length. The UPENN program started the transition to a 2-year program and was fully transitioned by 2012. During the study period twelve trainees received NIOSH funds directly. However, all trainees benefit from NIOSH funds given that NIOSH also supports the infrastructure of the program. The program's Underrepresented Minority (URM) Diversity Committee continues to flourish where all URM trainees and URM graduates remain as members. In addition, other trainees have joined the committee in order to further the mission, which is to increase the number of URMs in the field of OEM, increase the number of physicians in the field of OEM in general, and increase the number of URMs at the UPENN OEM program. During the study period, of the 29 trainees, 6 are URMs (21%). This exceeds the national average of approximately 7% of medical students being URMs. Clinical training sites continue to be located in diverse settings with more than half of the trainee CTS being located outside of the largest 25 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA). Program quality is indicated by the number of graduates who remain in the field, strong performance using evaluation measures including graduates rating of their skills before and after training and ratings that the program met their training needs, faculty ratings of resident performance, and superior performance on the APBM-OM Examination. UPENN residents and graduates continue to score above the national average and on average, exceed the average for residency-trained physicians on the APBM-OM Examination. The University of Pennsylvania is listed in the top 5 Medical Schools according US News and World Report and is ranked number 2 amongst academic medical centers receiving National Institute of Health support. The academic mission is amply supported by the availability of conference rooms, physical plant, information systems and library facilities. The Emergency Department, OEM Division comprises approximately 14,000 square feet of space and institutional resources enable residents to access a vast array of opportunities to supplement their core program activities. Lectures are delivered by content experts. The OEM clinic serves a diverse client base; this along with the volume ensures a unique opportunity for residents to gain comprehensive clinical instruction and involvement. Subject Area Rotations (SARs) are held on the UPENN campus, which has a diverse group of full-time and adjunct faculty members, teaching and office space, and clinic and laboratory space to support this TP. Residents have access to a wide-ranging library system on campus and remotely. This benefits project completion, required work at UPENN, scholarly work mentored by UPENN faculty, etc. The program received 10-year full accreditation from the ACGME during the study period, the longest period of accreditation given by this body. The focus of the UPENN OEM residency remains to be placed on nurturing academically and clinically exceptional physicians, with attention to diversity, who will utilize their competence and skills in their own diverse regions throughout the United States to take care of the ill and injured worker and keep workers safe and healthy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Environmental Medicine Health Care Workers Medical Personnel Occupational Health Programs Occupational Medicine Programs Occupational Safety Programs Physicians Training Grants
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-41
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053447
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-100314
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, T01-OH-008628, 2016 Jan; :1-41
• Contact Point Address:
  Judith Green McKenzie, MD, MPH, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce Street, Ground Floor Silverstein Pavilion, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
• Email:
  judith.mckenzie@uphs.UPENN.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b466976ec32d65ee5aee20b92cc4e225eaf5ceb0134704413feac92f84dd01fd6e49f711e4722e22fdd0fc4982d8c1f4d13e80208c66471321b7e92316ab5f2e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218764/cdc_218764_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 380.81 KB ]