Graduate Training Programs

Details

• Personal Author:
  Meyer, J. D.
• Description:
  The University of Connecticut's Occupational Medicine Residency Training Program was established in the fall of 1993 in response to recognized national needs for training in the field of worker health as well as in the broader area of environmental hazards. This innovative model for training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) at UCHC represents a linkage between multiple stakeholders in the government, labor, corporate, and research communities, and seeks not only to train physicians for practice within these disparate communities, but also to enhance training and expertise in population medicine and public health in the Medical Center, the University, and the state. The residency program focuses on investigative skills, both clinical and population-based, that assist in evaluating cases of work-or environmentally-related illness and their underlying causes, while placing a premium on the development of preventive measures that control and reduce new disease. Residents have taken the lead on investigations of large outbreaks of lung disease occurring in such diverse places as a metal machining plant, and a large state office building; their work has lead to national recognition in peer-reviewed publications and presentations at professional society meetings. Most importantly, the training program has proven uniquely flexible and responsive to the new and substantial challenges to the public's health following the events of September 2001. Rapid development and promotion of training modules targeted to recognition of potential terrorist use of biological, chemical, and radiation hazards, and guidance in the public health response has been one result of the expertise developed in this program; a more visible effort has been resident involvement in the effort to vaccinate first responders against the threat of smallpox. Physicians in this training are functioning on the front lines of response to protect the health of workers and the public. It is a unique and innovative model for OM training, with few comparable programs in the U.S. Since the submission of our last NIOSH grant, the OEM residency has both been strengthened through interdisciplinary collaboration and its location in the forefront of a new Center for Public Health, and challenged by faculty departures and loss, programmatic cutbacks at outside sites, and national problems in recruitment of residents. Areas of specialty expertise within the DOEM have provided residents with in-depth experience in the evaluation of upper extremity disorders, illness arising from indoor environments, medical center occupational health, and pregnancy exposure risks. Major collaborating institutions outside of the University of Connecticut consortium include the Connecticut Department of Public Health, United Technologies/Pratt and Whitney, Electric Boat/General Dynamics Corp., and Travelers Insurance. As of July 2009, we will have trained five residents in this cycle and have one additional resident beginning the academic year. All faculty have external funding to support their research. Research activities focus on ergonomics, indoor environments, hospital employee health, and reproductive hazards. The program continues to serve as the medical expertise in outbreak investigations, policy development, and research support for the occupational branch of the CT Department of Public Health. The MPH program has been consildated under a stable directorship, and linkages to the public health and environmental health departments at the main UConn campus in Storrs layed the foundation for a new Public Health Institute. Core courses in the MPH program are complemented by specialist courses for occupational medicine trainees; these include industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental epidemiology, and occupational disease. The UCHC Occupational Medicine residency faces challenges related to funding, apploicant pool, and faculty movement that may threaten it in the longer term. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Epidemiology Occupational Health Public Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Environmental Medicine Occupational Medicine Programs Public Health Training
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• 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:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057670
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2020-100153
• 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-008612, 2010 May; :1-12
• Contact Point Address:
  John D Meyer, MD, MPH, University of Connecticut School of Medicine Farmington, CT 06030
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f6131ecc3abbe5b97d6868bab6257aca56a240044e74f2c92f9e4332e052ba7607485fdf27a1d4b4fefc044116907adbed0fc68648c6a2950251ffeef556401d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218937/cdc_218937_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 147.52 KB ]