MEDSCHOOL, PMB, Education, Residency

OEM RESIDENCY

Occupational medicine in the United States is closely linked to the government and the military. Industrialization increased exponentially following the Civil War, and with industrialization came poor working conditions and low wages that disproportionately affected immigrants and child laborers, and gave impetus to the rise of labor unions and the Progressive Movement. At the core of the specialty is the health of the worker, including both the impact of work on health and the impact of personal health conditions on the ability to work. Over time, the specialty has come to also encompass environmental exposures not just of workers, but also of the general population. The ten competency areas of occupational and environmental medicine today are clinical OEM care; OEM-related law and regulations; environmental health; work fitness and disability management; toxicology; hazard recognition, evaluation, and control; disaster preparedness and emergency management; health and productivity; public health, surveillance, and disease prevention; and OEM-related management and administration. In each of these competency areas, the OEM physician needs to be able to apply knowledge and skills at both the individual patient and population levels. Most military OEM physicians spend about one third to one-half of their time in clinic, and the rest of their time addressing the population level management of worker health

OEM matters to the Department of Defense today as much as it did in 1923. Having a healthy and productive workforce, both uniformed and civilian, is still essential to mission readiness. Additionally, the specialty is at the forefront of addressing past and future environmental exposures both in garrison and while deployed. The small but committed cadre of military OEM physicians works with occupational health nurses, industrial hygienists, environmental scientists, safety specialists, human resources specialists, and others to carry out this critical mission.

“Occupational and environmental medicine is the medical specialty devoted to the prevention and management of occupational and environmental injury, illness, and disability, and the promotion of health and productivity of workers, their families, and communities. Occupational and environmental medicine physicians occupy a critical position at the center of virtually all health-related transactional activities in the workplace. They are connected to all of the other parts of this complex infrastructure — senior management, benefits and human resources, legal, worker’s compensation, government regulatory agencies, labor and unions, hospitals and public health organizations. They are a fulcrum of workplace health — understanding the needs and challenges of each of these diverse groups. They provide a unique bridge between the clinical/scientific medical community and the business-based employer community.”

-American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

The National Capital Consortium-Uniformed Services University Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency is the largest training program for this specialty in the country and has been fully accredited by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) since 1993. Residents entering our two-year graduate medical education program are officers in the uniformed services and have completed at least an internship at an ACGME-accredited training program. We also accept fellows who have already completed a residency in public health and general preventive medicine or aerospace medicine for a single year of additional training in occupational and environmental medicine which qualifies them to apply for taking the occupational and environmental medicine board certification exam through the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Our two-year program consists of eight months dedicated solely to coursework in the Master of Public Health program, followed by 16 months of rotations including at least 8 months of clinical training. In the second year of the program, elective rotations are available across the country and internationally. The curriculum is tailored to each resident’s educational and practical experience in order to develop well- rounded physician leaders in the specialty and in military public health. Clinical rotations range from military and civilian occupational health clinics at medical centers and industrial sites, to specialty clinics in fields relevant to the practice of occupational and environmental medicine, such as pulmonology and sports medicine. Non-clinical required rotations vary based on branch of military service, but all residents complete complete at least one month at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Office of Occupational Medicine. Non-clinical elective rotations include the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, disability management at Lincoln Financial Insurance, corporate medicine at Comcast Universal, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. International rotations in locations such as India, Peru, Thailand, and Cambodia are available to our residents through the Tropical Medicine Training Program.

In addition to mastering occupational and environmental medicine competencies expected by civilian residency programs, residents in our program also are trained in military-specific skills. Operationally-focused rotation opportunities include courses in dive medicine, military mountain medicine, and cold weather medicine, a NASA Aerospace Medicine clerkship (competitively selected), and the Navy Experimental Dive Unit. Additionally, military training courses in Public Health Emergency Management, Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties, and Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation are required to prepare our graduates for the practice of military public health.

Since its inception in 1988, our program has graduated 144 occupational and environmental medicine specialists from all branches of the U.S. uniformed services, as well as 6 Canadian Defense Forces physicians. Approximately 97 percent of all residency graduates have successfully passed the American Board of Preventive Medicine Board Certification Examination, and 100 percent of graduates have passed in the past five years.

RESIDENCY LOCATIONS

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Office of Occupational Medicine and Nursing
• National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health
• Lincoln Financial Insurance
• Comcast Universal
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Portsmouth, VA
• Hawaii
• San Diego, CA
• Dugway Proving Ground
• Pine Bluff Arsenal
• International (including India, Peru, Thailand, Cambodia)
• And more

WHO CAN APPLY?

Active duty physicians who have completed (or are completing) a PGY1 year and have passed all three steps of either the USMLE or COMLEX. PGY1 year must have been completed at an ACGME approved program and the resident must have obtained or obtain a state license by the start of the PGY3 year.

Civilian physicians willing to come on to active duty and meeting the same requirements may also apply. Civilians wishing to become active duty physicians should contact the Service they wish to join: