Occupational medicine deals with the prevention and management of injury, illness and disability in occupations. This is a critical field because most of the American population is employed. The field actually can feature aspects of many other fields of medicine such as surgery, toxicology, preventive medicine and even forensic science. Training programs provide individuals with the skills to lead in this field.
Training in the occupational medicine field is available through residency programs available at colleges such as the University of South Florida. Students in these programs learn how to manage and direct clinical occupational health programs. They focus on keeping workers healthy, arranging their work and keeping the social, chemical and physical environment in the workplace suitable for workers. These types of residency programs usually are two years long and require that students seeking admission have graduated from an approved medical school and completed at least one year of training in an accredited primary care residency, according to Harvard University. The first year is an academic year that leads to a master's of public health degree, and the second year is the practicum year. The best residency programs are those accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, according to the Texas Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in Texas. Residency programs make graduates eligible for specialty board certification in occupational medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
Occupational medicine program courses cover topics such as medical biometry, epidemiologic methods, introduction to health care and public health services, industrial hygiene and clinical occupational medicine, according to the University of Washington School of Public Health. Students also can learn about environmental and occupational toxicology, current issues in the field and environmental health reading. Other topics include industrial ergonomics and biostatistics. A thesis also typically is part of the education process.
With training in occupational medicine, an individual has a plethora of career options. These professionals can work for large or medium-sized companies, small companies, hospital-based programs, private practices and clinics, government agencies or even higher education institutions. Doing consultant work is another option as well. Graduates of the University of Illinois at Chicago have gone on to work as a regional medical director of an airline, medical directors of occupational health programs or even the regional emergency coordinator of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The median salary for occupational medicine physicians in the United States in late 2009 was $184,720, according to Salary.com. The demand for physicians is expected to grow 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.